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Tenth in a 15-part series ranking the Mavericks' 2011-12 roster in importance of bringing back next season.

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Brandan Wright is easily the most athletic big man the Dallas Mavericks have put on the floor since ... well, Tyson Chandler. Wright, the Human Pogo Stick or the Human Exclamation Point as a certain colleague of mine dubbed him this season, brought a high level of energy and excitement -- and a higher level of two-handed alley-oop slams -- as he earned more and more playing time.

The former lottery pick of the Golden State Warriors provided two areas that the Mavs' sorely lacked and will look to gain more of this offseasaon -- youth, he's only 24, and athleticism. He's a high-motor big man who can run the floor. He has soft hands and is an impeccable finisher around the rim with a nice array of moves -- he boasted a team-best 61.8 shooting percentage.

The biggest issue with Wright is where he fits. His natural position is power forward, but coach Rick Carslisle converted him to center because Dallas obviously has Dirk Nowitzki entrenched there and at the time they believed Lamar Odom would fill the bill when Nowitzki sat. At center, Wright started out on the depth chart behind Brendan Haywood and Ian Mahinmi, but as the season wore on the spindly-framed Wright at times logged more minutes than the others.

Until the playoffs.

And that's the conundrum with Wright. He hasn't developed a mid-range game to be able to play power forward effectively in Dallas' offense and he's not physically strong enough to consistently defend the center position. When he got his brief chance to play in the first round against Oklahoma City he had a serious case of butterfingers and the moment, the first playoff action of his career, seemed a bit too big. He played a total of 26 minutes in the series with a high of eight in the Game 3 blowout.

But at less than $1 million last season and next (assuming the Mavs pick up the team option), Wright is cheap, cheap labor and a talent worth trying to develop for the long run. In fact, he could be a talent the Mavs must develop for significant minutes next season because the center position at the moment is in total chaos.

Haywood is a prime candidate for the amnesty provision and Mahinmi is a free agent with no guarantee that he'll be back. Dallas won't dare go into the regular season with Wright as its primary man to patrol the paint, but he could certainly be relied upon to become a prime player.

The Countdown winds down a second week with No. 6...

BRANDAN WRIGHT
Pos.: C/PF
Ht./Wt.: 6-foot-10, 210
Experience: 4 years
Age: 24 (Oct. 5, 1987)
2011-12 stats: 6.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 16.1 mpg, 49 G
Contract status: Team option for next season
2011-12 salary: $915,852
2012-13 salary: $947,907

His story: Perseverance has Wright on the right track to remove his name from the long list of lottery busts and onto a more flattering one of productive rotation players. Drafted eighth overall in 2007 by Charlotte and traded to Golden State for Jason Richardson, Wright was buried on Don Nelson's bench and then injured his shoulder during an October 2009 practice. Surgery sidelined him the entire season and the next year the Warriors traded Wright to the New Jersey Nets. In his first three seasons, Wright played in 114 games so the 49 he got in this season was something of a landmark, a career-high he hopes to build upon. He's already been busy back in the gym, proving it by tweeting pictures. "I worked really hard to get back where I am," Wright said at the end of the season. "I'm blessed to have the opportunity to heal up from those injuries. This is a process and you’ve got to stick with it. When you start thinking like that (negatively), it's easy to start slacking off with rehab or getting back to where you want to be."

His outlook: Wright has to feel good that the Mavs will pick up his option (it would certainly seem to be a no-brainer). The real question is whether Carlisle will continue to try to mold him into a center or if power forward can be an option now that Odom is out of the picture and Shawn Marion (if he returns) might seem better off exclusively, or close to exclusively, at small forward. Wright believes he can develop a consistent mid-range jumper that could force defenses to extend out, providing the spacing the Mavs need to operate their halfcourt sets. He also needs to add muscle to his 210-pound frame (for a bit of reference, 6-5 guard Dominique Jones weighs 215 pounds) so he can hold his ground defensively at either the 4 or 5. If he can do that and sharpen his jumper, combined with his vertical jump and ability to finish at the rim, Wright could eventually live up to his lottery-pick status.

No. 15 Lamar Odom
No. 14 Brian Cardinal
No. 13 Yi Jianlian
No. 12 Dominique Jones
No. 11 Brendan Haywood
No. 10 Kelenna Azubuike
No. 9 Ian Mahinmi
No. 8 Vince Carter
No. 7 Rodrigue Beaubois
No. 6 Brandan Wright
No. 5 Coming Monday

If Dwight Howard is dead set on leaving the Magic's small (market) world ASAP, as reports suggest, and Orlando grants his wish, it's hard to find the happily-ever-after ending for the Dallas Mavericks.

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That's the picture Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi painted Tuesday morning during an appearance on ESPN Radio's "Mike & Mike in the Morning." If you thought D12 got what he wanted with Monday's news of coach Stan Van Gundy's firing and the franchise parting with general manager Otis Smith, it might come as a surprise then that Bianchi suggested that Howard could be traded before the June 28 draft.

Bianchi believes the Magic will first ask Howard for a long-term commitment. If the game's top (and seemingly profoundly confused) center says no thanks, then Bianchi thinks the Magic will act quickly to move him out to spare the club and its fan base another derailing, drama-filled season.

If Orlando again begins to solicit trade offers for its statuesque big man coming off back surgery just a month ago -- while also likely looking to unload the egregious Hedo Turkoglu contract (two years, $23.6 million) -- what's the Mavs' best offer?

Think the Magic jump at Brendan Haywood, Lamar Odom's partially guaranteed contract, Shawn Marion, Brandan Wright, Rodrigue Beaubois and whoever else the Mavs might want to throw in?

Not likely (and it's here where speculation can run wild that re-signing Tyson Chandler might have made the Mavs a more prominent player in a potential deal).

Howard has been adamant that he wants to play for the Brooklyn Nets. That's presumably because of his desire (or is it adidas' desire?) to play in a large market where his superstardom can really shine, and his arrival would almost certainly convince All-Star point guard and free-agent-to-be Deron Williams to sign long-term in the borough. If the Nets get a top-three pick in the draft lottery May 30, they'll keep their protected pick from the Gerald Wallace deadline deal, a golden nugget to toss into a package to Orlando.

The Nets, with restricted free-agent center Brook Lopez, and the Los Angeles Lakers, with center Andrew Bynum or power forward Pau Gasol as prime bait, are the top contenders to deal for Dwight now.

The Mavs simply are not.

Dallas' best hope would be that the Magic are desperate to trade Howard out of the Eastern Conference and can't work out a deal with the Lakers. The worst-case scenario, obviously, would be for Orlando to deal him to Brooklyn, effectively (presumably) taking the Mavs out of the running for D-Will and leaving Mark Cuban and Dirk Nowitzki staring into an uneasy future.

DALLAS – Ian Mahinmi hopes he hasn’t played his last minutes as a Maverick.

The Mavs took a minimum-salary flyer on Mahinmi a couple of summers ago after the Spurs willingly let their former first-round pick go. He developed into a solid backup big man, averaging 5.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per game this season, which puts him in position to get a significant raise as a free agent.

Mahinmi’s preference is to keep cashing paychecks signed by Mark Cuban.

“Obviously it’s been two great years for me,” Mahinmi said. “The Mavs organization really gave me a chance to play and show the world what I can do, so I really want to stay here. But on the other part, you know that the NBA’s a business. We all know that they’re going to try to make the NBA better. Right now, I don’t know if I’m in their plans, but me, I really want to stay here.”

Brandan Wright is the only one of the Mavs’ “three-headed monster” at center who should be considered likely to be on the roster next season. While Wright was a nonfactor in the playoffs, his team option for the minimum salary next season is still a bargain.

Starter Brendan Haywood, who played less than 10 minutes in two of the Mavs’ four playoffs games, is a prime candidate for the amnesty clause. The Mavs will need to shed a significant salary to be major players in the free agency market, and Haywood is due $8.3 million next season (and $27.2 million over the three remaining guaranteed years of his contract).

“In this business, you don’t control anything,” Haywood said, acknowledging being amnestied as a possibility but declining to discuss it in much detail. “You just go out there and play. All that other stuff is handled by front office people and your agent.”

If the Mavs cut ties with Haywood, it wouldn’t necessarily increase the odds of Mahinmi returning. The Mavs might see Wright as a suitable backup center and attempt to use their resources to find a proven starter at a reasonable cost.

DALLAS -- Mavericks forward Shawn Marion knows he could fall victim to the amnesty clause this summer and be forced to resume his career somewhere else next season.

"I'm a Dallas Maverick right now," Marion said Sunday during the team's exit interviews. "That's all that matters."

Few speak the truth like Marion, even if it's sometimes in his own specialized Matrix language. Still, if you want to know what's up, Marion is the man to talk to. After Games 1 and 2 at Oklahoma City, Marion was fuming that the Mavs put themselves in position to lose both games late, which they did.

He was exasperated that Kevin Durant's Game 1 game-winner totally overshadowed his 10-of-27 shooting performance with Marion locking him down, and he had some choice words about that bucket. On Sunday, as players cleaned out their lockers one day after the Thunder's monstrous fourth-quarter comeback to sweep the series, Marion told it like he sees it.

"You know, to recover from this, we've just got to regroup, refocus and really dig deep inside and decide if you want to go out there and try to win another one. That's the biggest thing," he said. "It's frustrating to be sitting here talking about it, saying how we just got beat in the first round of the playoffs. To go out like that, I'm very disappointed, especially because I really love competing and I try to go out there and lay it on the line every night and just came up short.

"They was a better team. They did everything right and everything bounced their way, and it's frustrating when you're sitting here thinking about, contemplating what's the scenario, this or that. But at the end of the day, we have a lot of free agents on this team and we're going to see what's going to happen for the summer and go from there."

Marion, easily the player who came to training camp in December in the best shape and turned in the most consistent season of anyone on the team, is on the short list of players under contract for next season. The list includes Dirk Nowitzki, Vince Carter, Brendan Haywood, Brandan Wright (team option), Kalenna Abuzuike, Rodrigue Beaubois and Dominique Jones.

Is that concerning for the 13-year vet?

"I don't know. This is a business, it's a business first. I look at it like that, that's what it is," Marion said. "I know that, I've adjusted to that throughout my career. That's what you have got to take it as first, everything else comes second. It's a business first. It means you've got to have that mindset going into, you know that, that's what you've got to take it as."

When the Mavs signed Vince Carter, they viewed him as the kind of aging offensive player who still had enough skills to help them win a playoff game - or series. You know, kind of like Peja Stojakovic last season against the Lakers.

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Well, for a quarter it looked like Carter might be able to provide that kind of spark against Oklahoma City.

He scored seven points in the first quarter, including a Vinsanity flashback - he drove through the lane and powered home a one-handed dunk in traffic - and a corner three with nine seconds left in the quarter.

The spurt ended a stretch of seven consecutive points that pulled the Mavs within 32-26, entering the second quarter.

He didn’t score again.

Carter finished two of eight from the field in 27 minutes in Dallas' 95-79 loss.

We shouldn’t really be surprised.

The Mavs have eight players in their 30s, and it showed during Game 3 and the season. Their bodies didn’t respond to the NBA’s compact schedule - 66 games in 123 days - and they haven’t been able to get all of their older guys playing well at the same time in the playoffs.

That’s what happens to older players. They lose the consistency that made them stars in their prime. They can dominate for spurts as Carter did for a few minutes in Game 3, but it’s difficult for them to maintain that high level of performance for a game or a series.

Here are three more areas of interest heading into Friday:

Three-headed center: Once again, the Mavs received virtually nothing from the center position and it played a role in their demise. Brendan Haywood, Ian Mahinmi and Brandan Wright combined to score nine points and grab eight rebounds in 30 minutes, but had no positive impact on the game. Haywood, the starting center, played just seven minutes.

Jason Kidd: The NBA's quintessential point guard is a facilitator by nature, but the Mavs’ stagnant offense turned him into a shooter in Game 3. That’s never, ever a good sign. Kidd, who made just four of 18 shots in the series’ first two games, finished second on the team with 12 points, while taking a season-high 12 shots. Kidd made two of his six three-point attempts. When Kidd is that involved in shooting and scoring, the Mavs rarely win.

Jason Terry has no impact: After three games, Jason Terry has had one great half, and that occurred in Game 1. He’s been a non-factor in the other five halves of this series. Terry scored 11 points on three of 12 shooting with six assists and three rebounds, but Mark Cuban pays him to score. Without his scoring, the Mavs had no chance.

DALLAS -- The Mavericks three-headed monster at center, which seems a far-fetched term in relation to production, needs a jolt.

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The combination of starting center Brendan Haywood, Ian Mahinmi and Brandan Wright have combined in the first two games to average 11.0 points on 42.2 percent shooting, and 9.5 rebounds. All by himself, Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins has put up 6.5 points on 50 percent shooting, 7.0 rebounds and some extracurricular muscle along the way.

Backup center Ian Mahinmi has led the Mavs at 20 minutes a game, averaging 7.5 points and 4.5 rebounds. Haywood has averaged just 14.5 minutes, 3.0 points and 2.5 rebounds. Wright has shown his postseason greenness in just 6.5 minutes.

"Our centers combined were very productive during the regular season and it was a real positive factor for us," coach Rick Carlisle said. "They've done good things in these first two games, but we want those guys to be active. We need them to generate extra possessions for us when they can and we need them to have a physical presence. They're very clear on what we're asking of them."

The veteran Haywood must become more of a presence, but perhaps the most disappointing aspect is that the 6-foot-10 Wright has shrunk under the bright lights of the playoffs. In 12 total minutes played he has two turnovers, which is one more than his scoring total (he came nowhere close to scoring on his two shot attempts) and one fewer than his total rebounds.

During the season, Wright provided great energy boosts with his activity, yet in this series he hasn't come close to completing one of his patented two-handed jams. Wright didn't want to see a series against the Lakers because his playing time would be close to eliminated against Andrew Bynum. Wright figured to have an opportunity to shine against the Thunder's bigs.

It just hasn't been the case yet.

"It's two games and it's two road games and it's his first two playoff games," Carlisle said. "We're home tonight and we've got to turn some things around on a lot of different levels and he's going to have to be ready tonight."

With Tyson Chandler being named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year today, it’s difficult not to wonder how things might be different if he stayed in Dallas.

The Mavs won’t waste any mental energy on the subject, but it’s impossible for fans and media to ignore.

Here’s all you need to know about how much Dallas misses Chandler: The Mavs’ starting center for the rest of this series is somewhat of a mystery after Brendan Haywood was benched for the beginning of the second half in Monday’s Game 2 loss.

Haywood hasn’t been on the floor for the last few minutes in either of the down-to-the-wire finishes in the first two games of the series. Coach Rick Carlisle, whose team is down 0-2 to Oklahoma City as the series shifts to Dallas, cited quickness and energy as two reasons Haywood has played so little against the Thunder (29 minutes in two games).

There aren’t many centers quicker than Chandler. There aren’t any with more energy.

Chandler averaged 8.0 points, 10.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game in last season’s West finals, when Dallas dismissed the Thunder in five games. The Mavs’ three-headed monster, as they call their center trio of Haywood, Ian Mahinmi and Brandan Wright, has combined to put up slightly better numbers (11.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.0 blocks) with a heck of a lot less presence in this series.

Would the Mavs be better off with Chandler serving as the emotional leader/defensive anchor and a three-headed backup monster? For right now, that answer is obvious.

That doesn’t make the decision to let Chandler go any more illogical. Mark Cuban made what he considered a serious attempt to keep Chandler while maintaining financial flexibility, offering him a one-year, $20 million deal.

Chandler considered it a no-brainer to take long-term security, choosing a four-year, $58 million deal from the Knicks. As divorces go, it was an amicable one.

Chandler went to a big-market team with star power. The Mavs moved on, flipping a trade exception acquired in his sign-and-trade deal for the reigning Sixth Man of the Year. Lamar Odom arrived in Dallas with a team-friendly contract, but he also brought team-wrecking baggage. Swing and a miss for strike one.

The Mavs still had dreams of pulling off a Heat-like free-agency bonanza, landing Dwight Howard and Deron Williams this summer. That’s no longer possible, with Howard opting to commit (contractually, at least) to the Magic for one more season. Strike two.

If Williams doesn’t come to Dallas this summer, the decision to kiss Chandler goodbye can be considered one of the great strikeouts of Cuban’s ownership tenure.

We can’t completely judge that decision until July. For now, the Mavs have the hands full trying to fight their way into a series without the big man from their championship run.

It's only two games and with a little late-game luck the Dallas Mavericks' 0-2 hole might have been a 2-0 cushion with the series shifting to Dallas for Thursday's Game 3.

Late-game luck isn't the only difference in a postseason rematch with the Oklahoma City Thunder that threatens to make the Mavs the first defending champs since the 2007 Miami Heat to go down in the first round. Dallas needs more of the unexpected, more of what the Thunder have received to take control of the series.

The unexpected?

Serge Ibaka's 22 points in Game 1 was a season high. The last time he scored 20 in a game? Try Jan. 27.

Derek Fisher's 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting in Game 2 -- after being invisible in Game 1 -- was his most efficient outing in 22 games with Oklahoma City and it tied his second-highest point total.

Kendrick Perkins' 4-of-5 shooting in Game 2 was the first time he had done that since Feb. 22, and he hadn't topped the 13 points he scored since March 25 with 16, his only game of the season with more than 13. Keep in mind that OKC's two wins have come by a total of four points.

The unexpected.

"They’ve gotten better, no doubt about that," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said, comparing this Thunder team to the won Dallas disposed of in five games in last year's Western Conference finals. "You've got to give them credit for the plays they made in this series and for the year that they’ve had. At the same time, we’re right there and we've got to make the plays coming back home."

The Mavs have received nothing out of the ordinary. Remember the championship run when a different Mavs player seemed to step up every night with something different? Whether it was Corey Brewer for eight minutes against the Lakers, or J.J. Barea putting up consecutive 20-point games -- one against the Thunder -- or DeShawn Stevenson twice dropping three 3-pointers in the Finals or Peja Stojakovic scoring 21, 21 and 15 points in the opening two series, it's the unexpected performances that carry teams to unexpected results.

The Mavs will need to get some punch-quiet sources on their home floor over the next two games to stay alive.

The most likely candidate for a breakout is Vince Carter. He's 7-of-23 from the floor. Delonte West had 13 points in Game 2 but is 7-of-17 from the floor and has yet to make a dent with the type of feisty defense he's known for, that the Mavs are counting on. Starting center Brendan Haywood has seven rebounds and two blocked shots in 30 minutes and was benched to start the second half of Game 2.

Fan favorite Brandan Wright has so far shown that the playoff pressure might be too big in his first postseason. In logging less than 13 total minutes, he hasn't come close to one of his patented dunks and had a case of butterfingers in five awful minutes in Game 2.

If the Mavs are going to survive, the expected performances from Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion that have enabled Dallas to have a chance late must be met by unexpected ones.

Just ask the Thunder.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - The Dallas Mavericks can’t win in the playoffs on nights when their bench gets outplayed.

Feel free to use Monday night’s 102-99 loss in Game 2 of the Mavs’ Western Conference quarterfinal against Oklahoma City as evidence.

The Mavs expect James Harden to score 15 points with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. They don’t expect Derek Fisher to score 11 first-half points on five of six shooting and help the Thunder build a 16-point lead.

Contrast that to Jason Terry, who scored 13 points, but was a non-factor most of the night and Vince Carter, who kept taking jumpers instead of attacking the basket.

Terry made five of 12 shots, but the Mavs were outscored by 17 points, when he was on the court. Carter was-2 of-9 from the field and the Mavs were outscored by 12 points when he was on the court.

Ridiculous.

Terry and Carter are supposed to be two of the Mavs’ assets, players who relieve some of the offensive burden from Dirk Nowitzki.

Ian Mahinmi gave the Mavs a strong effort off the bench with nine points and five rebounds, but it was offset by his five fouls, which limited his playing time, and Brendan Haywood’s ineffective performance.

Haywood, benched to start the second half, had two points and no rebounds in 10 minutes.

The bench must improve. The series won’t last much longer if it doesn’t

Here are three more areas of interest heading into Tuesday's day of rest:

1. Catastrophic turnovers: You could say the Mavs lost this game during a seven-minute stretch spanning the end of the first quarter and the start of the second quarter, when Oklahoma City turned a 24-23 deficit into a 46-30 lead. They did it by converting a plethora of Mavs’ turnovers into transition baskets. Oklahoma City turned 16 turnovers into 21 points. No way the Mavs can win like that because Oklahoma City is a younger, faster and quicker team. Letting them score in transition, especially considering the haphazard nature of their half-court offense is disastrous.

2. Containing Kevin Durant: Shawn Marion has done a phenomenal job guarding Durant by contesting every shot he takes and making it tough for him to get to his sweet spots on the court. Durant was only 5-of-17 in Game 2 but still scored 26 points because he made 14 of 16 free throws. Durant, the NBA’s leading scorer, has made only 15 of 44 shots in the series. It’s a testament to his skill level that he’s still getting his points, but imagine what trouble the Mavs will have on the night he goes off -- and he will have at least one good shooting night in this series.

3. X-Factors are no factors: Based on the regular season, there was plenty of reason to believe Brandan Wright or Rodrigue Beaubois could have an impact on the Mavs’ series with Oklahoma City. Well, it hasn’t happened and there’s no indication it will. They played a combined 10 minutes -- five each -- and totaled one point and one rebound.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Tyson Chandler’s rim-protecting presence played a major role in the Mavericks’ remarkable ability to finish games strong during the team’s title run. Now, the Mavs aren’t sure which center will be on the floor during crunch time on a game-to-game basis.

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Brendan Haywood, Ian Mahinmi and Brandan Wright have all been part of the closing lineup this season, which might explain why Dallas has gone from dominant to mediocre in such situations this season.

“Sometimes those are gut decisions,” Carlisle said. “Sometimes you lay them out and have a plan that you have in mind. All year long, it’s been kind of a feel thing with those guys.”

Wright played a grand total of 18 seconds in the fourth quarter. On the first defensive possession after he checked into the game, Wright committed a touch foul on Russell Westbrook’s game-tying and-1 layup and was immediately benched.

The Mavs built a seven-point lead after Haywood, the Mavs’ starter and best defensive center, replaced Wright. However, Carlisle opted to go with the more offensively skilled Mahinmi with 2:16 remaining, a decision that can be second-guessed after Dallas didn’t score a field goal the remainder of the game while the Thunder stole the win with a 12-4 closing run.

It’s a decision Carlisle didn’t have to make last season.

OKLAHOMA CITY – One of the cardinal sins in playoff basketball is committing a soft foul around the basket.

The Mavericks did that three times in the fourth quarter. Brandan Wright was benched after his pat on Russell Westbrook’s back led to an easy and-1 layup. Serge Ibaka had a couple of three-point plays during the Thunder’s rally from a seven-point deficit in the final 2:31, converting a layup despite an Ian Mahinmi foul and dunking on Dirk Nowitzki despite a slap on the wrist.

“We fouled, but we didn’t foul smart,” Nowitzki said. “That’s obviously not playoff basketball. We’ve got to wrap those guys up and make them earn it at the line. That’s what playoff basketball is about – both teams competing at the highest level and making hard, physical plays.”

Added coach Rick Carlisle: “In those situations, we can’t be in a touch-foul mode. We’ve got to either back off or we’ve got to take a hard foul and make them earn two free throws. That’s just playoff basketball.”

Players always say they don't care who they face to open the playoffs. Don't believe it.

Brandan Wright, for one, knows which one of the three options still open he wants no part of when he makes his postseason debut this weekend, and for good reason.

The slender, 6-foot-10 forward-turned-center in this successful maiden season with the Mavs has no interest in a first-round pairing with the Los Angeles Lakers. The former lottery pick doesn't fear the purple-and-gold. He just wants to play.

Coach Rick Carlisle has made it clear that there's little room on the floor for the 210-pounder -- dubbed by some the Human Exclamation Point for his skinny frame and ridiculous bounce -- when L.A.'s 7-foot, 285-pound Andrew Bynum is the giant he must guard.

Unless...

"I wish we allowed steroids because he’d be the perfect case," Mavs owner Mark Cuban joked. "That’s not going to happen."

No, it's not. The Mavs have benefited from Wright's energy, quickness, soft hands and ability to finish at the rim (he's shooting 62.4 percent), so losing minutes to circumstance would be unfortunate. Starting center Brendan Haywood will be forced into large minutes against the Lakers, like the 38 he logged in the most recent meeting. In the five games since, Haywood has played between 14 and 21.

Wright got nine minutes in that April 15 overtime loss, mostly when Bynum took a breather. However, Wright's final minute of action in the fourth quarter with Bynum in illustrated the mayhem that matchup can cause. He slapped at Bynum for an and-1 and then got dunked on from behind by a monster Bynum putback.

"I believe he has to get on the floor because he poses a different threat against a team like the Lakers," said guard and alley-oop partner Jason Terry. "First of all, he’s going to outrun their bigs and he’s going to use his athletic ability. So he’s a factor, he’s a factor."

Not surprisingly, Wright, only 24 and healthy really for the first time in his career, concurs.

"I agree 100 percent with Jet," Wright said. "I feel like I can be a factor on the court no matter who we play. In a couple days we’ll be finding out who we play and I’m going to be doing the best I can no matter who we do play."

If the Mavs move back into the No. 6 seed at season's end Thursday night, the Lakers will be the matchup at No. 3, assuming they hold off the Clippers. At No. 7, Dallas will face No. 2 Oklahoma City Thunder. The San Antonio Spurs locked up the top seed with Monday night's win.

How has Wright fared in four games against the Lakers? One DNP-CD, 4.3 points, 2.0 rebounds in 12.0 minutes (17 minutes in one game with Haywood out) and 50 percent shooting, well below his season average.

In four games against the Thunder, Wright played in one. He rode the bench on Dec. 29 and Jan. 2 and missed the finale in March with a concussion. The one game he did play on Feb. 1 served as his launching pad for rotation minutes the rest of the season and as an attention-grabber for the Thunder. With Haywood out, Wright played 25 minutes and posted 12 points and three blocks, but only a lone rebound, a glaring area of inconsistency in his game.

"His rebounding is getting better, his rebounding in traffic is getting a lot better," Cuban said. "If he was bigger where he could hold his position, his post-up moves are just phenomenal. Around the basket he's an incredible finisher."

Wright remains a developing player. His 48 games this season are nine more than his previous career high in 2008-09 with the Golden State Warriors, the team that drafted him in the lottery five years ago. They tired of his injuries and traded Wright to New Jersey last season.

"I feel like I’m still a young player, still got a lot of years left in this league to do a lot of good things," Wright said. "That’s the way I look at it. Maybe the first couple of years I have to prove myself that I am a lottery pick, but after that just go out there and play the game."

That's hard to do though if you can't get on the court with any consistency, and that's the threat the Lakers pose.

"Rick is a smart coach. He’ll use him where it makes sense to use him, right?" Cuban said. "We have a history of playing to our strengths and where matchups work, we take advantage of them. He’s not going to be a good matchup against Bynum, but there’s areas for him. If he’s making hard cuts and hard rolls to the basket, then it might be that we have the advantage because he’s so quick."

The advantage just might be in not facing the Lakers.

DALLAS – The Human Exclamation Point is an honest man.

Yes, Brandan Wright gets a certain extra sense of satisfaction out of lighting up his former team. And he’s given Golden State a good idea of just what they let get away in the Mavs’ two wins over the Warriors this month, putting up a season-high 16 points in last week’s victory in Oakland and bettering that by a point in Friday’s home win.

“It’s one of those situations that you want to play well against your former team,” Wright said with a smile. “That’s all I can give you on that. You want to play well; you want to beat those guys. Since I got traded, I haven’t lost a game to them.”

That’s technically true. Wright was dealing with a concussion and didn’t make the road trip when the Mavs lost to the Warriors in March.

Wright had 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting and a season-high-tying nine rebounds when he finally got the chance to play the Warriors with the Mavericks. He had 17 and seven in only 17 minutes Friday night, when he made eight of nine shots from the floor.

The 24-year-old Wright has gone from a lottery pick that Golden State gave up on to a major bargain for the Mavs, who will pick up the team option to pay him the NBA minimum next season without thinking twice.

Wright won’t see the Warriors until next season, but he’ll have no problem finding motivational fodder. He’s preparing to play in the playoffs for the first time in his career.

A few more notes on Friday’s win:

1. Azubuike’s Dallas debut: It was a special night for Kelenna Azubuike, although the ex-Golden State swingman probably won’t frame the box score. He was 0-of-2 from the floor and committed two turnovers during six minutes in his NBA return after a two-plus-year layoff after a devastating knee injury.

“The knee feels great,” Azubuike said. “Now, the game will come.”

It was his first NBA appearance since for the 28-year-old Azubuike since tore his patella tendon on Nov. 14, 2009 and had post-surgery complications. The Mavs signed him in March to a one-year deal with a team option for next season with the hopes that he’d be regain his form from 2008-09, when he averaged 14.4 points and 5.0 rebounds, in time to be part of the Dallas rotation next season.

Any contributions from Azubuike this season will be considered a bonus.

"It's like (Corey) Brewer last year,” said coach Rick Carlisle, who noted that both of Azubuike’s 3-point attempts were in and out and praised his defense. “If he can help us somewhere along the line -- one play, or a few good minutes in a game at the right time, it's all worth it.”

"He's worked hard and I'm happy for him. He's had a two-year ordeal to get back."

2. Minutes managing: Delonte West was the only Maverick to play more than 30 minutes against Golden State. Not coincidentally, the 28-year-old West is by far the youngest player among the Mavs’ starters and top two reserves. “Compared to the rest of our team, he’s a youngster,” Carlisle said.

3. Terrible tie: Carlisle put the Mavs’ off night from 3-point range (3-of-19) in perspective by pointing out that their perimeter shooting was prettier than the orange tie that he wore during the game. Carlisle offered a simple excuse for having an off fashion night. His wife Donna didn’t pick out the tie, allowing Carlisle to be a victim of his own questionable taste.

How it happened: The Dallas Mavericks managed to beat Golden State’s summer league team without expending a whole lot of energy.

It wasn’t exactly an inspirational effort in the Mavs’ final home game of the regular season. They let a team that started four rookies hang around all night.

But it can’t be considered surprising that the Mavs seemed to lack motivation a night after clinching the franchise’s 12th consecutive playoff berth while sitting on the couch.

It’s not like the win was ever in question for the Mavs. They closed the third quarter with a 6-0 run and added the first bucket of the fourth quarter to give themselves enough of a cushion to cruise to the buzzer.

Vince Carter lit it up in the fourth quarter to make sure that the Warriors’ leftovers wouldn’t be a threat down the stretch. Carter scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter, when he was 4-of-5 from the floor, including the 1,500th made 3-pointer of his career.

Brandan Wright, the young lottery pick Golden State gave up on last year, added a season-high 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting.

Minutes might have been the most important category in the box score for the Mavs. Delonte West, who had 16 points, was the only Mav to play more than 30.

What it means: The Mavs moved a game ahead of the Nuggets for sixth place in the West. Golden State took another step toward retaining its first-round draft pick, which is top-seven protected.

Bold play of the game: Shawn Marion came off a screen on an inbounds pass, curled to the hoop, caught a pass from Carter and dunked with two hands over two Warriors. That gave the Mavs a 73-70 lead and was part of an 8-0 run.

Stat of the night: The Mavs didn’t extend their NBA-record streak of games with a made 3-pointer until the final play of the third quarter, when West knocked one down from the right corner. They missed their first 14 3-point attempts and finished 3-of-19 from long range. The streak now stands at 1,084 games.

DALLAS -- Delonte West is a pretty tough guy, so he knows tough when he sees it. And he says Jason Terry is as tough as they come.

Terry showed it when midway through the fourth quarter of a still nip-and-tuck battle against the Houston Rockets, he yet again made a determined drive to the bucket. Terry broke free and rose up, going for a rare, one-handed stuff against Houston big man Patrick Patterson.

He got to the rim, but couldn't finish off the dunk as he got hammered to the ground and was left their laying flat on his back, writhing in apparent pain, knees bent and his feet alternately pounding the floor.

"He gave us all a scare for a minute," West said. "I saw his legs go underneath him and that's not good. But, one thing I learned about Jet, he's a fighter. I played in Seattle (2007-08) before they moved to Oklahoma City and I visited his high school. All they could talk about is his toughness. When he jumped up, I knew what time it was."

Go time, is what West meant. Suddenly, Terry went from needing an ambulance to hopping to his feet and bouncing to midcourt while waving his arms and playing to the crowd in typical Jet fashion.

"He didn't need an ambulance," Jason Kidd said. "When you got a shooter or a scorer they want to get those two free throws. They’re not coming out of the game."

The Mavs' playoff hopes were greatly dependent on Wednesday's 117-110 victory over the Rockets, who were virtually eliminated from playoff contention with the loss.

Terry missed the second of the two free throws, but the first gave the Mavs a 97-92 lead with 6:22 to go. On the next possession, Terry drove again, but missed a 6-footer. But, the miss is beside the point. Terry, a streaky and often cold-blooded jump shooter who is also often criticized for living and dying by the long ball, is making a concerted effort in recent games to get to the cup, not unlike his fearless 2011 postseason.

"Yeah, I am," Jet said when asked if he's been more committed to drive. "That's what time of year it is for us and somebody's going to have to get to the basket for us. Again, sometimes it works and sometimes it don't. The one in the Lakers game I wish I had that drive back to do again. But, teams are playing me for my jumper. I have to be more and more aggressive to get to the paint."

1. Jet can still shoot it, too: Just because he's driving more doesn't mean Terry is going to stop launching 3s. He put six against the Rockets and nailed three of them. His first made 3 in the second quarter moved him ahead of Chauncey Billups and into fourth place on the NBA's all-time 3-point list. Terry now has made 1,786 3-pointers in his 13 seasons. Who's next on the list? Jason Kidd with 1,874.

2. Matrix takes a seat (again): For the second consecutive game, Shawn Marion was a spectator in the fourth quarter. The man the Mavs have pumped all season as a leading Defensive Player of the Year candidate has been stuck on the pine while Vince Carter has logged the crunch-time minutes. It's hard to argue with the results. At Utah, Carter had 18 points and 12 rebounds as that unit rallied from a nine-point deficit in the final five minutes of regulation and then went three overtimes before succumbing. Carter had a season-high 23 points against the Rockets and the fourth-quarter unit rallied to score 39 points for the win. Just don't expect to see Marion riding pine in the fourth quarter of playoff games when Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant are playing on the other team.

"We're trying to win games right now," coach Rick Carlisle said. "They had a good rhythm going and that's all it was."

3. Center rotation: Brandan Wright returned to the spotlight as the Mavs' three-headed center position continues to rotate from game-to-game. Against big Andrew Bynum and the Lakers on Sunday, Brendan Haywood played 38 minutes. At Utah, Ian Mahinmi logged 35. On Wednesday, Wright played 21 minutes, six more than the starter Haywood and nine more than Mahinmi. Wright finished with four points and five rebounds.