--The loss of several starters from the lineup at times this season has hardly impacted the production off the bench. Coach Rick Carlisle has been able to keep his preferred reserve group almost entirely by some clever maneuvering. Carlisle has used the absence of Josh Howard, for instance, to elevate Roddy Beaubois into the starting five. The promising rookie probably would have only seen time in blowouts if Howard were healthy. But instead of plugging reigning sixth man of the year Jason Terry into Howard's spot, the Beaubois move allowed Carlisle not to mess with his bench rotation too much.
As a result, Dallas' bench went into Saturday averaging 41.1 points per game, good for fourth in the league. Terry is second in bench scoring at 18.1 points.
--An indication of the Mavericks' success is their dominance on the boards. Dallas (12-5) went into Saturday third in the league in rebounding, with five players averaging at least 5.6 per game.
Dallas has held a rebounding edge of at least 10 in more than half of its 17 games this season. Not surprisingly, the Mavs are 9-0 in that scenario.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "To me, he and Kobe are the best players in the league. He's a monster." -- Forward Dirk Nowitzki, on LeBron James.
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