By Mike Fisher -- DallasBasketball.com
      Mavs coach Don Nelson talked very openly to the assembled media before Sunday’s network-televised visit to New Jersey, touching on three pertinent subjects.
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      He spoke of his usual feelings regarding rookies (“No rookies on the wood makes the game go good.’’) He spoke of his Big 3 being made up of something less than defensive stoppers, and tossed the defensive inadequacies of Antawn Jamison under the bus, too. And he talked very openly of wanting a 5-0 sweep of this Eastern roadie, a trip composed of four seemingly winnable games sandwiching Wednesday’s visit to powerhouse Indiana.
      In this hard-fought 101-98 victory over the Nets, Nellie’s three pregame comments turned out to sound, in order, like a fib, like an underrating and like a prescient statement.
      About the rookies: We’ve been a bit hard on Josh Howard in this space in recent days. But to his credit, he’s followed up that debacle against Atlanta with a 19-point effort in a win over Boston and with his work against the Nets, featuring hustling defense on Richard Jefferson, .
      Howard and fellow rook Marquis Daniels are almost literally inseparable off the court. But usually, when J-Ho is on the floor, Marquis is not allowed to join him. Not the case Sunday, when Nellie played both kids at the same time during two stretches in the final quarter as the Mavs attempted to crawl back from what had been a 10-point deficit late in the third.
      Most of Daniels’ minutes came in relief of Steve Nash at the point (it will be interesting to see if Nellie has the chest hair to choose Daniels ahead of Travis Best in that role once the playoffs commence). But in the late going, Nellie went with SmallBall at its most risky: Nash, Finley, Nowitzki, Howard and Daniels (who finished with 12 points and the game-sealing steal with 4.8 seconds left) – and outside of Nash at quarterback, who cares what position each of the other guys play?
      Said Nellie: “Our rookies really deserve the credit for us winning this game. I thought they kept us in it when things didn’t look good. They made the big plays, from steals to baskets to offensive rebounds to defense.’’
      About the Big 3: The ABC team quoted Nellie as referring to Jamison as a defensive ‘turnstile.’ Nash, Finley and Nowitzki didn’t fare much better in the coach’s public evaluation.
      We’ve grown accustomed to Nellie’s public pooh-poohing, but it certainly comes across as razor-edged when it is relayed by TV talkers. Are they really so awful, Nellie?
      Jamison? As usual, one of the surest bets in the NBA inside the paint, shooting 9-of-13 for 20 points. Nash? Playing against the Jason Kidd-less Nets, 15 points, 16 assists, five rebounds and two steals. Finley? Nowitzki? They combined for 35 points on an admittedly off day for both.
      But as has often been the case this season, the Mavs demonstrated defensive potency late after demonstrating the stop-all ability of a colander early (Dallas trailed 25-18 after one quarter).
      Ah, if only the Mavs would always exert the same effort on both ends, and do it all the time!
      About the need to go 5-0: It’s an unorthodox approach, a violation of the one-game-at-a-time credo that most coaches spew by rote. But by talking about it so openly, the Mavs are 1-0. (And really, wouldn’t 4-1 be just fine?)