If loving is Wright, I don't wanna be rong...

There's a first time for everything.

Tonight, I watched Antoine Wright become everything that bothers me about this Mavs team. Except the exact opposite.

He was slashing to the hoop. He was only taking jumpers when absolutely necessary, but they weren't overly contested jumpers, he manged to get good looks and hit most of them.

Sure, he could have hit some more free throws. Sure, he was 0-for-5 from three-land. But guess what?

Without him, the Mavs wouldn't be .500. Without him, the Pacers would have shut the Mavs down on the scoreboard just as easily as they did on the boards.

Is this the beginning of Antoine Wright's rise to superstardom? Probably not. But it's a start. More importantly, this changes the spectrum of the Mavericks' lineup, especially when it comes to trades.

If Stackhouse wants to leave, then he might not need to be replaced with another swingman. After all, James Singleton is playing good minutes, Green has been good, and when Howard gets back, that's a pretty good depth at the 2 and 3 spots, especially if Kidd and Terry are on the court at the same time.

That leaves the Mavs room to chase after someone like Chris Kaman, someone who can give them a good interior presence.

A package including Stack and Damp might be appetizing to the Clips.

Other notes on the Mavs/Pacers game:

• Jason Terry is like a magnet. He's either thrilling you with clutch jumpers and drives to the basket, or he's infuriating when those same shots rim out.
  
• This was the first time in ten games that the Mavs haven't outrebounded their opponent. The Mavs record when they win the Battle of the Boards? 5-5. When they lose the battle of the boards? 2-2. This means that winning on the boards isn't key for the Mavs to win the game, but of course, it helps.
  
• The Mavs are finally taking that final step in a comeback: taking the lead. They seem to do fine tying the game or getting within a possession, but then it all falls apart. While this is good news, it's going to be much harder to break that barrier against the teams they need to beat to go deep into the playoffs.
  

A win is a win, an a gutty one like this is always satisfying.

We'll see what happens Friday against the Lakers. After a three day layoff, it took the Mavs close to 45 minutes to get into this game, and they won't be able to do that against the Lakers after another three day layoff.

Let's hope Carlisle can find a way to keep the momentum fresh over the holiday to the end of the week.

Don't go too crazy on the turkey, Dirk.