The Dallas Mavericks had pressed the Los Angeles Lakers into the afternoon, even rallying past them for a few tense minutes, so Jason Terry was entitled to his moment of hubris.
Forget that the Lakers eventually won, or that Kobe Bryant and Trevor Ariza upstaged Terry himself, the Mavericks had made it a game against the Western Conference’s top team. On the road, too!
In Terry’s mind, this could only bode well for the Mavs’ future. And if the Mavericks should find themselves paired with the Lakers for the first round of the playoffs, as they’re currently slotted to do?
“If it’s the team we have to face down the line,” Terry said, “we’re confident we can make it a knockout series.”
It should be noted, of course, that Terry didn’t say which team he expected to get floored, and that’s a good thing considering the biggest statement the Lakers made on Sunday came about 15 minutes after they left the court.
“I’ll definitely be back this season,” Andrew Bynum, the Lakers’ injured center, said on his way out of the Staples Center.
Sidelined since tearing the medial collateral ligament of his right knee Jan. 31, Bynum hopes to move his rehab program from the treadmill to the court this week. If all goes well, he hopes to be back playing in “two or three weeks,” which would leave him at least two weeks to prepare for the postseason.
The Lakers’ medical staff has cautioned Bynum that his return could still be as many as five weeks away, but even that should make him available for the start of the playoffs.
Bynum said he’s been running pain-free on the treadmill while admitting his lateral movement needs to improve. “I’m very happy,” he said. “I think I’m ahead of schedule. I just keep hoping things will go the right way and I won’t have any setbacks.”
The rest of the West should worry. The Lakers, like a year ago, are good enough to reach the NBA Finals without Bynum, having gone 16-4 in his absence this season. Adding their young 7-foot center just makes them that much longer and versatile.
The Mavericks had enough trouble contesting the Lakers’ length and athleticism Sunday, and Bynum would at least give them reason to play their own center. If the Mavs learned anything from their 107-100 loss to the Lakers, it was that Erick Dampier can’t guard Pau Gasol.
On one of the game’s first possessions, Gasol left Dampier flat-footed as he spun by him on the baseline for a lay-in and foul. Gasol went on to make all 10 of his shots in the first half and his contributions didn’t end there.
“This team is the best interior passing team I’ve seen,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said, “and he’s a big part of that.”
The Mavericks wish their own injury report was as promising as that of Bynum’s. Josh Howardmissed his fifth consecutive game with a sore left ankle, and the team has been unwilling or unable to give a timeframe for his return.
His absence is compounded by injuries to Devean George, who needs arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and is likely done for the season, and Jerry Stackhouse, who has played only 10 games because of problems with his right foot.
“We’ve got to get Josh back somehow,” Dirk Nowitzki
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