The Mavericks beat the Indiana Pacers handedly 91-82.

The Mavericks were able to provide their starters with a half night’s workload. Jason Kidd was able to get some well deserved rest, as Rod Beaubois was able to get some experience. Monday night also was a night that the Dallas crowd was able to see DeShawn Stevenson play quality minutes.

Both looked good.

Brendan Haywood was outstanding, grabbing a career high 20 boards in really only two quarters of play. Who would have guessed that Haywood would come to Dallas and make such a quick impression? Haywood looks extremely comfortable in a Mavericks jersey.

Dampier is still weeks away from coming back, and even then he will be limited for awhile. Yet one has to get excited watching Haywood play, and fantasizing about if and when Eric Dampier comes back healthy. They could provide a powerful duo.

The crowd saw a lot of Najera, Beaubois, Carroll, Barea, and Stevenson. Carlisle sprinkled in some starters with the second team, and it was obvious that he wanted to give Jason Kidd most of the night off.

One thing this game provided was a look at the back-up point guard position. Rod Beaubois and J.J. Barea both got some court time, and neither one really impressed. The Mavericks are not going to be able to rely so heavily on Kidd night in and night out. There has to be more production from either Barea or Beaubois.

The Mavericks have won 4 straight, and are looking healthy (outside of Dampier), and coming together as a team. These light games are always helpful down the stretch.

The Mavericks will be well rested come Wednesday when the Los Angeles Lakers come to town.

No sparkle, no shine, no flash. A win is a win though.

That’s why college football teams typically schedule really soft non-conference opponents. That’s why homecoming opponents are pushovers. For the NBA, that’s why you have the New Jersey Nets and New York Knicks.

For the last week the Maveicks were 2-2, beatting the tough Celtics and the dangerous Wizards while dropping to the lowly Raptors and even worse the hapless 76ers. Consistency has been lacking along with stand out play. However, with the team method by which these guys typically play there is hardly ever a single player that stands out (if there is it is generally Dirk). The Mavericks are generally a team where everybody contributes meaning that if one or two guys are off then the team suffers, possibly losing.

Playing the Knicks can definitely get you back in track. For the night, seven players scored in double figures, two of them for 20. If a stand out had to be picked I would have to say it was Drew Gooden who scored 15, but more importantly crashed the boards for 18. Even without J Kidd and Dampier, the team seemed to operate absolutely smooth. When you shoot 58% from the floor and 94% from the line that does not leave much to complain about.

The question then has to be just what the right mix is on the court. Both Kidd and Dampier are stellar players; Gooden seemed to fill in rather well but no one really filled in with the assists that Kidd typically generates. Could it be that the team just needs to run their plays and let guys score rather than have a point man like Kidd doing the distributing?

As the Mavericks look back on being involved in another ignominious first, handing the Knicks there biggest loss, 78-128, (the first handing the Nets their record breaking defeat to begin the regular season) they can rest assured that the offensive explosion is there. Now if they can just find a way to make it happen each and every night.