Terry's present is showdown with Mavs' past point guard
DALLAS -- Maybe our country should consider moving NASA headquarters to Dallas. At the very least, national security should look into what they're doing down here. Seems they've uncovered a Jet capable of wiping out an entire fleet of Rockets.
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| The Houston Rockets have a tough time keeping up with Jason E. Terry -- or "JET," for short. (AP) |
Game 7 between the Mavericks and Rockets became the latest installment of the Jason "JET" Terry show. He helped push a 12-point edge to 24 by scoring 13 of Dallas' first 17 second-quarter points, putting the Rockets out of the playoffs in a stretch of five minutes.
They played another 31 minutes, but the outcome was already decided. The remaining developments simply extended the team's annihilation of Houston, with the 116-76 margin setting an NBA record for the biggest Game 7 blowout.
Now the real fun can begin. The Mavs will pack their bags for Phoenix, where they'll tip off a second-round series against former teammate Steve Nash and the Suns.
"When he gets going, it just gives everybody confidence," teammate Josh Howard said of Terry. "We're going to need him to do that for us (against Phoenix). He can score like Steve. He can distribute like Steve -- well, not quite that well, but he gets the job done. He's our quarterback."
As you know, there was a well-publicized quarterback change in Dallas this past offseason, with Nash leaving town and Terry coming over from Atlanta in the deal for Antoine Walker. Although initially the job of replacing Nash went to rookie Devin Harris, Terry quickly earned the keys to the offense despite the fact he's never been considered a natural point guard. As coach Avery Johnson has said, the Mavericks aren't expecting Terry to be "Tom Brady out there," but they are comfortable with what he can deliver.
In the first elimination game of his career, Terry pushed the tempo vs. Houston, set the tone defensively with his aggressiveness and led by example. All are traits of a point guard -- whether he's a shooting guard masquerading as one or not -- must have.
On Monday night, when Terry runs into the hardwood version of Tom Brady, Nash will have just collected an MVP award for his efforts in turning around the Suns. Dallas' American Airlines Center was already buzzing about the reunion that should take place late next week, and expectations are high after the type of game Terry delivered in a must-win situation.
During the regular season, Nash and Terry faced off as starters on only one occasion. Terry played just seven minutes due to an ankle sprain when Nash made a victorious return to Dallas on Nov. 16, finishing with 17 points and 18 assists. Nash missed the last meeting on Feb. 26 with his own injury problems.
All we have to go on is their Feb. 17 meeting at America West. Nash got the better end of the matchup (19 points, 11 assists to nine points, four assists), but the Mavs got the result, 119-113. If that trend continues, Terry will be a happy man. "It's not a one-on-one duel. He's the MVP, and I tip my hat to him, but it's about the Mavericks and Suns," Terry said. "If I score two points the entire series, and we win, then I did my job. That's all this is about -- winning."
That's all that matters to Terry, as the concept remains fairly new to him as a professional. This is the first time Terry is gaining notice for being anything other than someone you wanted on your fantasy team. For five seasons the 10th selection of the 1999 draft has toiled in Atlanta, stuffing the stat sheet as steadily as his team did the loss column.
His teams finished last three times, never winning more than 35 games, so there was no need to pay attention to him outside of catching highlights of occasional shooting sprees.
"I feel my experience in Atlanta helped prepare me for what I'm facing now with Dallas," Terry said. "All season long it's been about perseverance, and this series (getting down 2-0) couldn't be a better example."
With Dirk Nowitzki mired in a series-long slump, Terry picked up the slack, twice topping the 30-point mark and averaging more than 18. Now that he's proven himself a worthy recipient of the spotlight on the game's biggest stage, we can obsess about scrutinizing whether he and Erick Dampier, who was acquired with the money that would have been earned by Nash, are a better fit for the franchise than the point guard voted this year's best.
"Steve was an icon in Dallas. He was amazing for us and a huge part of our transition, but that's the nature of the business," Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said, adding that he'll likely be sick of all the Nash talk that's to come. "I like Steve a lot, but he made his choice, and now we're going to play a series. It should be fun."
Near the end of Dallas' bullying of the Rockets, Mavericks fans cheered wildly when asked if they were ready for the desert. Terry shares their sentiment. The former Wildcat is back in Arizona for the next stage of the NBA playoffs, and he's the one responsible for leading his team there. Sounds like a mirage, almost too good to be true, but Lord knows he's done his share of suffering.
A duel with Nash beats being home for another offseason every day of the week.
