Nash's absence clearly has hurt the Mavericks on offense. Last year's incarnation of the Mavs was, per John Hollinger's Pro Basketball Forecast, the best offense in the last 30 years based on Offensive Rating. While Dallas is still good on offense, four teams - including the Sonics and their opponents in their last two games, the Suns and the Sacramento Kings - score more points per 100 possessions. But the Mavericks were a distant 26th in the NBA in Defensive Rating. The subtraction of Nash (and Antawn Jamison and Antoine Walker, never known for their defense), improvement by Dirk Nowitzki on the defensive end of the court and the addition of a true center in Erick Dampier have combined to make the Mavericks one of the NBA's top 10 defensive teams.

Nash might be the best offensive player in the NBA, given his ability to set up his teammates and score at an extremely high efficiency. Still, the Mavericks remain potentially lethal on offense without him. One key reason has been that Dallas isn't replacing Nash with just anyone off the street. An off-season trade sent Walker to Atlanta in exchange for Seattle native Jason Terry (as well as reserve big man Alan Henderson). Nelson seemed somewhat reluctant to commit to Terry as his guy at the point early in the season, but it's been difficult to ignore his Nash-esque efficient scoring, and he's been in the starting lineup since early in the new year (Dallas is 17-7 with Terry as a starter). The other reason is that after slumping somewhat in 2003-04, Nowitzki has resumed his place as one of the NBA's most potent scorers this season. His career-high 26.8 points per game rank him third in the NBA.

The Sonics conclude tonight a three-game stretch against some of the top teams in the NBA. Already, the Sonics have dispatched the Kings and the Suns in back-to-back games, playing outstanding basketball during the fourth quarter of both wins. Winning at Phoenix was even more remarkable given the Sonics did not get to their hotel until 4 a.m. Friday morning after a late game with the Kings. Still, the Sonics won't be able to enjoy those victories unless they can follow them up by beating Dallas. The Sonics have had success against the Mavericks at KeyArena in recent years, winning three of four matchups the last two seasons (the only loss came on a Walker buzzer-beater last January). They also got a 107-102 win in Dallas earlier this season, but one key in that game was former Mavericks forward Danny Fortson (seven points, eight rebounds), who will serve the second game of a two-game suspension tonight.

G U A R D S
	Terry seemed to have mentally checked out of Atlanta last season after having the offer sheet he signed with Utah matched by the Hawks. His scoring was underrated on bad Hawks teams, but with better teammates drawing defensive attention this season, Terry has been simply phenomenal, shooting 52.0% from the field and 46.7% from downtown. His 63.7% true shooting percentage is third in the league, trailing only Fortson and Minnesota's Fred Hoiberg. Terry is not a great passer, but he's averaging 6.6 assists as a starter to go along with 14.4 points per game. It's a measure of how solid Sonics point guard Luke Ridnour has been this season that his 12 points and five assists against Nash hardly drew any notice on Friday night.
	As the Mavericks have developed, Michael Finley's role in their offense has slowly but surely declined; his scoring average has dropped every season since 1999-00, when he peaked at 22.6 points per game, and he's down to 17.2 ppg this season, his lowest mark since his first partial-season in Dallas. His perimeter defense is also of less importance as the Mavericks have improved on that end of the court, but Finley still plays nearly 40 minutes per game for good reason, as he is a solid all-around contributor. When Finley was sidelined by a sprained ankle, Dallas went just 9-6. Sonics guard Ray Allen had a miserable first three quarters at Phoenix, missing 13 of his 16 shots, but he scored 14 points in the final period to lead the Sonics to victory.
F O R W A R D S
	Dallas did great with its 2003 first-round pick, getting Josh Howard, who has started all 42 games he's played this season, with the 29th and final pick of the first round. The unanimous ACC Player of the Year as a senior at Wake Forest, Howard has been an instant contributor; he's not a great scorer, but an above-average rebounder for a small forward and a fine defender who's become the Mavericks perimeter stopper. That means a matchup with Sonics forward Rashard Lewis, who has bounced back from a poor outing against New Orleans in his first game as an All-Star with consecutive games deserving of the label, 23 points apiece in the wins over Sacramento and Phoenix, to go with 15 combined rebounds.
	A 7-footer with the ability to hit 40%+ of his threes (40.5% this season), Nowitzki is arguably the most unguaradable offensive player in the league. Put a smaller player on him, and Nowitzki will take him in the paint. A bigger player can be beaten with either the drive or the perimeter jumper. That means the Sonics can't defend him as they do most high-scoring power forwards, by making him a jump-shooter. Nowitzki had 27 points on 8-for-17 shooting against the Sonics in Dallas. For most players, 11 rebounds in 29 minutes would be impressive; for Reggie Evans, that qualifies as an off night. Evans was active on offense, scoring 10 points for his first double-figure effort since Jan. 12, a span during which Evans grabbed 10+ rebounds nine times. He's working on a five-game streak with double-digits rebounds.
C E N T E R
	There has been some disappointment with Dampier because Dampier is no longer the nightly double-double threat he was in Golden State. That's partially due to reduced minutes, but Dampier has been worse on the boards, in no small part because he's no longer playing alongside the weakest rebounding power forward in the NBA, Clifford Robinson. Still, Dampier is shooting 53.7% from the field, is just outside the NBA's top 10 in per-48 minute rebounding and his presence in the paint has keyed Dallas' defensive improvement. The Sonics got a great effort in Fortson's absence from center Jerome James last night. James had a season-high 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting and added seven rebounds in 21 strong minutes.
B E N C H
	After an injury-plagued 2003-04 in Washington, Jerry Stackhouse (right) was a savvy value pickup in the Jamison trade last summer. Stackhouse is his usual low-percentage, lots of free throws, high-output scorer this season. His 15.8 points per game lead all players who have started less than half of their team's games. Veteran point guard Darrell Armstrong was acquired in December for Dan Dickau from New Orleans and is a steady hand at the point, but shooting a dismal 32.1% from the field this season. Henderson has been surprisingly productive up front, shooting 48.6% from the field and averaging 13.9 rebounds per 48 minutes. Rookie point Devin Harris sees a few minutes. Antonio Daniels (left) has been as key as anyone to the Sonics last two wins, scoring 24 of his combined 38 points in the fourth quarters of those games. Vladimir Radmanovic bounced back from a poor shooting night to score 13 points on 4-for-6 shooting at Phoenix. Nick Collison fouled out without putting up big numbers in Phoenix, but his rebounding and presence down low were key for the Sonics in the fourth quarter. Ronald "Flip" Murray saw some action in Fortson's absence, but did not score.

TEAM LEADERS ALLEN NOWITZKI Allen 24.2 PPG Nowitzki 26.8 Evans 9.3 RPG Nowitzki 9.9 Ridnour 6.1 APG Terry 5.0 Ridnour 1.2 SPG Terry 1.5 James 1.3 BPG Nowitzki 1.6 Allen 39.8 MPG Nowitzki 39.6