ESPN

The Mavericks aren’t in the playoffs for the first time since 2000, so we have to find something to fill the time this spring. Might as well keep up with the players from the Mavs’ title team who are scattered throughout the postseason. We’ll have daily updates as long as Mavs championship alums are still alive in the playoffs.

PODCAST
ESPN.com senior NBA writer Marc Stein joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to touch on the storylines in the NBA playoffs and offer a Mavs perspective. Listen

Jason Terry: JET’s best work since signing with Boston has come since the Celtics’ backs were pinned against the wall.

Terry followed up his Game 4 overtime heroics with a 17-point, four-rebound, three-assist, no-turnover, multi-wing performance in the Celtics’ win over the Knicks that forced the series back to Boston. Terry’s 5-of-9 shooting from 3-point range was critical to the Celtics building a double-digit lead that was too large for the Knicks to overcome.

"I'm a 14-year veteran," Terry said on TNT moments after the win. "If you don't know who I am by now, you will after this series."

That was apparently in response to Knicks sixth man J.R. Smith, who was suspended for Game 4 because of an elbow that connected with Terry’s head and stunk it up in Game 5, claiming that he didn’t know who Terry was.

Of course, JET has always been one of the league’s best at jawing. Case in point: He repeatedly referenced the Red Sox’s comeback from a 3-0 deficit against the New York Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series, quoting “the great Kevin Millar” about the pressure shifting with a Game 5 win.

Jason Kidd: Mouthy sixth man Smith’s miserable performance got a lot of attention, but Kidd didn’t exactly bring much off the bench, either.

In fact, this ranked among the worst playoff performances of Kidd’s Hall of Fame career.

The 40-year-old went scoreless in 21 minutes, missing all four shot attempts. His only other stats: two rebounds, one block, one turnover and one foul. No assists. His plus-minus was a team-worst minus-14.

Tyson Chandler: Having chipped off rust and worked his way back into shape after a neck injury caused him to miss 16 of 20 games entering the playoffs, Chandler came up with a typical Chandler outing.

The big man had eight points on 3-of-5 shooting, 11 rebounds and three steals in 34 minutes. The Knicks were plus-8 with the 7-footer on the floor.

"I felt great," he said. "This game is probably the best I've felt. I felt lively, my legs felt good."

DeShawn Stevenson: Stevenson played a grand total of 16 seconds in the Hawks’ tie-breaking Game 5 loss to the Pacers. He did manage to get up a shot that he missed.

Ian Mahinmi: Mahinmi played only 9:27 in the Pacers’ win. He probably would have seen more minutes if he didn’t pick up five fouls. He finished with two points, two rebounds and a block.

The Mavericks aren’t in the playoffs for the first time since 2000, so we have to find something to fill the time this spring. Might as well keep up with the players from the Mavs’ title team who are scattered throughout the postseason. We’ll have daily updates as long as Mavs championship alums are still alive in the playoffs.

DeShawn Stevenson: He dropped out of the rotation when the series went to Atlanta. After a DNP-CD in Game 3, Stevenson played 45 seconds in Game 4. He did at least manage to avoid a trillionire stat line, grabbing one rebound in the Hawks’ series-tying win.

Ian Mahinmi: Mahinmi got his most playing time of the series, logging 12 minutes in the Pacers’ loss. He had three points, four rebounds, a block, a turnover and four fouls.

The Mavericks aren’t in the playoffs for the first time since 2000, so we have to find something to fill the time this spring. Might as well keep up with the players from the Mavs’ title team who are scattered throughout the postseason. We’ll have daily updates as long as Mavs championship alums are still alive in the playoffs.

DeShawn Stevenson: Stevenson hit one of his two 3-point attempts and grabbed five rebounds during 19 minutes off the bench in the Hawks’ lopsided loss to the Pacers. The problem was the defensive stopper couldn’t stop Indiana star Paul George, who torched the Hawks for 27 points.

That’s a two-game trend. According to NBA.com, George has 31 points on 12-of-21 shooting in 53 minutes against Stevenson this series. George has scored 42 points on 14-of-37 shooting in 106 minutes when Stevenson was on the bench.

Ian Mahinmi: Mahinmi made his Pacers playoff debut, checking in with 3:10 remaining and Indiana up by 33. He had a dunk and three rebounds during his garbage-time stint.

The Mavericks aren’t in the playoffs for the first time since 2000, so we have to find something to fill the time this spring. Might as well keep up with the players from the Mavs’ title team who are scattered throughout the postseason. We’ll have daily updates as long as Mavs championship alums are still alive in the playoffs.

DeShawn Stevenson: Stevenson had six points, four rebounds and an assist in 25 minutes off the bench in the Hawks’ loss to the Pacers. He busted out the 3 monocle twice, knocking down both of his shot attempts. His most memorable plays, however, were a couple of hard fouls.

Ian Mahinmi: DNP-CD.

DALLAS – Mark Cuban makes one guarantee about any potential moves the Mavericks make before the trade deadline.

“If you read about it,” Cuban said, “it ain’t happening.”

Of course, that comes from the man who once advised a reporter to “put the crack pipe down” in response to an inquiry about a package the Mavs might send to New Jersey for Jason Kidd. That blockbuster deal went down days later and looked a lot like the reporter’s proposal.

There was also a lot of pre-trade buzz the last time the Mavs pulled off an All-Star weekend blockbuster, shipping Josh Howard and spare parts to Washington for Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson.

One good rule to follow around this time of year is to take anything said on the record by an NBA decision-maker with a few big grains of salt.

“That’s probably true,” Cuban said. “You’re a very handsome man.”

When Brendan Haywood first arrived in the big trade that shipped out Josh Howard in February 2010, the big man in the headband was putting up double-doubles and instantly became a favorite among fans starved for aggressive, enthusiastic center play.

At the time of Haywood's arrival (along with Caron Butler and DeShawn Stevenson), Erick Dampier was injured. Once Dampier returned, Haywood lost his starting gig -- and he wasn't exactly thrilled with it. He would get a promise that summer from coach Rick Carlisle that the starting job would be kept warm for him as they looked to unload Dampier and his fully non-guaranteed final year.

Only they unloaded Dampier and acquired Tyson Chandler, who wasted no time winning the starting job, another decision that didn't sit well with Haywood for much of the championship season.

Haywood's production in Dallas was a roller coaster. The flashes came and went, and so did the duds. His engine didn't run nearly as hot as his fervor for fantasy football, and that was a big issue when the Mavs needed much more out of the position this season.

He was injured for the majority of the NBA Finals and was horrible this past postseason in the sweep to the Oklahoma Thunder, having his playing time basically stripped while averaging 3.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in 15.3 minutes a game, less than backup Ian Mahinmi.

The writing was on the wall at that point that if the Mavs landed Deron Williams -- therefore forcing the use of the amnesty clause on either Haywood or Shawn Marion to create enough cap space -- the 7-footer would be the one to get it.

Even though the Mavs did not get Williams, Wednesday's one-year agreement with Chris Kaman and the Mavs' desire to pursue amnestied 76ers forward Elton Brand, have made Haywood expendable. If the Mavs get Brand, they'll essentially swap out Haywood and Mahinmi for Brand and Kaman.

Haywood, 32, will now be up for bid among teams with cap space. Portland, which lost out on Roy Hibbert after making a max offer to the restricted free agent and was prepared to make an offer for Brook Lopez, and New Orleans could be bidders. If no team bids on him during the waiver process, Haywood will become a free agent.

That summer of 2010, when Carlisle visited Haywood at his North Carolina home and made the promise, Haywood's next visitor was Heat president Pat Riley. If Haywood gets through the waiver process, he could sign a minimum deal and play for the defending champs for a second consecutive season.

No matter what, Haywood will receive the remaining $27.2 million over the final three years of his contract.

Among the many free agents the Dallas Mavericks have shown a level of interest in as they put offseason Plans A, B, C, D, etc., into motion, is their former first-round pick Josh Howard, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed Sunday.

Howard, who signed a one-year, $2.15 million deal last season with the Utah Jazz, has kept close ties to the Dallas community, holding charity basketball events a couple times a year and as recently as last month, and he continues to run his basketball camps. He still makes Dallas his home during portions of the year to be close to his young son.

"Absolutely," the source said of the 6-foot-7 small forward being interested in reuniting with the Mavs. "One of the good things for Josh, the fans are why he goes back to the community. They've supported him tremendously with his camps and foundation, even if he's out just eating lunch, they're very supportive."

During a November charity game he organized in Dallas during the lockout, Howard said he would have no problem returning to Dallas.

Any Mavs' moves at this point hinge on Deron Williams. If the the Mavs agree to terms with the All-Star point guard, money will be tight and Howard will be seeking a multiyear deal after his reemergence last season.

The source said Utah remains a strong possibility to re-sign Howard and that he feels a sense of loyalty to the franchise that gave him a chance to get his career back on track. He averaged 8.7 points and 3.7 rebounds mostly in a reserve role in 43 games. He played just 18 games in 2010-11 with the Washington Wizards.

The source said the Lakers, Nets, Spurs, Celtics, Grizzles and Hawks have also shown initial interest in Howard.

At his lockout charity game, Howard, 32, also talked of maturing and having learned from past mistakes that contributed to his 6 1/2 seasons in Dallas going up in smoke. The Mavs traded him to the Wizards in 2010 in the deal that netted Dallas Caron Butler, DeShawn Stevenson and Brendan Haywood.

But just four games after joining the Wizards, Howard, who fought chronic ankle and wrist issues in his latter years with Dallas, tore the ACL in his left knee. A long recovery and rehab, and then subsequent knee issues, he said, have helped to humble him and to turn his focus back on his basketball career as he now embarks on his 10th NBA season.

FRISCO, Texas -- Charles Barkley of course wasn't without his opinions on the Dallas Mavericks and their pursuit of Deron Williams.

Here's what he had to say Saturday from Dirk Nowitzki's Heroes Charity baseball game.

Q: How will Mavs fare if they don't land Williams?

A: It won’t put them obviously in a good situation. But I'm not sure even if they get Deron, they’ve got to get bigger, too. That was the difference last year when they had Tyson and DeShawn Stevenson and those guys, they were much bigger. The reason they lost to the Heat the first time is they were too small, too finesse. But if they get Deron, will they be better? Yeah, they’ll be better, but I'm not sure they can beat the bigger teams out West."

Q: Are you surprised the Mavs broke up their title team and put all their eggs in the Williams basket?

A: Somewhat because I thought they should have kept Tyson Chandler because I think he’s in his prime and really made them a big team, tough, with Dirk and Tyson down low.

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

The offseason certainly arrived much sooner than anyone could have predicted, just like Lamar Odom's premature exit from the Dallas Mavericks.

The 6-foot-10 forward kicks off our offseason blog series that ranks the 2011-12 Mavericks roster in order of importance for the front office to bring back. Four of last season's six free agents found new homes with the exception of Peja Stojakovic, who called it a career after winning his first championship, and Brian Cardinal, who re-signed but made virtually no impact on the season.

Eleven months ago, the title team proved difficult to rank in importance and I started the Countdown with DeShawn Stevenson as the least important. It drew quite a few raised eyebrows from those wondering how I could possibly consider the defensive bulldog and surprisingly valuable 3-point shooter the least important member of the title team to bring back.

In retrospect, the choice probably violated the spirit of this series. I chose Stevenson not because I didn't think he was an asset and worthy of returning for a chance to repeat, but because the Mavs traded for shooting guard Rudy Fernandez, a move that, to me, signaled that Stevenson wouldn't be back. Who would have figured that neither Stevenson nor Fernandez would start the season with the Mavs?

This time around the lead-off man in these rankings is a no-brainer. Odom's career-worst season has to go down as the most disappointing season in the league and one of the more frustrating ones for a franchise in recent memory.

With that, on with the series:

LAMAR ODOM
Pos: SF/PF
Ht/Wt: 6-10, 230
Experience: 13 years
Age: 32 (Nov. 6, 1979)
2011-12 stats: 6.6 ppg (35.2 FG%), 4.2 rpg
Contract status: Signed through 2012-2013
2011-12 salary: $8.9 million
2012-13 salary: $8.2 million ($2.4 million guaranteed)

His story: There's a certain reality TV show on a certain entertainment channel starring a certain Kardashian sister and her basketball-playing husband that can provide the background of what went wrong in Odom's four short months with the Mavs. What didn't go wrong? Dallas thought it was getting a versatile forward who would help ease the pain of losing Tyson Chandler by supplying his unique skills that had helped the Lakers win back-to-back titles. Owner Mark Cuban says he'd make the trade all over again that brought the emotionally bogged-down Odom to Dallas for a draft pick and a trade exception. And hey, when the stunning trade went down Dec. 11, most thought the Mavs had just pulled off a coup and wondered why in the world the Lakers would seemingly just hand over last season's Sixth Man of the Year to the team that swept them out of the playoffs. Now we know.

His outlook: Odom is actually under consideration for a spot on Team USA for the London Games because of the rash of injuries that have taken out star players like Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard. Cuban actually said he'd love to see it, but only because he has such disdain for Olympic basketball, so he figures the two were meant to be together. Where Odom lands next season will be a far more intriguing story to follow. For starters, Dallas will try everything it can to dump him off on a team with loads of salary cap space such as Toronto or Sacramento and throw in $3 million to offset the $2.4 million guaranteed on Odom's deal next season. If the Mavs can't dump him in a trade, they'll waive him and be responsible for the $2.4 million, which will eat into their cap space this summer. Such a result will not please Cuban. No matter what, Odom will be long gone from this organization. A return to the Lakers is not likely since they can't add him to the roster for a full year after the date he was traded, Dec. 11. Could he land with the Miami Heat, one of his former teams that obviously will be a contender for years to come? Well, if he wants to sign for a fraction of his actual 2012-13 salary, then it's possible. Of course, no team might risk much more than a couple million anyway. How about the team with which he started his career, the Los Angeles Clippers? Possible. Caron Butler is signed for two more years at small forward, but Kenyon Martin and Reggie Evans are free agents.

The Countdown
No. 15 Lamar Odom
No. 14 Coming Tuesday

DALLAS -- Whether Rick Carlisle returns to the Dallas Mavericks next season or takes his coaching chops somewhere else, no one can take away the day he raised the banner to the rafters.

PODCAST
Coop and Nate discuss the end of the Mavs' season and look ahead to what's next for the team. Listen

"It was great," Carlisle said during Sunday's exit interviews when he still kept talk of his contract status under wraps. "The raising of the banner is one of the most emotional moments I’ve had in 28 years in this league. Really, it’s hard for me to explain, but when I walked out there with my daughter, it was the beginning of a season no one believed was going to happen [because of the lockout], and the banner was there ready to be raised. I became very emotional and I was choked up about it, for a lot of reasons.

"Part of it is the personal journey you go through during that period of time and you think about the opportunity you were given to come into that situation and how grateful that you are, and also the great players you had to work with. And again, probably the foremost thing was just the experience that the fans got to go through when we were able to win it that year."

The lockout provided the Mavs the rare opportunity for multiple celebrations. They raised the banner before the season opener Dec. 25 and then had the ring ceremony a month later when J.J. Barea and the Minnesota Timberwolves rolled through town. Then there still several more more ring deliveries when departed members of the title team like Tyson Chandler, Caron Butler and DeShawn Stevenson came in with their new teams.

During each ceremony, Carlisle brought the player to midcourt with a heartfelt introduction.

"That was a great moment, giving the guys their rings was a great moment," Carlisle said. "It was just one of those years, every time we handed out rings, we ended up losing games. Not every time, what was it two out of four? Thank God Butler missed that shot. I never would have heard the end of that in a text message from him."

Butler nearly hit a game-winning 3-pointer in his return to the AAC with the Clippers. Hard to believe just 11 months ago, Butler, unable to play despite his frantic rehab to get back on the floor, was on the stage on Miami's home floor raising the championship trophy.

Now Butler has the best chance of any of the title-team Mavs to advance to the second round. And the Mavs have plenty of time to watch.

"Time goes by fast and it doesn’t seem like 11 months ago," Carlisle said. But look, as great as the championship run was, there always comes a time when you have to look forward and that’s where things are at now. I look at this summer for this franchise as a summer of opportunity and excitement, and I don’t think anybody should look at it any differently."

DALLAS -- If guard Jason Terry has played his final game with the Dallas Mavericks, he will leave feeling he and the remaining members of the championship team didn't get a fair shot to repeat.

Terry was the most vocal Mavs player throughout the season regarding owner Mark Cuban's decision not to re-sign key free agents from last season's championship team because of changes to the collective bargaining agreement. After being swept out of the first round by the rising Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night, Terry, a free-agent-to-be for the first time in his career, said the personnel on this team wasn't good enough to contend.

"Every year I’ve been on the Mavericks team and we’ve had a realistic chance, it’s because of the personnel," Terry said. "Look at your personnel and what they surround you with, your core nucleus, and you can see if you have a realistic shot. For us, it was a long shot. Nobody’s going to downplay that at all. If you look at our roster to a man, it was a long shot this year. But we still made the playoffs, but we just didn’t have enough."

Terry said Cuban knows that this team didn't have a fighting chance to contend.

"Yeah, he knows it, the city knows, we all know it as players," Terry said. "But with the team we have, the nucleus we have, the core group of guys, we feel like we can beat anybody, that’s just us as competitors. But, again, you have to have the personnel. You have to have the personnel to get it done."

Cuban maintained from early in the season to as recently as right before the playoffs that this team was better than the one that bulldozed through the Trail Blazers, Lakers, Thunder and Heat to win the franchise's first title in 31 seasons. Cuban, citing changes to the CBA that focused his team-building strategy on cap space for the coming summer, did not bring back defensive-minded center and team leader Tyson Chandler, penetrating point guard J.J. Barea and gritty defender and 3-point shooter DeShawn Stevenson, among others.

Prior to Saturday's Game 4, Cuban said he had no regrets about not bringing back the title team and said he fielded the best possible team he could given the constraints of the new CBA.

The Mavs' key acquisitions included Vince Carter in the twilight of his career and Lamar Odom, whose emotional baggage got the best of him and forced Cuban to kick him off the team.

Asked if he believed last year's title team would have had a legitimate shot to repeat if left intact, Terry initially said he didn't know before quickly changing his tune.

"I do. Why not?" Terry said. "That’s the team I wanted, so I believe we’d be just as good as anybody. But you can hope and wish and think about that all you want, but the reality of it is the season’s over and we’ve got the future to look forward to. Thank God for my health and my family."

Terry received support from longtime teammate Dirk Nowitzki after the game. Nowitzki has mostly toed the company line when it came to talking about not bringing back the team.

“Knowing as players, we were for sure disappointed in December in free agency when we didn’t get the same team back,” Nowitzki said. “That’s for sure.”

Now Terry, after eight seasons in Dallas, and the Mavs head toward a crossroads this summer. Terry, 34, will likely be seeking a new home to end his career as the Mavs face an overhaul of the roster and their most uncertain future in Cuban's dozen years as owner.

"You know we like to make changes year-in and year-out, but not a complete overhaul," Terry said. "That’s what this is going to be, an entire different ballclub I would expect. But, the formula is there, the formula’s there. We set the bar very high last year with what we did and what we accomplished. They know the formula and it’s on them to put it back together."

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.

Rodrigue Beaubois remains somewhat of a riddle as the guard with Globetrotter-like flair from the little island of Guadeloupe nears the end of his third NBA regular season.

Is he a point guard or a shooting guard or both? Can he be more of a competitor than an entertainer? Does he merit a significant role once the Mavs’ roster is fully healthy?

PODCAST
ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM's Tim MacMahon joins GAC to discuss what went wrong for the Mavs in their loss to the Lakers and if booing Lamar Odom was the right thing for Mavs' fans to do. Listen

And the biggest question right now about Roddy B.: Can the Mavs really count on the kid in prime time?

The answer to that question at the end of Beaubois’ injury-interrupted sophomore season was absolutely not, which is why the Mavs’ vets successfully lobbied for DeShawn Stevenson to replace him in the starting lineup for the regular-season finale and postseason. The Mavs are still in the process of figuring out whether Beaubois is really big-game ready after another year of seasoning.

His splendid performances in wins over a pair of playoff teams -- the Spurs and Nuggets -- during the last week were certainly encouraging. Was Beaubois’ off night in the loss to the Lakers just a hiccup or him reverting to form against high-caliber competition?

“These are all great opportunities for him to get better,” coach Rick Carlisle said after Wednesday night’s loss to L.A., when Beaubois had six points on 3-of-12 shooting and struggled defensively when matched up with Kobe Bryant or Ramon Sessions. “This has been one of the more difficult teams for him to play against if you look at his history, but I will remind everybody that the last two games were against pretty damn good teams, too, and he played terrific.

“We’ve got to stay the course with him. To be fair, we’ve got to look at larger blocks of time and we’ve got to have discretion about when we get the microscope out.”

It’s notable that this was the first time Beaubois got off the bench against the Lakers this season. He sat during the Mavs’ first two losses to Kobe and Co. this season, as Carlisle called those “veteran’s games.”

As Carlisle mentioned, Beaubois has never had much success against the Lakers. He had a couple of particularly painful-to-watch performances in losses to the Lakers during the brief experiment with Beaubois as a starter last season.

Is that because of matchups -- good luck finding many guards who feast against Kobe -- or because the figurative lights are too bright for Beaubois?

“It just wasn’t a good night for me,” Beaubois said. “It was tough for me to find a rhythm and the shot wasn’t going in. That doesn’t help, but I have to find a way to help the team even when my shot doesn’t go in. Tonight, that wasn’t the case. I have to do a better job of that.

“It happens, but I have to be ready for the next one.”

The next one happens to be against the Spurs, the one elite West foe that Beaubois has given fits.

Beaubois only non-garbage time playoff experience came out of desperation when the Mavs dug a big hole in a win-or-the-end Game 6 against the Spurs in the 2010 first round. He got the Mavs back in the game with 16 points in 21 minutes before Carlisle made the controversial decision to go with ice-cold Jason Terry as the Mavs fizzled down the stretch.

Two of Beaubois’ best games this season came against the Spurs. As the fill-in starting point guard, Beaubois had 14 points and seven assists in a Jan. 29 overtime win, when fellow Frenchman Tony Parker was 2-of-11 from the floor and watched the entire fourth quarter and OT from the bench with the rest of the Spurs’ starters. Beaubois had 16 points and a career-high-tying eight rebounds in last week’s win over the Spurs.

“I don’t think he looks at any game like prime time,” Jason Kidd said. “I think he just wants to get better at his craft and we all want to help him get better. It’s not about prime time. It’s just a matter of being good and being consistent. That’s what we all fight to try to do.”

That might be true, but Beaubois has more to prove than any other holdover from last season’s Mavericks' roster. With the Mavs two games into a 10-game stretch against playoff competition, he’ll have plenty of opportunities to do it.

For the fifth and final time, the Dallas Mavericks will have a ring ceremony. This time it will involve one of the biggest pieces from their 2010-11 NBA championship -- Tyson Chandler. Chandler, the starting center on last year's team, will be presented with his ring prior to the Knicks-Mavericks game Tuesday night at American Airlines Center.

The Mavericks held ring ceremonies for the returning players from that title team and individual ones for Caron Butler, DeShawn Stevenson and Corey Brewer. Peja Stojakovic and J.J. Barea attended the team ceremony.

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle will say a few words prior to tip-off and present Chandler is ring.

"It's been a moment I've been waiting for really since we won," Chandler said. "[Been] doing a lot of celebrating and looking forward for the hardware."

Monday was the first time Chandler had been in the AAC since the end of the ticker tape parade through downtown Dallas. The Knicks practiced on the Mavericks' practice court and it brought back some great memories for Chandler.

"Coming back in this gym was an amazing feeling, just remembering the practices we went thought to get to the championship," Chandler said. "It brought back a lot of memories and a lot of motivation again; it couldn’t have happened at a perfect time. It's given me motivation for the second half of the season to definitely get my team over the hump."

After that championship season, Chandler expressed a desire to re-sign with the Mavericks, but owner Mark Cuban elected not to bring him back. So Chandler signed a four-year deal with the Knicks to add to a front line that already had Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire.

Chandler said he's not upset to not be playing for the Mavericks and still stays in contact with several former teammates, including Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion.

"It was confusing at the time," Chandler said of how he left the Mavs for the Knicks. "Once I became a Knick, I let it all go. I never harbor any feelings. I understand this is a business at the end of the day. So you can't get frustrated or angry with somebody for making a business decision that they think ultimately is what’s best for their franchise, whether or not I think it's right or wrong."

Chandler, who is averaging 11.6 points and a team-leading 9.8 rebounds, is playing through a left wrist injury that requires him using a pad to minimize the force to his hand and also has his wrist taped. He's having difficulty grabbing the ball and fumbled a pass tossed to him by point guard Jeremy Lin during Sunday's overtime loss to the Boston Celtics.

He hasn't been a major force this season like he was in Dallas, but he's not second-guessing his decision to sign with the Knicks.

"No, I just understand [the business]," he said. "I know what it takes to win a championship. At this point, I'm not going back to the early days in my career where I sit around and I don’t voice my opinion. I'm going to push my teammates and myself and hopefully at the end of the day it makes us a contender."

DALLAS – If you’re looking to blame somebody for the Mavs’ failure on the final two possessions, pin it on coach Rick Carlisle.

But the majority of Tuesday night’s 93-92 loss to the New Jersey Nets is on the Mavericks’ players.

The Mavs rallied from a 10-point deficit midway with five minutes remaining to put themselves in position to pull out a victory in a game they really had no business winning. The Mavs got two chances to win it after the Nets regained the lead with 42.4 seconds remaining, but both possessions ended with bricked 3-point attempts by Jason Kidd.

“It didn’t work out, so that’s on me,” Carlisle said when asked about the final possession of the game. “In fact, the last two plays of the game -- those are on me. I take full responsibility for those.”

After Brook Lopez’s free throws, the Mavs tried to operate the offense through Kidd on the post despite the fact that Nets All-Star Deron Williams is a strong, physical defender for a point guard. That possession turned into a scramble that ended with Kidd jacking up a contested 3 as the shot clock ticked down.

On the last possession, the Mavs went to a play that used to be Avery Johnson’s favorite, getting Dirk Nowitzki the rock above the elbow and letting him go to work. Nowitzki kicked it to the corner to Kidd when the double-team came as he dribbled, and Kidd ended up putting the ball on the floor before throwing up a 3 with DeShawn Stevenson all over him at the buzzer.

The ball didn’t even draw iron.

“I should have shot the first ball that he gave me,” said Kidd, who was 1-of-7 from the floor with his lone bucket a 3 that briefly gave the Mavs the lead in the final minute. “I had a wide-open look. And then D-Steve got his hands on the pump-fake.”

Added Nowitzki, who finished with 24 points but was 7-of-19 from the floor, including 1-of-6 in the fourth quarter: “Me having the ball in the high post, I don’t think that’s a bad play. We’ve seen that a million times. The one before that was probably a little questionable.”

Jason Terry certainly wasn’t thrilled with the plays called down the stretch, but that’s because he’s a competitor who wants the ball in his hands with the game on the line. Yes, even on a night when Terry was 4-of-14 from the floor and 1-of-5 in the fourth quarter.

“I don’t know if it’s lack of execution or play-calling or whatever you want to call it, but we didn’t get the shot we wanted,” Terry said. “That’s why we lost.”

Actually, you can make a strong argument that the Mavs lost because they let a bad team build a double-digit lead. The Mavs stunk it up on both ends for most of the night against the 11-25 Nets.

And it’s sort of a stretch for Carlisle to take all the blame for the final two possessions, although it’s in character for him. Maybe his best move in his tenure as the Mavs’ coach was taking the blame for the Game 4 collapse in the first round of last postseason, when he fell on the sword for failing to adjust defensively as Brandon Roy carried the Trail Blazers to a comeback from 23 points down.

We all remember how the Mavs rallied after that moment of misery.

Carlisle considers it his duty to call himself out in this sort of situation, even though he had two future Hall of Fame players on the floor that failed to execute. It gives him the credibility to call out his players when necessary.

“If I’m going to get on their ass about not being into the game early, then I’ve got to be willing to take the heat when the two plays at the end of the game don’t work out,” Carlisle said. “It’s accountability; that’s how it works.”