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ESPNDallas.com will estimate the market value for each of the Mavericks' eight free agents and examine their worth to the Mavs in a once-per-day series.

Mike James

Mike James was a heck of a pickup off the scrap heap for the Mavericks. But he certainly isn’t a long-term solution for their glaring hole at point guard.

Give the journeyman credit. He worked his way back into the NBA via the D-League for the second consecutive season and contributed much more to the Mavs -- the 11th team of his NBA odyssey -- than anyone other than himself anticipated.

James actually started the last 23 games of the season and was relatively productive during that span, averaging 8.2 points and 4.2 assists while shooting 41.9 percent from 3-point range. The Mavs went 15-8 in that stretch, keeping their slim playoff hopes alive until the final week.

James has said he hopes to play two more years for the Mavs. However, the odds of him being given a two-year deal are significantly less than the Mavs’ puny chances of winning the lottery.

Maybe James can be an insurance policy again for the Mavs, but there’s no good reason to guarantee a roster spot to a player who has been available in the middle of the season each of the last four years.

2012-13 stats: Averaged 6.1 points, 3.1 assists, 1.6 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.2 turnovers while shooting 37.3 percent from the floor and 38.4 percent from 3-point range in 19.2 minutes per game.

Age: 37

Comps:

Derek Fisher – Averaged 5.3 points, 1.4 assists, 1.1 rebounds, 0.6 steals and 0.9 turnovers while shooting 34.2 percent from the floor and 37.5 percent from 3-point range in 17.4 minutes per game. Played this season for prorated veteran’s minimum salary.

Pablo Prigioni – Averaged 3.5 points, 3.0 assists, 1.8 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 1.1 turnovers while shooting 45.5 percent from the floor and 39.6 percent from 3-point range in 16.2 minutes per game. Played this season for the league minimum.

PODCAST
Rick Carlisle joins Chuck Cooperstein and Tim MacMahon to discuss the Mavericks' disappointing season and what needs to happen for them to get back to the playoffs. Listen

Chris Duhon – Averaged 2.9 points, 2.9 assists, 1.5 rebounds, 0.4 steals and 0.9 turnovers while shooting 38.2 percent from the floor and 36.3 percent from 3-point range in 17.8 minutes per game. Signed a four-year, $13.25 million salary during the 2010 offseason.

Jeremy Pargo – Averaged 6.8 points, 2.4 assists, 1.3 rebounds, 0.3 steals and 1.3 turnovers while shooting 39.6 percent from the floor and 33.8 percent from 3-point range in 16.8 minutes per game. Played this season for prorated veteran’s minimum salary.

Estimated contract: If James gets invited to a training camp, it’s likely to be for a nonguaranteed veteran’s minimum deal.

The Mavericks will explore all potential avenues of improving the talent on their roster, but upgrading at point guard is the top priority.

While Darren Collison confidently declared Thursday that he believes he could start for any team in the league, the Dallas decision-makers clearly don’t share that opinion. After all, they opted to start Derek Fisher and Mike James over Collison in a season that president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson described as a “point guard odyssey.”

PODCAST
Donnie Nelson joins Chuck Cooperstein and Tim MacMahon to discuss the Mavericks' season and the importance of this summer. Listen

The Mavs might welcome Collison back as a backup, depending on the price. They’ll search this summer for a long-term starting solution at a spot that coach Rick Carlisle calls “the most important position in the league.”

“We’ve been spoiled with Jason Kidd and Stevie Nash before,” Nelson said during a Thursday appearance on ESPN Dallas 103.3’s Galloway and Company. “I think the quarterback position is just a really, really important one. I’d say that that’s up there.

“That’s no disrespect for anyone. Darren Collison did a terrific job with a tough situation, and we’d certainly be open to the conversation of him coming back, but (upgrading point guard) has got to be in my mind first and foremost.”

The pie-in-the-sky scenario: Sign Chris Paul. Of course, the odds of him ditching a talented, young Clippers team to come to Dallas to play with a mid-30s core are awfully slim. As Mark Cuban recently said, he’ll be rooting for teams with free agents the Mavs might target to lose early in the playoffs. Would Paul consider leaving the Clippers if they flame out in the first round?

PODCAST
Rick Carlisle joins Chuck Cooperstein and Tim MacMahon to discuss the Mavericks' disappointing season and what needs to happen for them to get back to the playoffs. Listen

Paul will be the perfect fit, but the Mavs must be prepared to find their point guard of the future somewhere else. They might be able to draft next season’s backup with the 13th overall pick, assuming they don’t get amazing lottery luck, but a team determined to drastically improve its basketball IQ isn’t going to hand the reins to a rookie to run the show for 30-plus minutes a night.

It’s time for the Mavs to find a proven veteran point guard to fill Kidd’s shoes.

“I don’t know exactly what style, but the guy’s going to have to be able to score,” Carlisle said on Galloway and Company. “The guy’s going to have to be able to come off screens and hit shots, because when you’re come off screens from Dirk, you’re going to be open because of the way guys play him.”

A quick look at some of the other potential long-term upgrades available in free agency:

Jose Calderon: The Mavs have been involved in trade discussions about Calderon, as recently as midseason, when he got dealt from Toronto to Detroit in the three-way Rudy Gay deal. Calderon, who turns 32 in September, is a pass-first point guard who is a very efficient offensive player. He has career averages of 7.2 assists and 1.7 turnovers per game and is an excellent shooter (.483 FG, .399 3s, .877 FT). His flaws: He doesn’t penetrate well and is a poor defender, especially against speedy point guards.

Monta Ellis: The 27-year-old is not really a point guard. He’s a scorer (career 19.4 ppg) who sometimes plays point guard. He’s dangerous off the dribble and trouble in transition, but Ellis jacks up a lot of long jumpers and doesn’t make very many. He attempted 328 3s this season despite hitting only 28.7 percent, the lowest of any player with at least 200 tries. The idea of Ellis running pick-and-pops with Dirk Nowitzki is intriguing, but can a guard who has never averaged more than six assists per game in a season be counted on to consistently deliver Dirk the ball in prime scoring situations? And Ellis doesn’t exactly have a great defensive rep, either, despite his high steals totals.

Jarrett Jack: Jack, who turns 30 in October, is coming off his best season, averaging 12.9 points and 5.6 assists as the sixth man for a playoff team with Golden State. He’s an excellent midrange shooter and very effective hitting floaters off the dribble. He has a low turnover rate, the kind of strength and toughness Carlisle wants in a point guard and hit a lot of clutch shots for the Warriors this season. But Jack is really a combo guard who has never averaged more than 6.3 assists per season and struggles defensively against quick point guards. Like Kidd, he’s actually better defending shooting guards.

Brandon Jennings: Can the former lottery pick flourish under Carlisle’s coaching? Would it be worth offering enough to the restricted free agent for Milwaukee not to match? The 23-year-old Jennings, who has butted heads with his Bucks coaches, is on the record saying he’d love to play with Dirk and for Cuban and Carlisle in Dallas. His shooting percentage might soar in that situation, but the fact that it’s 39.4 percent for his career is a red flag. So is his slender frame (6-foot-1, 169 pounds). Oh, and so is the fact the Bucks have occasionally benched him during crunch time down the stretch this season. But Jennings (17.5 ppg, 6.5 apg this season) has shown enough flashes of brilliance to at least make him intriguing.

Jeff Teague: He’s a restricted free agent on a playoff team that has a ton of cap space, so the Mavs would have to overpay to get Teague. The four-year veteran is a quality young point guard, averaging 14.6 points and 7.2 assists this season, but it’s difficult to envision the Mavs throwing a ton of money at him.

Mo Williams: The 30-year-old Williams is best suited as a scoring sixth man, not a starting point guard. He’s a good spot-up 3-point shooter and knocks down a lot of midrange jumpers off pick-and-rolls, but he’s never been more than an average driver or distributor. Plus, Williams has major durability issues, having missed at least a dozen games in seven of the last eight seasons, including 36 with the Jazz last season, when he averaged 12.9 points and 6.2 assists.

There are, of course, other ways for the Mavs to acquire point guards. Hey, maybe Cuban can come up with some kind of multi-team deal that lands Rajon Rondo in Dallas.

DALLAS – It’s not unusual for Shawn Marion to use colorful language in the locker room, even when he’s in a good mood.

But you know the Matrix is mad when he drops the dreaded E word. And Marion mentioned effort, or a lack thereof, repeatedly after the Mavs managed to let the Suns snap a 10-game losing streak with an 11-point win Wednesday night.

PODCAST
Marc Stein joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss the Mavericks' 12-year playoff streak coming to an end. Listen

“You can’t control the ball going in the hoop, but you can control your effort,” Marion said. “I think when you’re not able to go out there and give it your all, give it 110 percent, then something’s wrong. Maybe you need to sit down, you know?

“At the same time, there’s no reason we should have lost this game tonight. Being a professional athlete, dealing with the ups and downs we’ve had this season, you’ve got to look at yourself and ask, ‘Are you giving it your all? Are you doing what’s in your control to go out there and compete and leave it on the floor?’ …

“Effort is the only thing you can control. You can’t control the ball going in or if you can a turnover here or there or whatever or vice versa, but you can control your effort. That didn’t happen tonight.”

Marion didn’t single out any particular Mavs, saying they were all at fault.

A few more notes from what might have been the Mavs’ most embarrassing loss of the season:

1. Dirk won’t sit: The Mavs are officially eliminated from playoff contention, but Dirk Nowitzki has no plans to call it a season.

Nowitzki said he has no intention to sit out any of the Mavs’ final four games.

“I’m going to finish the season like everybody else and try to win the next game,” Nowitzki said. “Try to get at least to .500. We’d love to finish with a positive record. That means something and we’re going to fight for it.”

Nowitzki, who sat out the fourth quarter Sunday after aggravating bone spurs in his ankle, said he felt “fine” after taking a little longer than usual to get loose early in the game.

2. Hairy situation: The Mavs grew tired of .500 beard talk two weeks ago, when they failed to reach the break-even point, getting blown out by the Indiana Pacers.

It’s a subject they certainly don’t want to discuss at this point. They’re now 0-for-3 when they have a chance to reach .500 since sprouting those beards.

“Everything is just being overblown,” said Vince Carter, one of six Mavs who are part of the pact. “All the beard, this, that – let’s just take care of business, just win the game. When that time comes, we’ll take care of it. If not, it is what it is. Right now, it’s just all about winning. That’s what it has to be.”

3. Death by Dragic: The Mavs didn’t make a serious attempt to sign Goran Dragic this summer before he agreed to a four-year, $30 million deal with the Suns. Whether he would have been a long-term solution in Dallas is debatable, but he definitely dominated the Mavs’ stopgap point guards Wednesday.

The 26-year-old Dragic had 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting and 13 assists.

“Dragic was the best player on the floor,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. “He shredded us really from the start of the game to the end.”

Darren Collison, the 25-year-old the Mavs traded for this summer, had three points on 1-of-6 shooting and three assists in 19 minutes off the bench. Mike James, the 37-year-old D-League callup-turned-starter, had nine points and three assists in 27 minutes.

DALLAS -- If the Dallas Mavericks reach for their razors now, their wrists might be in serious danger.

This was supposed to be the night the Mavs finally shaved those ridiculously bushy .500 beards that represent how much a proud franchise’s standards have been lowered during this miserable season.

PODCAST
Marc Stein joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss the Mavericks' 12-year playoff streak coming to an end. Listen

Instead, it ended up being the night that the Mavs buried their dozen-year playoff streak.

Technically, the Los Angeles Lakers shoveled the last dirt on the Mavs’ withered playoff hopes by winning in Portland late Wednesday night. But the Mavs have nobody but themselves to blame for being eliminated with a week remaining in the regular season.

Never mind for now what happened in the first 77 games of this frustrating season. Forget about the wouldas and couldas, such as owner Mark Cuban’s pregame suggestion that the Mavs might be a fifth or sixth seed if only Dirk Nowitzki didn’t miss a career-high 29 games this season.

The Mavs couldn’t beat the stinkin’ Suns!

Let that sink in for a moment. The Mavs let a terrible team that had lost 10 straight games, including one the previous night in Houston, punk them on their home court.

“There’s been a lot of terrible losses in our season,” Nowitzki said after the 102-91 spanking by the Suns. “This is one we had to have.”

This is one that appeared pretty much impossible for the Mavs not to win. After all, their foe was a fatigued team with the Western Conference’s worst record by far.

Nevertheless, coach Rick Carlisle declared Wednesday morning that anyone around these parts taking any games for granted is a “f------ idiot.”

So how the heck did the sorry Suns beat the Mavs by double digits?

“I guess we underestimated them and they came in here and got a win,” said Shawn Marion, who joins Nowitzki as the lone players left from the 2011 title team on the Mavs’ active roster.

Added Vince Carter: “I think we just took their record, their streak for granted, if you ask me. We just can’t do that.”

For more than a decade, Mavs fans could take a playoff berth for granted. They definitely can’t do that anymore, not as the front office prepares for another major offseason overhaul after the first full season of the Mark Cuban era that will end before the first round.

The Mavs knew it’d take a miracle to make the playoffs once they lost to the Lakers in Los Angeles last week. As Nowitzki said, it’s not like the Mavs’ hopes were crushed Wednesday night.

They were just humiliated in front of a home crowd announced as a sellout. (Hey, at least the sellout streak continues! It’s at 470 games and counting, the longest active sellout streak in pro sports after the Boston Red Sox didn’t fill Fenway Park on Wednesday for the first time since 2003.)

This was the third time over the last two weeks that the Mavs had a chance to finally reach .500. Call it the Curse of Omar the Barber if you want, but the Mavs have been blown out each time.

The Pacers won by 25, the Lakers by 20 and the Suns by 11. An eternal optimist might consider that progress, but it’s pretty pathetic.

“I view these one game at a time,” Carlisle said. “I’ve been around this too long and been humbled too many times to be looking ahead or be thinking in terms of the mountain of getting to .500. That’s not what anybody’s about around here.

“This was about winning one game and then getting ready for the next game. We had a disappointing night.”

It’s yet another disappointing night in a dreadful season by the standards of a franchise accustomed to 50-win campaigns.

“Had another great opportunity tonight to do something special,” said Mike James, the journeyman midseason addition who has been the Mavs’ starting point guard for the past month. “We’ve just got to fall off the horse, regroup and get back on it.”

If that horse is the Mavs’ season, its death certificate was signed late Wednesday night.

Of course, the Mavs might not even be able to beat a dead horse. Heck, they couldn’t even beat the sorry Suns, which is such a sad way to see a spectacular streak die.

A combination of Bikram yoga, early morning track workouts and the copious amounts of drilling in the gym with longtime NBA guard John Lucas has helped keep the Mavericks' Mike James far fitter than most 37-year-olds.

And playing his way into the starting lineup for a team in a full-fledged playoff race has convinced James that he can play at the highest level for another season or two.

PODCAST
Marc Stein joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss the Mavericks-Lakers game Tuesday night. If the Mavs lose, are their playoff hopes over? Listen

"My plan is to play two more years and my hope is to be able to finish my career here in Dallas playing for Rick, Donnie and Mark and with Dirk," James said, referring to Mavs coach Rick Carlisle, team president Donnie Nelson, owner Mark Cuban and star forward Dirk Nowitzki.

"If there's one thing my career has taught me, it's (that) what I hope and what happens are sometimes two different things. But this experience since I've been here has made everything I've gone through extremely worth it. Now we just got to make these playoffs."

The Mavericks became James' 11th NBA stop in early January when he was called up from Dallas' D-League affiliate in nearby Frisco and signed to the first of two 10-day contracts. Well aware of the Mavs' seasonlong struggles finding consistency from their point guards, James joined the Texas Legends with the intent of convincing Dallas that he could still contribute. One game with the Legends did the trick, with James gradually working his way into the starting lineup by early March.

The move partly stems from Carlisle's belief that projected starter Darren Collison is more effective coming off the bench, but there's no denying the impact of the switch: Dallas is 10-4 with James starting.

Despite appearing in a mere 15 NBA games over the previous three seasons, James averaged 9.2 points and 4.7 assists in 26.4 minutes per game in March and shot 45.6 percent on 3-pointers.

"I said to my agent (Bernie Lee) the other day, if everything that happened to this point in my career happened to bring me to play for Rick at this stage of my life to prepare me for this, then it's been worth it," James said.

"I'm in the middle of this right now and all that matters to me is making the playoffs. I want this so bad, I can't express it. But in the summer when I take a step back and look at it, I think I'll be able to appreciate it more, the fact that I fought really hard to be a part of this team."

James has a natural bond with fellow vets Elton Brand and Vince Carter -- referring to Carter as his welcoming committee when he first got to town -- but likewise has a lot to say about playing with Nowitzki, who didn't do too badly in March, either.

Dirk's numbers for the month: 20.0 points per game on .548 shooting from the floor and .468 shooting on 3s.

"Being that I've been so many places and played with so many quote-unquote superstars, I think I have a pretty good handle on (that description)," James said. "And Dirk is the best I've ever played with or been around.

"He's hard-working, humble, intelligent and doesn’t miss anything. On off days, he's in the weight room or in the pool. He's so intelligent and driven to know his body and what he needs to do to get ready. I wasn’t here when he was hurt and I know it's been a challenge for him, but over the last few weeks, day by day, you can see his work paying off."

DALLAS – Remember how high folks around these parts were about Rodrigue Beaubois’ potential back in the summer of 2010?

That was right after his rookie season, when Rick Carlisle was heavily criticized for not giving the kid more minutes, especially after Beaubois went on a scoring flurry to give the Mavs a chance to steal Game 6 during the only significant playing time he received in Dallas’ one-and-done playoff run.

PODCAST
Marc Stein joins Fitzsimmons & Durrett to discuss the historical perspective of Miami's 27-game win streak, the Mavericks' playoff push, the job Rick Carlisle has done this season and if it's a good idea for the Mavs to shave their .500 beards. Listen

The Mavs’ front office had plenty of company in terms of being tantalized by Beaubois’ talent. Despite Mark Cuban’s declaration that Beaubois was essentially “untouchable,” Donnie Nelson’s cell phone rang often with offers for him.

One such offer occurred on draft night, as Nelson revealed after Cuban paid $3 million for the rights to select Dominique Jones with the 25th overall pick. A team dangled a lottery pick, Nelson said with a smile, but the Mavs weren’t interested due to their major plans for Beaubois.

Why is that relevant right now?

That team was the Indiana Pacers. They settled for selecting Paul George with the 10th overall pick.

Beaubois watched from the bench with his surgically repaired left hand in a cast while George dominated the Mavs on Thursday night. George lit up the Mavs for 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals to lead the Pacers to a lopsided win that bumped the Mavs to two games under .500.

“He’s right now approaching being a top-12 or -15 player in this league, which means he’s a top-12 or -15 player in the world,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s that good.”

The oft-injured Beaubois, on the other hand, is approaching an uncertain future as a free agent this summer. He certainly never sniffed the star status envisioned for him after his flashes-of-brilliance rookie season, ending up as a fringe rotation player.

The 22-year-old George is one of the league’s most versatile wings. He’s a phenomenally athletic 6-foot-8, 210-pounder who does a little bit of everything, averaging 17.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.8 steals this season, earning his first All-Star bid.

In other words, George is exactly the type of young talent the Mavs would love to pair with Dirk Nowitzki. Of course, that’s what they thought Beaubois would be back during his untouchable days.

Having said that, Cuban claims he has no regrets whatsoever about not selling high on Beaubois.

“That’s like saying, why didn’t I sell this stock or that stock in 2006?” Cuban said recently. “Why didn’t I short all the mortgages and banks in 2007? I might be rich. No, I don’t look back on things like that. Ever.”

It was hard not to while watching George go off Thursday night.

A few more notes from the blowout that will keep the Mavs’ beards growing:

1. Lost opportunity: This loss stung even a little more when the Mavs learned that the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Milwaukee Bucks

Had the Mavs won, they would have been even with the ninth-place Utah Jazz and only a half game behind the Lakers in the fight for the West’s final playoff seed. But the Mavs got blown out instead.

“Terrible time to have a dud,” Elton Brand said. “It’s disheartening. So many ups and downs in the season. It’s one of those games that [if] we win, you see the Lakers lose and feel great about yourselves. To have a dud on your home floor is definitely disheartening.”

Added Nowitzki: “Knowing the Lakers lost now, we had an opportunity to cut into their lead. And it sucks. It sucks.”

2. Off game for James: Mike James, the 37-year-old journeyman guard, has been an unlikely catalyst for the Mavs’ recent success. They were 9-3 with James in the starting lineup entering Thursday night.

Make that 9-4 after James’ worst performance as the Mavs’ starting point guard.

James was scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting and had as many fouls (four) as assists. The Mavs were outscored by 22 points in his 21 minutes, giving him the worst plus-minus of the night.

“Whatever happens, there’s no excuses,” James said. “I’m not going to make no excuses about my play. I didn’t play a good game tonight. I know my team needs my energy, so I’ll get myself ready tomorrow to play on Saturday.”

3. Playing in pain: O.J. Mayo shrugged off a question about his sore left shoulder Thursday morning, saying it was “just a little swollen” and would be OK.

It’s clearly somewhat of a concern, considering that he wore a harness to protect the shoulder against the Pacers. He injured it when he crashed into the courtside seats while chasing a loose ball late in Tuesday’s win over the Clippers.

“He’s wearing that thing, so it’s bothering him some,” Carlisle said. “He hasn’t missed a practice or a game all season, so he’s going to keep battling.”

DALLAS – Mike James has every reason to believe that the Dallas Mavericks are a playoff-caliber team.

PODCAST
Galloway & Company discuss the latest with the Mavericks, including them closing in on .500 and getting to shave their beards. Listen

After all, they are 22-14 since the 37-year-old journeyman guard joined the Mavs on a 10-day deal in January. They are 9-3 in games that James has started.

“Maybe I’m the rabbit’s foot,” James joked after Thursday’s shootaround.

James is completely serious when he discusses Dallas’ opportunity to earn the right to play in the postseason and the potential to do some damage if they get there.

“We know we’re a playoff team,” James said. “But because of our record and how slow we started, especially before I got here, we’ve had to dig ourselves out of a hole. Let’s just say if the season started in January and you take away the first half of the season and just talk about what we’ve done from January to now, we’re one of the better teams in the NBA.”

That’s not an exaggeration.

James’ first game with the Mavs was Jan. 9, when he played five seconds in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers that dropped the Mavs to 10 games under .500 for the first time in a dozen years. The Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies and Indiana Pacers are the only teams that have a better record since then.

“Were we a playoff team early? No,” James said. “But are we a team that could really make a lot of noise in the playoffs? Yes. I believe that if we get in, we’re going to be dangerous for any team to play against because we’re going to be playing our best basketball.”

DALLAS – Maybe the Mavericks will get rid of those bushy beards before they hit the beach.

As has been well chronicled, several Mavs made a pact a couple of months ago that they wouldn’t shave until they get back to .500. (We assume all bets are off once the season is over.) They’ve at least reached the point where grabbing a razor appears to be realistic.

With eight wins in their last 11 games, the Mavs (34-36) are within two games of .500 for the first time this calendar year. The last time they were this close to breaking even was when Dallas had a 12-14 record in late December.

The Mavs’ playoff hopes have also been boosted from puny to possible. They’re only two games behind the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Lakers with an April 2 date at the Staples Center looming.

But first thing’s first.

"Making the playoffs is most important,” Elton Brand said, “but shaving is essential."

Can the Mavs go for the Gillettes on this homestand? It won’t be easy. They have three playoff teams – the Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls – coming to town this week.

But the Mavs, who are 21-13 since being a dozen-year-low of 10 games under .500, consider themselves a playoff team despite what the standings say. They’ve got a dozen games left to prove themselves right.

“We’ve got to keep pushing forward,” Mike James said. “We’ve put ourselves in a good situation. It’s been tough, the hole that we had to dig ourselves out of, but we’re still fighting to get out of it. We’ve got to get our nails dirty. We’ve got to continue to get our nails dirty and dig ourselves completely out of this hole that we put ourselves in at the beginning of the season.

“We’re playing probably the best basketball that we’ve played all season now, and this is the right time to be peaking.”

A few more notes from the Mavs’ closer-than-it-shoulda-been win:

1. Recharged Brand: Friday night wasn’t the first time Elton Brand had been a DNP-CD during his decorated NBA career. The rest were just when his coach opted to rest him before the playoffs.

In this case, coach Rick Carlisle thought Brand could benefit from a game off, especially against the small-ball Celtics. Brand’s performance in Sunday’s win proved Carlisle right.

“I always want to make my boss look smart,” Brand said, half-kidding after he had 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting, five rebounds and two blocks in 17 minutes. “It worked. I definitely felt fresher. Even had a dunk.”

Forget the dunk. Let’s discuss Brand’s defense.

After the first quarter, it looked like Al Jefferson would feast on the Mavs. Utah’s beefy big man had 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the first quarter but finished the game with only 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting.

Credit Brand for cooling off Jefferson, who had only three points on 1-of-4 shooting in the 11 minutes he was defended by the 6-foot-9, 255-pound 14-year veteran. Jefferson has 10 points on 4-of-18 shooting in 41 minutes against Brand this season.

“Against the big bruisers – and they’re coming in, it’s gonna be a murderer’s row of them the next three games – we need to have Elton fresh,” Carlisle said. “He did a great job tonight.”

2. 86 seconds of stink: The Mavs almost managed to screw up 46-plus good minutes with a miserable finish.

The Jazz scored 16 points in the final 1:26 of what should have been garbage time to make it a one-possession game with 7.3 seconds remaining. The Mavs survived after Darren Collison iced the win with a couple of free throws, but their coach wasn’t exactly thrilled.

“My team’s execution in the last minute and a half? I’m in favor of it,” Carlisle said, borrowing a line from former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Rich McKay. “The end of the game was ugly, but we got through it. I guess I’ve been around this long enough to realize and understand that you can’t make a win feel like a loss.”

3. Dirk’s rest: The Mavs didn’t need Dirk Nowitzki to play a second in the fourth quarter to pull out the win.

It’s nice to be able to limit the 34-year-old to 26 minutes in a win under any circumstances. He ought to have fresh legs when the Clippers come to town Tuesday, assuming he isn’t under the weather.

Nowitzki left the locker room before the media entered because he was feeling a bit ill, although it isn’t anything the Mavs are concerned about.

“Watching the last minute of that game made everybody sick,” one Mavs staffer cracked.

DALLAS -- You can consider the fact that the Dallas Mavericks' starting point guard is a 37-year-old dude who had played a total of 15 games in the previous three NBA seasons and had to beg for a D-League audition a few months ago as proof of just how far this proud franchise has fallen.

Just know that the Mavs are 8-3 since inserting Mike James into the starting lineup.

As a result, with a dozen games to go in the regular season, Dallas has a reasonable chance to contend for the West’s last playoff spot. James, who has played a key role in the Mavs pulling within two games of the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Lakers, is loving every minute of it.

“I’m like a little kid in a candy store,” James said with a wide smile after scoring a season-high 19 points -- his most in a game since 2009 -- and dishing out five assists in the Mavs’ 113-108 win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday. “People don’t understand how much fun I’m having out there.”

It’s a heck of a lot more fun than sitting at home and hoping the phone rings.

James, who didn’t make his NBA debut until he was 26, had to fight to get in the league in the first place. He managed to carve out a productive career -- winning a championship ring as a Detroit Pistons reserve in 2004 and averaging 20.3 points per game for the Toronto Raptors a couple of seasons later -- and he refuses to let it end.

Here he is with his 11th NBA team, having successfully lobbied for an audition with the D-League’s Texas Legends that lasted two games before the point guard-desperate Mavs called him up. He survived two 10-day contracts and has thrived as a starter, averaging 10.4 points and 4.8 assists in the past 11 games to help the Mavs get hot.

“They keep trying to tell me that I’m not able to play this game,” James said, still smiling. “They keep telling me that the game has passed me by. It’s not about proving nothing to no one, but it’s like, you know what? Because everyone keeps trying to tell me I can’t play this game no more, I’m out there having a great time.

“I’m out there doing something that I love doing, looking forward to tomorrow’s practice because I love working.”

While he’s in phenomenal shape for a man his age, James had to work himself back into NBA game shape after joining the Mavs. That, of course, is to be expected of a player who didn’t have a full-time job the previous three years and was out of the league for the entire 2010-11 season.

James’ shooting percentage looked like a mediocre utility man’s batting average for several weeks. It’s still only 36.5 percent overall, but James has hit 40 percent of his 3s this season, including 29 of 60 in March.

“Once he got his legs, you could just see he had more arc on his shot,” sixth man Vince Carter said. “He’s just been in an unreal rhythm for our team.”

James is far from a perfect point guard. He’s really a combo guard who is more comfortable scoring than distributing, which is why he took the brunt of the blame when Dirk Nowitzki's hot hand didn’t get fed nearly enough in the Mavs’ past two losses.

But the Mavs appreciate James’ fearless attitude. They respect the way he fights and love that he never shies away from a challenge, whether it’s taking a big shot, defending the opponent’s best guard or whatever else is necessary to keep the Mavs’ playoff hopes alive.

“He has a tremendous enthusiasm for the game, and he competes,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s a competitor. He’s a gamer.

“The thing I like about him: He’s one of these guys that has great experience, and he has great confidence in himself. If there’s blunt things you need to say to him, you can be completely straightforward with him. He’ll take everything the right way, and he’ll keep battling his butt off.”

James had to battle his butt off to just get back into the league. He’s having a grand ol’ time helping the Mavs win now, as hard as it all is to believe.

A dominant stretch of seven-plus minutes made the difference in what had been a back-and-forth game.

The Dallas Mavericks roared off on a tiebreaking 20-2 run that began midway through the third quarter.

Point guard Mike James had seven of his season-high 19 points during the spurt, highlighting his highest scoring game in four years. Vince Carter, another one of the seven Mavs who scored in double figures, added six of his 15 points during the game-changing stretch.

But Dallas’ defense was the most remarkable thing about the run. The Jazz were 1-of-11 from the floor with five turnovers, while the Mavs seized control of the game.

That run could pay dividends the rest of the homestand, which wraps up with three games against playoff teams next week. It allowed coach Rick Carlisle to rest Dirk Nowitzki for the entire fourth quarter. Nowitzki finished with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting in 27 minutes.

The Utah Jazz dominated garbage time -- going on a 21-7 run to pull within three points with 7.6 seconds remaining -- to make the game look much closer than it was.

It appeared early on that Utah center Al Jefferson might be too much for the Mavs. He had 11 points in the first quarter, but he scored only two buckets the rest of the game, finishing with 15 points. The physical defense of Elton Brand (10 points, five rebounds in 17 minutes) was a major factor in cooling off Jefferson.

What it means: The Mavs pulled even with the Jazz at 34-36. They’re tied for ninth place in the Western Conference standings, but Utah holds the tiebreaker due to the Jazz’s two home wins over Dallas earlier this season. The Mavs have won eight of their past 11 games and are only two games behind the eighth-place Los Angeles Lakers.

Play of the game: Brandan Wright had only a few buckets, but one of them was a beauty. After Carter missed a wild fadeaway in the lane, Wright soared over Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors for a one-hand putback slam in the first quarter.

Stat of the night: The Mavs are 17-3 when they shoot at least 50 percent from the floor this season. They made 54.3 percent of their field goal attempts Sunday.

DALLAS – Jet never really got off the runway during his return to the American Airlines Center.

Jason Terry, the man coach Rick Carlisle refers to as Mavericks royalty, received a standing ovation when he checked into the game but never made much of an impact for the Boston Celtics. Playing in Dallas for the first time since essentially being forced to leave in free agency, Terry was held to eight points on 3-of-9 shooting and had as many turnovers as field goals.

“It was a good feeling, but I was solely locked in on the game,” Terry said of the warm welcome from Mavs fans. “It was good to see everyone, but I’m a Celtic now.”

It’s been a tough week for Terry. People are still buzzing about LeBron James’ and-1 dunk over him Monday. He went scoreless in Wednesday’s loss to the New Orleans Hornets. And he was a nonfactor against his former team, when he had about 100 friends and family members in the stands.

“We have great respect for Jet and what he can do in a game,” Carlisle said. “I think our guys just gave him the respect he deserves and really played him hard. They just tried to make it tough. He got some shots. I’m not going to say we shut him down or anything like that, but guys battled him all night and that’s what we needed to do.”

Terry exchanged postgame hugs with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Carlisle and a few former teammates, but he wasn’t in a good mood after the Celtics’ third straight loss.

“All I was worried about was getting a win,” Terry said. “We have to end this road trip on a good note. Right now we’re just not getting it done.”

A few more notes from the Mavs’ bounce-back game:

1. Dirk’s workload: Rick Carlisle considers Dirk Nowitzki’s recent low shot totals “an overblown conversation” – and Dirk concurs -- but the coach posed one question when asked about the subject.

“Did he have more shots than Mike James?” Carlisle said.

Yep:

James – 2-7 FG, seven points, six assists

Dirk – 8-15 FG, 22 points

“That’s good. That’s good,” Carlisle said. “It’s an awareness that we have to have. You guys can all see what happens. When we slow down and start calling plays, teams lock into us. It’s a harder game for us to play because of how we’re set up. We have to have an awareness. We have to involve Dirk in as many things as we possibly can without having to call plays.

“A lot of attention is on the point guards for that, but really it’s a responsibility for everybody on that.”

A big part of it is on Nowitzki, especially when the Mavs succeed at pushing the pace.

“I ran to the box a little more early in transition,” he said. “That’s what I’ve got to do if things are not going well. When our flow is going well and we’re scoring, then I’m fine. We can swing it and pick and roll it. But if I feel like it’s getting into a hole a little bit, then maybe I just have to run to the box and demand the ball a little bit more.”

2. OJ vs. KG?: It’s nothing new for Nowitzki and Kevin Garnett, the league’s premier jaw-jacker, to exchange a little trash talk.

But O.J. Mayo got involved this time, stepping between the two (along with a ref) and telling Garnett, “Back off my man!” Not that Nowitzki noticed.

“He said he had my back,” Dirk said, “but I’ve got to look at the film to make sure he was actually there.”

As far as the KG-Dirk trash talk, Nowitzki called it “nothing” to some of the on-court conversations over the years between the two legends, power forwards who will get to the Hall of Fame with completely different games.

“He’s the man. He’s just a fierce competitor,” Nowitzki said. “We had a few words there, but actually if you go way back, we got into it more than it was today. That was the soft version.”

Nowitzki could have reminded Garnett of their lone playoff meeting, when the Mavs swept the T-Wolves in three games with 23-year-old Dirk putting up 30-15, 31-15 and 39-17, but it didn’t come up in the heat of Friday’s moment.

Mayo (10 points, nine assists) also managed to get the last word on Garnett. After hitting a dagger 3, a mismatched Mayo stole a pass intended for a posted-up Garnett with a little more than a minute remaining, then made sure KG knew about it.

3. Matrix reloaded: Welcome back, Shawn Marion.

After eight games out due to a strained calf, Marion was up to his old tricks, putting up 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds in 31 minutes. He also was the key to keeping Paul Pierce (16 ponts) in check and guarded St. Patrick’s Day star Jeff Green (10 points) in spots.

“I was able to do a lot of things I normally do,” Marion said.

That’s good news to the Mavs, whose recent rebounding struggles turned around, beating the Celtics by double digits on the glass.

“We missed his abilities as a basketball player,” Carlisle said. “He’s one of our best athletes. His activity is something you can’t duplicate with any other normal player. He’s just a very unique guy.”

DALLAS -- The good news: Dirk Nowitzki is shooting 74.2 percent from the floor in the last three games.

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Rick Carlisle joins Galloway & Company to discuss Jason Terry's return to Dallas, why Dirk Nowitzki isn't getting the ball enough at the end of games and much more. Listen

The bad news: Nowitzki has attempted only 31 shots in that span, including only 10 in each of the Mavericks’ two losses.

Yes, the Mavs want to be a balanced offensive team. But there’s no doubt that when Dirk gets hot, he needs to be fed a bunch more.

“It’s a team responsibility. It’s a coaching responsibility,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “Guys on the floor have got to make sure he’s touching it more. If I’ve got to call more plays to get the ball in his hands, I will.”

Carlisle can do his part by calling more plays designed for Nowitzki. Those plays still have to be executed, though.

And that’s why this is a point guard issue, as much as anything.

Nowitzki admits he’s been spoiled during his career, having played long stretches with Steve Nash and Jason Kidd, two of five men in NBA history with more than 10,000 assists. Now Mike James, a 37-year-old journeyman combo guard, is the Mavs’ primary point.

James has attempted more shots than Nowitzki in each of the Mavs’ last two losses despite the fact that the future Hall of Famer was 80 percent from the floor in both games. James understands that’s far from ideal shot distribution.

“We’ve just got to make sure that we find him as many open looks as we possibly can,” James said. “Our offense, our team flows through Dirk. We understand that. I just have to make more of a conscious effort to just make sure he’s getting his attempts.”

With defenses focusing on Nowitzki, there can be a fine line between feeding him and forcing the ball to him. And the Mavs don’t want James, who is shooting 48.9 percent from 3-point range in the last 10 games, to pass up open looks to get Nowitzki the ball in tight quarters.

But there’s no question Nowitzki needs more touches, especially when he’s in a groove.

“It’s not about sacrificing,” James said. “It’s just about making sure that he doesn’t go down two, three possessions without touching the ball. We just have to make a conscious effort that whatever play we run, I’m making sure I’m really making an effort to look for him and find him.”

DALLAS – Darren Collison is one of the NBA’s best backup point guards.

That’s a backhanded compliment to a 25-year-old who entered the final season of his rookie contract determined to prove that he was a solid starter in this league.

That, however, is the reality of Collison’s role right now and most likely for the rest of the season. The Mavs are 5-3 since 37-year-old journeyman Mike James became the starting point guard, and coach Rick Carlisle has indicated on several occasions that he believes Collison’s game is best suited for coming off the bench.

Collison accepts his role. That doesn’t mean he embraces it – and it isn’t the ideal situation he’ll search for in free agency this summer.

“In my heart, I know I’m a starter,” Collison said. “I know what I’ve done. As of right now, I’m just trying to help the team win.”

Carlisle emphasizes that he still considers Collison, who was demoted for Derek Fisher earlier this season, to be as important to the team now that he’s a reserve than he was as a starter.

"Even though he’s an off-the-bench guy at this point and time, I view him as one of our starters," Carlisle said. “Much like Jason Terry was for four years here. Jet was one of our better players, but he came off the bench and gave us a lot in that role. We need Darren to do the same thing."

J.J. Barea is probably a better comparison, but you get Carlisle’s point.

Collison’s minutes haven’t seen too steep of a drop since he stopped starting. He averaged 31.1 minutes in 51 starts, compared to 24.8 in the last eight games.

Collison’s production isn’t drastically different in the reserve role, either. He has averaged 12.1 points and 4.1 assists while shooting 49.3 percent from the floor in the last eight games. As a starter, Collison put up 12.6 points and 5.7 assists per game, shooting 46.7 percent from the floor.

The biggest difference: Collison's plus-minus has been plus-51 in the last eight games; it’s minus-101 in his 51 starts.

“I think he’s in his wheelhouse right now,” sixth man Vince Carter said. “He’s very comfortable. And I think he gets the opportunity to kind of analyze the game before he plays it now. The game slows down and he’s playing at a really high level.”

Collison acknowledged that there are some benefits to coming off the bench. He gets to study the flow of the game for the first five minutes, and he typically tries to use his speed and quickness to increase the tempo. Plus, he feels that he has a little more freedom as a reserve.

“As a starter, you kind of want to get everybody involved the first five minutes,” Collison said. “When you come off the bench, everybody’s kind of already had their touches. You want to be a little bit more aggressive coming off the bench.”

Given the choice, Collison wants to be a starter. But that’s not an option in Dallas right now. Whether it is somewhere else will be determined in the free-agency market this summer.

DALLAS – The Mavericks have lost only two games during Dirk Nowitzki’s career when he has shot at least 80 percent from the floor with more than one attempt.

The Mavs are 14-2 in such games. The exceptions just happen to be their last two losses.

Nowitzki was 8-of-10 from the floor in Wednesday’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets, when he scored 16 points. He was also 8-of-10 in Sunday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, when he scored 23 points.

This leads to a logical question: With Nowitzki locked in, why the heck isn’t he getting more than 10 looks in a game?

“They don’t leave me much anymore,” Nowitzki said, referring to opposing defenders hugging up on him at virtually all times. “It’s up to other guys to make plays. It’s as simple as that.

“I can’t wrestle every time to get the ball. You can’t do that for 48 minutes. I’ve got to pick my spots, take open shots when it’s there. I think we’ve been running pick-and-roll pretty well. Because guys are not really leaving me much, guys are pretty much walking in the lane, getting stuff out of that. I’m going to keep picking my spots and be aggressive when I need it.”

While Nowitzki doesn’t see it as a problem, it’s still unsettling to see 37-year-old journeyman guard Mike James get more shots than the 18th leading scorer in NBA history. That happened in both of the Mavs’ last two losses.

However, with the Mavs’ offense becoming less and less reliant on the longtime staple of Dirk isolation plays, that will probably happen again a few more times in the final 14 games.

“If you really watch the game, he’s touching it,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “It’s just teams work to take his shots away. That’s why balance is so important to us. That’s why we don’t want to get in a situation where we’re just pounding it to him every single time. That takes a big toll on him.

“That’s why we work toward movement and balance and tempo. When we have to go to him, we go to him.”

A few more notes from the loss to start the Mavs’ critical six-game homestand:

1. Lopez lights it up: Deron Williams has made it known that he loves shooting the ball at the American Airlines Center. Brooklyn big man Brook Lopez can surely relate.

Lopez scored a season-high 38 points Wednesday night, matching his scoring total from last year’s visit to Dallas. He was 15-of-22 from the floor, with all but three of his buckets coming in the paint.

“Chris (Kaman) did a good job guarding him in the post, but then there were residual things,” Carlisle said. “There were penetrations, there were breakdowns, there were other things that led to him being able to get into openings and cracks. Some of the stuff is just that we’ve got to be more solid individually within our system. Hey, tough night.”

2. Dreadful D: Allowing 113 points per game isn’t the kind of trend the Mavs want to continue.

“The irony is this is the same number of points we gave up the other night in Atlanta, but we scored 127, so it all seemed like it was OK,” Carlisle said. “But this is an ongoing challenge for us being able to keep teams at or under 100. We’ve got to keep going and keep working at it.”

The Nets shot 50.6 percent from the floor and scored 52 points in the paint.

“Our defense just wasn’t good enough,” Nowitzki said.

3. One-man rebounding machine: Another frequent problem for the Mavs popped up against the Nets. They got dominated on the glass, getting outrebounded by a 45-34 margin.

Brooklyn power forward Reggie Evans did a lot of the damage, grabbing 22 rebounds. He had eight rebounds in the second quarter, matching the Mavs’ team total for the frame.

As soon as Vince Carter ended a Dallas scoring drought of almost four minutes by drilling a 3-pointer, he turned to the Mavericks bench and twirled his right index finger.

The message: Keep the ball coming to him.

The Mavs did just that. And Carter definitely delivered, scoring 13 of Dallas’ final 17 points to carry the Mavs to the 115-108 win over the Bucks.

“I felt in a groove and the basket just seemed extremely big,” Carter told reporters after his 23-point performance. “I felt comfortable with my shot. I was just in the flow of the game.”

Correction: Carter dictated the flow of the game down the stretch. He was 4-of-6 from the floor in the final 5:31, including three 3-pointers and a high-degree-of-difficulty driving lefty layup.

“Vince was spectacular again,” Dirk Nowitzki told reporters. “The shots he made – the 3s, behind the screen, off the dribble, hanging-in-the-air, lefty, wraparound layup – just phenomenal down the stretch. He really took the game over for us and really won it.”

This sort of performance from the 36-year-old sixth man doesn’t come as a surprise. The Mavs count on Carter to put up the kind of numbers that could merit serious Sixth Man of the Year consideration.

Carter has five 20-plus-point performances in the last month. He’s hitting a career-best 41.5 percent of his 3-point attempts this season.

His numbers during the Mavs’ season-best-matching four-game win streak: 17.8 points per game, 23-of-40 from the floor (57.5 percent) and 13-of-19 from long range (68.4 percent).

“It’s just phenomenal,” Nowitzki said. “I think every time he shoots the 3 now, it’s going in. That opens up his drives and he’s still got strong legs and he’s still got some hops and some hang time in there and can make unbelievable plays.”

A few more notes from the Mavs’ win in Milwaukee:

1. Happy homecoming for Crowder: Jae Crowder had a bunch of big games at the Bradley Center while starring for Marquette. He made himself at home in his first NBA visit to Milwaukee, too.

Crowder snapped out of an offensive mini-slump with 14 points, one shy of his NBA high, on 6-of-9 shooting. He grabbed a season-best eight rebounds and played a productive 36 minutes, during which the Mavs outscored the Bucks by 14 points.

“I love this building,” Crowder told reporters. “I’ve played a lot of games here. I felt comfortable here and I felt comfortable with the game plan, and it just worked out for me.”

The love was mutual. The Bradley Center crowd welcomed Crowder back with warm applause when his name was announced with the starting lineup, as he filled in for Shawn Marion for the third consecutive game.

“He’s about all the right things – plays hard, into winning, team guy – so I was really happy for him coming home,” coach Rick Carlisle told reporters. “I told him after the game that I wish we could play all the games here.”

2. On point: Mike James put up season highs in points (13), assists (7) and rebounds (6) as the Mavs improved to 4-0 with him in the starting lineup.

Rodrigue Beaubois made the most of some rare non-garbage playing time, providing a spark when Darren Collison briefly left the game in the second quarter to get his left eye checked. Beaubois had all of his seven points and three assists during that frame, igniting the Mavs’ 15-0 run that gave them the lead for good.

Milwaukee’s Brandon Jennings, a soon-to-be restricted free agent who has expressed interest in coming to Dallas, didn’t make much of a case for the Mavs to pay him big money. Jennings was held to four points on 2-of-7 shooting and five assists. He sat out crunch time, as was the case in the Bucks’ Feb. 26 win in Dallas, when Jennings had eight points on 3-of-11 shooting and six assists.

3. Mighty Wright: Brandan Wright’s streak of four consecutive games scoring in double figures was snapped, but he made a major impact on the win over Milwaukee.

Wright played 33 minutes, getting the bulk of the playing time at center after starter Chris Kaman was benched a little more than two minutes into the game. Wright had nine points, eight rebounds, three blocks and a steal. The Mavs were plus-17 with Wright on the floor.