Terry

Jason Terry is three years younger and has a better haircut. But can he fill Nash’s shoes?

He averaged three fewer assists per game, perhaps a function of the guys he was throwing to in Atlanta, where there weren’t always better scoring options. This year will be quite an adjustment for the 27-year-old Terry, who is being asked to direct a winning team for the first time in his career.

For five seasons, he put up numbers and was afforded big minutes in Atlanta, where he was seldom under pressure to perform and never appeared in a single playoff game. During a trying season in which he might be asked to surrender shots and minutes, his truest test will come in April, when he directs a playoff team for the first time.

Dampier

Gone are Steve Nash, Antawn Jamison and Antoine Walker. In are Erick Dampier, Jerry Stackhouse and Jason Terry, a new collection of high-priced talent that might be a better fit.

Head Coach Don Nelson claims it will be a more "traditional" team than in years past and a much better defensive team. He returns starters Michael Finley, Marquis Daniels and Dirk Nowitzki. Dampier solidifies the paint and the tandem of Terry and rookie and Devin Harris replace Nash.

Stackhouse maintains he will accept a sixth-man role, making him an early postseason award favorite if last year's injury problems are behind him. He says they are.

Losing Nash is a blow. He, Finley and Nowitzki had been together for six seasons, and now the Mavericks' top two scorers will have to look somewhere else for the rock. It will take some time while Harris develops and Terry learns to shed a scorer's mentality and trust his talented teammates to deliver.

The emergence a year ago of rookies Daniels and Josh Howard was critical, because it enabled the Mavericks to redistribute their money and acquire Dampier. Jamison was rendered expendable when Daniels averaged 17.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 15 starts late last season. Howard had a remarkably consistent rookie campaign, negating Walker's impact.

You thnk Cuban is excited now? The Lakers upheaval means there will probably be a new Western Conference champ, and the Mavs are equipped for a legitimate run.