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Stack: 'Tastes Great' Or 'Less Filling'?
Practice Report: Mavs' 3-On-3 Workout Shows Stackhouse Not Yet Ready
By Mike Fisher -- DB.com
Jerry Stackhouse is the Mavs’ version of “Tastes Great/Less Filling.’’
He “Tastes Great’’ because a healthy Stack still has those 30-ppg bloodlines and maybe-just-maybe could temporarily fill Jason Terry’s multi-layered socks.
He’s “Less Filling’’ because his proud history aside, Stack’s greatest and truest value is on paper, as a trade-worthy expiring contract.
After what our spies witnessed at Wednesday’s practice, “Less Filling’’ is winning.
“Stack’s not ready yet,’’ Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said after the workout, during which 31-20 Dallas prepared for its final game before the All-Star Break, a nationally-televised visit from the Celtics. “And he won’t be until after the break.’’
There’s nothing alarming about that. Stackhouse’s foot injury – which has sidelined him for three months – hasn’t allowed him to do much in terms of game-readiness. As Jerry himself said when asked whether he could jump back into the rotation now that Terry’s broken hand will sideline him for at last three weeks:
“I'm on my body's pace. Whenever I'm ready, I'll be ready.’’
But Stack certainly wishes to be in the playing-time mix, in Dallas or elsewhere. And ideally, he’d like to be valued as something more than the $5-to-$7-million expiring contract that can aid a team’s cap.
However, here is the reality:
Our eyes at Mavs practice on Wednesday watched the 34-year-old Stackhouse participate in a simulated 3-on-3 game. And he simply did not look even close to ready. Even the jump shot – likely affected by the bad foot and the rust, but still the one part of Jerry’s game you’d like to be able to count on – was errant. We’re estimating he made maybe only a few of the 20 shots he took in the simulated game. ... He did make a 3 and he was putting out effort. (An aside: Assistant coach Darrell Armstrong played PG for the Stack/Singleton/D.A. team. Not surprisingly, Armstrong has pep in his step.)
If FGM count is right, that continues a trend from when Jerry did play earlier this year. He participated in eight games, shot 29 percent and scored 5.4 points per outing.
Stack is a fighter and a tough guy. The Mavs’ organization and medical staff is among the best on the planet.
But right now, “Tastes Great’’ or “Less Filling’’? Maybe Jerry Stackhouse can still be both. But not yet.
345pm feb 11 2009