Mavs 89, Minnesota 77: Here Comes A Soft Schedule And A Naked Elisabeth Shue

   It is difficult while watching a Mavs game that also features the lowly Timberwolves to avoid thumb-twiddling, daydreaming, maybe a bit of backyard-garden-puttering-around and, in my Friday night case, flipping over to “Leaving Las Vegas’’ to watch Elisabeth Shue administer herself a Smirnoff naked body bath. …

   But my (marginally) intense focus on Dallas’ 89-77 road victory includes not only a review of this sixth win in nine Mavs outings but also a look-ahead that suggests to me that even without Josh Howard for the foreseeable future, this team is moving toward a point in the schedule that’s as soft as pudding.

   That last one, that’s a suicide move. That’s Nicolas Cage pickling himself to death.

  Anyway, Minny showed a little fight by involving itself in … well, in a little fight. A pair of former Mav big men – Nathan Jawai (for a month this fall) and Ryan Hollins (for 27 games last season) showed themselves. Jawai did it by starting in Jefferson’s place against Erick Dampier and scoring 10 points. (And you kind of found yourself rooting for the lovable Aussie.) Hollins, though, did it by getting crossways with Dirk Nowitzki, a devlish decision any way you look at it.

    Third-quarter result of the third-quarter heated exchange? Hollins was ejected and in the period Dirk scored 15 of his 20 points. In fact, in the seven-minute third-quarter span that followed the scuffle, The UberMan scored 13 points and grabbed five of his 11 total rebounds.

    “(Hollins) just elbows a lot,’’ Dirk said. “And that’s just how he plays. I just felt like at some point it was enough.’’

    Also in the disagreeable mix were Minny rookie guard Johnny Flynn and – lookie here! -- Dallas rookie guard Roddy Beaubois.

    Ah, French Cuffs. On a day when we learned that Josh Howard’s ankle problem may deactivate him to a point beyond what was ever scribbled down on the Mayan calendar, we needed a feel-good (not to mention a starting 2-guard), and there was Roddy.

    He scored the first seven points of the game (recalling his only previous NBA start in New Orleans, when he scored the game’s first nine) and he finished with nine. Those first-quarter explosions? That’s how Josh does it. The ability to play on both ends? That was the plan with Josh. The nuttiness that comes with Roddy Beaubois being a rookie from France who struggles with English?

    Is he really that much different than Josh “You Can’t Control What The Ball Do’’ Howard?

    Kidding.

    But as I noted in previewing the game, if there was ever an opportunity to endure the errors of the rookie while still feeling confident about winning a game, Minnesota is that opportunity. Under the embryonic management of Rambis and boss David Kahn, the Timberwolves are very predictably the club against which Dallas would notch a season’s-best defensive shooting percentage (32.6), a season’s-best in fast-break points scored (27) a season’s-best-tying total of blocks (12, three each from Dirk and Drew Gooden), and a season’s-best in points allowed (77) all while accomplishing a feat rarely seen in this parts:

    For the first time since December 2007, the Dallas Mavericks won a game without getting to 90 points.

    The Mavs (6-3 and in first place in the Southwest) got contributions from up and down the roster. Minnesota kid Kris Humphries gave them a 9/9. Jason Terry cooled off on offense but recorded three steals. And Shawn Marion was in charge of the end of the first half. He finished with 15 points, but three of his baskets came in the final five minutes of the first half to fuel Dallas’ 13-2 run to intermission.

    And now it’s a run to the next spoonful of schedule. ... a spoonful of pudding, if the Mavs handle their business.

    I’ll get into this in more depth later, but quickly:

   *Sunday at Detroit: The Pistons are 4-4 and could be playing without Hamilton and Prince

   *Monday at Milwaukee: Second night of a B-2-B and a traditional hellhole for the Mavs, and a mediocre Bucks team playing well at 4-2

    *Wednesday, home with SA: Timmy’s ankle, Tony’s ankle and revenge against the 4-3 Spurs!

    *Friday, home with Sacramento: A winning record at 5-4 but Kevin Martin’s out for two months.

    *Tuesday, Nov. 24, home with Golden State: Nellie’s Warriors are a 4-5 clown show.

    *Wednesday, Nov. 25 at Houston: Another B-2-B and nobody is laughing at the 5-4 Rockets.

    *Friday, Nov. 27 at Indiana: The Pacers are happy to be a 5-5 .500 team.

    Had enough?

    The Mavs are at 6-3 Cleveland on Saturday, Nov. 28 (yes, yet another B-2-B). But then they close the month with a home game with 4-5 Philadelphia … and then open December at New Jersey (0-9) and at Memphis (1-8).

     I’m not saying there aren’t challenges in there. But in those next 10 games, there are many more have-nots than there are haves. The combined record of those 10 opponents is 42-52. Eliminate the only foe sure to be favored by oddsmakers (Cleveland) and the combined record of the other nine is 36-49.

    At 6-3, with those 10 games on the horizon, where can the Mavs be by early December? Maybe 13-6, with Roddy dipping his toe into the water and with Josh keeping his toes on R.I.C.E.?

    OK, I'm going to go study some video tape now.

    Of the Mavs. Not of Elisabeth Shue.

    I mean it. I'm focused.