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Mark Cuban confident in his Dallas Mavericks

11:04 PM CDT on Monday, April 14, 2008
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News

It became clear on the Dallas Mavericks' 0-for-2 swing against lottery-bound teams in the Pacific Northwest that one of two dynamics is at work.

Either they would rather be the No. 8 seed than the No. 7 seed in the playoffs.

Or they're not very good.

View largerMore photos Photo store Owner Mark Cuban can make a strong case that the second alternative is incorrect, although evidence to the contrary is mounting.

"We're good," Cuban said. "As long as we get healthy, we're playing our best basketball. Guys are having fun for the first time in a long time. Guys are energized.

"I can give you 101 reasons. And the thing about the West is there's no great teams. Everybody has their ups and downs. Nobody is afraid of anybody, but no one is going to be an odds-on favorite, even one vs. eight."

All compelling statements, although it can be argued that the overall health of the Mavericks is not great, which has a direct impact on whether they are playing their best basketball at the most opportune time.

This is a team that thought it was hitting its stride after beating Utah last week. That game clinched a playoff berth and was the Mavericks' third win in four games against playoff-level competition.

Then, as coach Avery Johnson said after Sunday's 99-95 loss at Seattle, the focus seemed to drift.

Cuban sees it differently. He doesn't believe the Mavericks will have to capture lightning in a bottle to do damage in the playoffs.

"Not at all," he said. "Our turnovers have gone down, our defense has gotten better, our fastbreak points are up. There was a point last year, and this year, when teams would pressure us, and we wouldn't seem to know what to do with it. We're not getting into those moments now. You don't feel, 'Oh no, here we go again.' "

Referring to the games leading into last year's playoffs, Cuban said, "We weren't playing our best basketball, and we were playing a team that had beaten us a lot of times in a row.

"This year, we're playing our best basketball at the end of the year, which is a nice, nice change."

He may be right. The Mavericks have beaten Phoenix on the road and Utah and Golden State at home. The losses at Portland and Seattle can be explained away. Portland had a wickedly hot night, and the Mavericks were without Josh Howard and Jerry Stackhouse.

Howard returned against Seattle, but the Sonics were playing their last home game of the season and may leave town for good this summer. The home crowd juiced up the team, and the Mavericks got caught in the crosshairs.

Still, any well-oiled look about the Mavericks has disappeared.

"I don't think it's about any of the other teams," Cuban said. "If we do what we can do, we can beat anybody. And if they do what they think they're good at, they can beat us. It's who comes through. You can't point at any one team and say, 'Boy, oh boy, these guys have got all this.'

"It'll be interesting to watch, because the Lakers look like they'll have the No. 1 seed. And how many 3s did they shoot against New Orleans the other day? It was something like 40. If we walked into a playoff series after shooting 40 3s, what would you guys be writing?

"We'll see what kind of NBA truisms come to life in the playoffs."

Briefly: Stackhouse is expected to go through practice today and play Wednesday in the regular-season finale against New Orleans. ... Josh Howard said his right knee came through the Seattle game with no problems. "It's business as usual," he said. ... Dirk Nowitzki was impressed by the way Seattle and Portland played against the Mavericks. "They're out of the playoffs, but they came out with a lot of pride. I've been in that situation before back in my first couple of years, and all you can do is come out and play hard for the fans. That's what they did." ... The Mavericks and Hornets might be able to choose their playoff opponents with the outcome of Wednesday's game. It also could be a first-round preview, with neither team wanting to show too much of its proverbial hand.

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