A December Do-Over?

    You know how authority figures will say, “So-and-so has to happen. … OR ELSE’’? But there’s never really an “or else’’? Jason Terry pulled one of those the other day in predicting a coming Mavs surge.

  “Have you looked at the schedule?’’ Jet said after Dallas’ win Sunday in New York. “We’ve got seven games to start December. If we don’t win those games, I’m gonna retire.’’

  OK, Jason is a bit given to hyperbole. (Or maybe he meant to say, “If we don’t win those games, Jerry Stackhouse is going to retire.’’) But his point is well-made. And yes, we have looked at the schedule. And the opportunity – because of the hidden-and-dreaded back-to-back threat -- is greater than even Terry himself realizes.

  Dallas doesn’t just have “seven games to start December.’’ (Everybody has that.) What Terry meant to imply is that the Mavs open the month with seven home games. He certainly did not mean to suggest that they are seven cupcakes – he issued his statement as the Mavs were 3-7, therefore this team is more the eat-ee than it is the eater – but entering Tuesday, those seven teams had a combined record of 30-41.

  Included in the bunch of visitors: The 1-9 Clippers, the 1-10 Thunder and the 3-6 Bobcats.

  (About Mavs-vs.-Bobcats: Dallas established how lopsided that pairing can be with Tuesday’s 100-83 blowout victory that gives Dallas a two-game win streak and a 4-7 mark.)

   Now, also coming to town to start December are the 8-4 Suns, the 6-3 Hawks and the 5-5 Spurs.

   But. …

  *At least the Mavs get those top-notch teams at American Airlines Center.

  *None of the seven games demand Dallas to play back-to-back.

  *There is only one Dallas B-2-B all month – though it’s a toughie, Christmas in the Winter Wonderland -- the 25^th and 26^th at Portland and at Utah.

  *Meanwhile – and here’s the part we assume Jet will really celebrate when he realizes it – while Dallas isn’t subject to B-2-Bs in those first seven games in December, five of their seven opponents will be going through such a gauntlet.

  OKC and Denver, on the 13^th and 15^th, will be playing the first games of B-2-Bs. Much more demanding is the schedule for Phoenix (here on the 4^th after playing the previous night in New Orleans, Atlanta (here on the 6^th after playing the previous night at home against the runnin’ Knicks) and Charlotte (here on the 11^th after playing the previous night at New Orleans).

  Now, there’s a lot of work to be done between now and then. With the win over the Bobcats sealed early (the Mavs jumped to a 15-0 lead while helping the ‘Cats miss their first nine shots), we could start early on concern over the Mavs going to 7-4 Houston tonight. The Rockets have already registered a win over the Mavs, and in the last 48 hours have gone from being “let’s-shut-it-down’’ injured to “we-want-Dallas’’ medical clearance. And in 10 days, the Mavs are at the Lakers, presently 7-1 and with a 106-99 win over Dallas under their belts.

  But if 4-7 Dallas can somehow survive the rest of this month (mediocre Memphis, Indy and Sacto fill out the schedule). … if they can handle their business during that anticipated seven-game homestand. … if they can take advantage of a month where the overall record of all opponents is a lackluster 58-88. … they can fashion themselves a December Do-Over.

  And Jason Terry won’t have to retire in shame.

829am nov 19 2008