Mavericks considering options with Terry sidelined

DALLAS -- Jason Terry's hand injury Saturday may be more damaging to the Mavericks' postseason hopes than his shooting stroke. Dallas can ill afford to lose its second-leading scorer for any significant length of time considering the logjam in the bottom half of the Western Conference playoff picture.

Terry's injury could lead to the Mavericks stepping up their efforts to shake up the roster via trade. Of all the internal candidates to replace Terry's firepower, injured guard Jerry Stackhouse could be the best one.

With his career scoring average of 18.5 points, Stackhouse is a proven scorer. The problem is he's been on the shelf for nearly three months recovering from a foot injury. He's getting closer to returning to practice fulltime -- Stackhouse has begun doing some drills -- but won't rush it because Terry is hurt.

"I'm on my body's pace," Stackhouse told NBA.com. "Whenever I'm ready, I'll be ready."

Stackhouse could factor in to replacing Terry without actually stepping on the floor for Dallas. His desirable contract ($7 million this season and only $2 million guaranteed next year) could easily be used to trade for reinforcements before the Feb. 19 deadline.

The Mavericks are looking at players that might be available. Some possibilities include John Salmons, Larry Hughes, Ben Gordon, Anthony Parker and Jason Kapono. Though Dallas general manager Donnie Nelson is surveying the landscape, he would prefer not have to deal for help.

"It's impossible to replace Jet, especially given the incredible year he's had," Nelson told NBA.com Sunday. "If there's any silver lining, it's a position we've got some depth at and Jerry is close as well. There is no question we need someone to step up and fill some big shoes, Bob Lanier-sized shoes for our team.

"Given the fact that he'll be back in a matter of weeks, Jet's injury doesn't significantly alter our tact on the player-acquisition front. The solution must come from within our locker room."

Terry, this season's favorite for sixth man of the year, fractured the fourth metacarpal on his left (non-shooting) hand late in the first half against Chicago. Terry didn't return and his status is being reevaluated. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said Terry is "out for a while."

"He almost had tears in his eyes," Dirk Nowitzki said of Terry. "That is how much he cares and we told him we got this one for him and we would hold the fort down. I mean, he is the best sixth man in the league and he means a lot to this team, and we are going to miss him dearly, but he will be back soon and we know he is a tough guy.

"The good thing is we have the All-Star break in between, so that is a couple of days where nothing is going on, so hopefully he won't miss too many games. It is always disappointing to somebody get hurt."

Though no timetable has been set, it's not uncommon for such injuries to lead to absences of at least several weeks. Ike Diogu suffered a fractured fourth metacarpal several years ago and missed six weeks while playing for Golden State. The Mavericks (30-20) are probably hoping for a situation like Denver's Carmelo Anthony, who broke a bone in this shooting hand last month and missed only three weeks.

The sooner Terry returns the better for the Mavericks, who are seventh in the West and only two games ahead of ninth-place Phoenix. Terry, Nowitzki and Josh Howard have been Dallas' only consistent scoring threats this season. Other than those three, no one else on the team is averaging more than nine points.

Should the Mavericks not make a move, finding Terry's 20 points a night won't be a one-man job. The natural choice is J.J. Barea, the dynamic backup point guard who's had several high-scoring games this season. Barea appears to be more effective in short bursts than long stretches, but he did score 20 in the 115-114 overtime victory over the Bulls.

"We couldn't have won the game without him," Carlisle said of Barea.

Antoine Wright, Gerald Green, Devean George, James Singleton and recently-acquired Matt Carroll could also be in the mix, though none of those options has shown the ability to be a high-volume scorer. Expect the Mavericks front office to explore all avenues, internally and around the league, to replace Terry.

"We're going to have to piece this thing together without him for a while," Carlisle said. "We've got a lot of good players and we have enough to win games."