Home opener brings doubts in Dallas

DALLAS -- Dirk Nowitzki, tell us why the Mavericks are going to be better this season.

"With Avery gone, everything is so new, the coaches are new, and sometimes it takes a little longer than three weeks," he said. "We'll just have to wait and see. Our goal is to be the best team we can be down the stretch."

Not the ringing endorsement one might expect from a team trying to pry its championship window back open. Nowitzki, though, has never been one for unnecessary hyperbole. His words have always been measured, even if it's been mistaken by some as leaning towards pessimism.

The former MVP wants to be clear that he isn't selling the Mavs short.

"My goals always stay the same and that's to win a championship," Nowitzki said. "We were close a couple of years ago. We weren't so close the last two years. We're trying to get back to The Finals."

Right now, words offer the only hint of improvement. The Mavs' uneven preseason certainly didn't convince anyone. Having the Rockets dominate the fourth quarter to upstage their instate rivals 112-102 Thursday night can't inspire much confidence.

The Mavs were the last team to begin 2008-09. The festivities in the Big D began with an official announcement before the game of the 2010 NBA All-Star Game coming to nearby Arlington.

But the air got sucked out of American Airlines Center when Houston ripped off a 16-2 run in the fourth. The loss is hardly a promising start for a franchise that's experienced consecutive first-round playoff exits. Mark Cuban axed Avery "The Coach Everyone Wanted Out" Johnson the day after New Orleans eliminated Dallas in late April.

"You don't win a championship in the first game," Cuban reminded.

True. It's also never too early so start identifying trends.

"You can't start slow and ease into the season," Nowitzki said. "The league has gotten so good now. A couple of years ago, you were still able to do that. Now, every team is so good, especially in the West, you have to start off well. You can't slack off ever in this league.

"It's going to be a challenge to start off strong and get better."

The logic of one Western Conference coach suggests the Mavs don't have any excuses not to be better. Dallas got rid of a coach that the team didn't want to play for. Jason Kidd was there from the start of camp. The roster is supposed to be deeper, younger and more athletic.

"So if they're not better," asked the coach, "what does that say?"

Dallas' regular-season icebreaker happened to come against one of the Western Conference favorites. The Rockets have their own trio of stars -- Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and the well-behaved Artest -- but the team concept is being stressed down in H-town.

"Everybody who played, played well," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said.

Yao made 11 of 15 shots, and all eight of his free throws, to score 30 and grab 13 boards. Artest nearly matched him with 29 points. T-Mac had a quiet 16, while lightning bug Aaron Brooks struck for 14 off the bench.

Well, Ron-Ron did pick up a 'T' during the final-period spurt by defending his new big-man Yao Ming. His dustup with Josh Howard was more inspirational than disruptive. Not long after the technical, Artest drilled a three-pointer to cap the game-deciding run to put Houston up 108-94 with three minutes left.

The Mavs shot just 25 percent in the fourth. Howard and Nowitzki accounted for just three points in the last frame.

The Rockets (2-0) did play the night before, beating Memphis at home. The Mavs hadn't played since concluding their preseason a week earlier. The difference in rest should have been the difference down the stretch.

Nobody told the Rockets.

"We didn't play well," Artest countered. 'We played hard."

The Mavs struggled with stopping opponents throughout the exhibition slate. Yao put on a clinic after Adelman called an early timeout and the Rockets soared to a 14-point lead in the second.

"We put up enough points, but we didn't stop anybody," Kidd said.

Again, it's just one game.

"Every team has doubts," Nowitzki admitted.

Some more than others.