But that's just me. Always on the lookout for career options.

And that brings us to another bit of miscasting: a role of thuggery that Erick Dampier would like to correct before the DVD comes out.

Maybe you read Dampier's assertion as for his first foul on Tony Parker in Game 3 of the Mavs-Spurs series, he's putting the pesky point guard "on his back."

Everyone in the Mavericks' organization did spit-takes when they read that quote in your favorite morning newspaper.

Dampier going street corner on the unsuspecting Spurs? Could it be? The same guy with two flagrant fouls in five years?

The man that Shaq once called "Ericka"?

Would he really give the Mavs' glad-to-meet-you defense a sinister side tonight in American Airlines Center? Someone to play Mr. Hyde opposite Dirk Nowitzki's Dr. Jekyll?

Even better: a reason to think the Mavs could sustain a semblance of defense for more than one game?

On second thought, maybe not.

"I probably shouldn't have said it like that," Dampier confessed Wednesday.

Considering the NBA frowns on such tough talk, and referees read papers, too, Dampier probably did the right thing by backing up a bit. He doesn't need extra attention from the refs. His teammates are giving him enough business. They thought all the uproar over the quote was a hoot. Most couldn't stop giggling. Antoine Wright suggested T-shirts.

Bottom line: These guys know Erick Dampier. They play Basketball with him. And he is not the mouth that roared Monday.

"Nobody's trying to hurt anybody, and Damp certainly doesn't have the reputation of being a dirty player," Nowitzki said, leading him to conjure an example of a dirty player, which he provided, unprovoked.

"They got one," he said of the Spurs. "We don't."

Of course, he was talking about one Bruce Bowen, who, when not assigned to Josh Howard in this series, can be found up underneath Nowitzki's armpits.

The Spurs might counter that Jason Terry, who once punched Michael Finley south of the Mason-Dixon line, is no angel, either. But Nowitzki's point is well taken, if not lamented.

Bowen aside, the Spurs are still a tough, tough team. Tough on defense. Mentally tough overall. They were assembled from various farm implements, and Gregg Popovich drives them like a tractor.

The Mavs, on the other hand, are not a blue-collar bunch. They're aesthetes, jump shooters by nature. Left to their own devices, they'd turn the NBA into a game of H-O-R-S-E.

But if you're going to win a playoff series, much less an NBA title, you must play a little defense. Or else you end up like Steve Nash and the rest of the Suns with nothing to do for the next six months but layup drills.

The Mavs don't have to be great on defense to beat the Spurs. They just have to get an occasional stop. If they do that, they can kick in their transition game, which should free Nowitzki and Terry and Howard for easier looks.

Otherwise, in a half-court game, the Spurs will continue to make it difficult for the Mavs' biggest stars. The Spurs' play in Game 1, when the Mavs' bench stole a win, was an aberration. The Spurs will come back with the same gritty effort in Game 3 that they exhibited in Game 2 because that is their nature.

Meanwhile, the Mavs must play out of character a little bit. They must at least attempt to look tough. Get in someone's way, for heaven's sake. Maybe even make a Spur pay for taking advantage of their good nature.

The Mavs just can't afford to announce their intentions beforehand, no matter how much fun it was to read about it.

Here's a shocker: Charles Barkley was disappointed in Dampier even before hearing that the Mavs' center retreated.

"I think he should have said, 'Every time he drives, I'm going to knock him on his [backside],'" Barkley said Tuesday night. "This little sissy NBA, if a guy comes in the lane thinking he's at practice, you have to put him on his [backside]."

Pardon Mr. Barkley, but he comes from a time when dinosaurs roamed NBA lanes. In those long-gone days, little men weren't allowed entry without notes from their mothers. And the only clubs Brad Pitt claimed membership in were the Key and Forensic clubs at Kickapoo High.

Point of emphasis

Tony Parker has tormented the Mavericks this season. Here's David Moore's view of what Dallas must do in Game 3:

1.

Vary defenses. It's hard to go

full speed when you're off-balance.

2.

Eliminate two

to three uncontested layups.

3.

Attack him. Effort spent

on defense siphons energy from offense.