Stack Lite? Stack Redux?

I wish I could easily put my hands on the messages in the Mavericks forums from 2004 when they acquired Jerry Stackhouse in the trade that also netted the 5th pick in the draft.  As memory serves, the opinion of many fans was that Stackhouse would never and should never set foot on the court in a Mavs jersey.

He rode into Dallas with a great deal of baggage.  He had been dumped by the Pistons for the younger Rip Hamilton.  He was thought to have a bad attitude, had generally bombed in Washington during one of Jordan’s last tours of duty and injuries had knocked him out of all but 26 games the previous season.

Unable to get along with Allen Iverson in Philidelphia, unsuccessful with Grant Hill in Detroit, and unsuccessful with (old) Jordan in Washington.  Stack was known for a bad attitude, recent injuries and playing on underperforming teams.

Over the next few seasons Stackhouse disproved many of those labels…

Stack as a Mav

Stackhouse averaged 12 to 15 points a game for the next three seasons as the Mavericks’ sixth man.  He played in  55 or more games each of those seasons, shot at or above his career average from the field and played a pivotal role in the teams’ fated trip to the NBA finals in 2006.

Stack brought moxy and attitude to the court.  Sometimes this backfired and other times it helped push the team through those tough mid-game minutes when the momentum can get away from you.

A classic scene from their 2006 playoff run would come in the middle quarters of games.  The Mavs would find a bread-and-butter play, usually with Dirk, and milk it for half- a-dozen trips down the court.  The opposition would finally clamp down, shutting the play down before it could happen again.

Moments later, Avery would send Stack onto the court.  On the opposite side of the floor, they would run an iso for Stack and he would abuse the player trying to guard him, backing him down and then popping up for an easy shot (for a historically prolific scorer like Stack).  Sometimes this would go on for another 3 times down the court.

The opposing coach would be forced to call the dogs off of Dirk, and the defensive stopper would be put on Stackhouse.  And the Mavs would immediately go back to Dirk for an easy bucket.

Stackhouse was the release valve in the Mavericks offense.  The wild-card that Avery would play at specific points in the game to completely screw-up the opponents defensive assignments.  Stack was past the point in his career where he could provide that for 40 minutes a game.  But for 25 minutes a night, Stackhouse was there for the Mavs with his 15′ish points.

He brought the attitude too.  In 2005 he single handily ruined the Suns playoff run with a reckless foul on Joe Johnson.  In the 2006 playoff run Stack and Terry got suspended from playoff games for antics that made the whole playoff run more difficult than it should have been.  But he helped beat back the ’soft white boyz’ label.

For three seasons, Stackhouse delivered for the Mavericks.  Eventually, team chemistry, coaching shenanigans and injuries marred his last two seasons on the Mavericks.  He was no longer the 6th man and he was no longer able to give the team his 25 minutes of offense.

He leaves, ironically, with a few of the same problems that he had on the way in: injuries and un-met team expectations.  And yet, most Mavericks fans should have good memories of his time in Dallas, of the effort he gave, of the impact he had, and on the way he adjusted to work with the other players on the team.

The Void

One commentator, I think it was Hubie Brown, was mocked this past season for suggesting that the problem with the 2008-2009 edition of the Mavericks was that they missed Jerry Stackhouse the 20 point a game scorer.  Obviously, the Mavs never had the 20 point a game version of Stack.

But he wasn’t totally wrong.  The Mavs did miss Stack.  Jason Terry had assumed the sixth man role, but lacked the change-of-pace game that Stackhouse had provided during their run to the finals.  And the Mavs lacked the mix-it-up attitude off their bench.  Or more precisely, JJB brought a pint sized version of Stack’s attitude but he was also trying to fill in for the missing Devin Harris’s water-bug offense.

However you add it up, the Mavericks missed the Stackhouse of 2006.

Stack Lite

Which brings me to, of all people, Tim Thomas.

I’ll give you a moment to stop laughing.

…

Seriously.  I’ll give you one more minute.

…

Okay, give me a moment to explain.  I haven’t totally lost my mind.  My stomach?  Yes.  My mind?  No.

Tim Thomas has the potential to fulfill parts of the missing Stackhouse role.  I know, it has been a while since “potential” and “Tim Thomas” have been used without the phrase “to disappoint.”  Don’t get me wrong, he has that potential too.  But in the Mavs case the stated expectations for Thomas are pretty low.  He is essentially being positioned as the 11th man on the roster.

But here is what he could do.  He could provide a different kind of release valve for the collapsing defenses that teams throw at Dirk.  Not in Stack’s iso style, but as a legit 3-point threat on the other side of the court that must be covered.  Three-point shooting was in short supply for the Mavericks last season.  Or, at least accurate three-point shooting was in short supply.

But there is something else he could do.  He could bring his flapping mouth.  He could bring the fugazi smack talk.  Sure, it is more hollow than Stack’s smack talk.  Sure, if the Mavs played him for 30 minutes in a game the opponent might drop 50 points on him.

But they only need him on the court, shooting threes and talking smack for a few minutes a game.  Right?  Blink twice for yes and then take a couple of Tums.  You’ll be fine.  And so will the Mavericks.

11th Man?

I think Donnie Nelson and Mike Fisher have it right that when the season starts Thomas will be penciled in as the 11th man on the roster.  There will be stretches of the season where you see some quality minutes for Fugazi Tim.  Of course, George, Singleton and Green saw a few of those stretches last season too.  So, don’t get too worried about that.

But when looking at the starting roster, you have to wonder what will happen if Josh Howard is not successful as the starting shooting guard.  That expiring contract may look really tempting to other teams at the trade deadline and the Finley sized hole at shooting guard has been rotting away at the Mavericks since Michael was sent packing with Cuban’s millions.

If the Mavericks are under-performing at the trade deadline and Josh is either in Joshland mentally or Josh is just not able to pull off the position change, it is totally believable that Howard is finally traded for a shooting guard in February.

At which point, the backup small forward is??  Not Gooden.  Not Singleton.

Based on the current assumed roster, it would be between Quinton Ross and Tim Thomas for some relatively significant minutes.  Quite possibly 7th or 8th man minutes.  Regular rotation minutes.

Take a Deep Breath

Okay, time for a sanity check.  It seems unlikely, based upon past performance and expected opportunity, that Tim Thomas suddenly turns in a Stack-like performance in Dallas.   But I would be equally surprised if 82 games go by without Thomas getting some serious court time and maybe even looking pretty good as the beneficiary of the attention Dirk draws.

Granted, I’m a sucker for change-of-pace players on the Mavericks.  Even guys I previously disliked prior to their arrival in Dallas.  I honestly believed that Keith Van Horn would be an effective player off the bench for the Mavs playoff-run several years ago.  It is my version of Don Nelson’s quest for the Point Forward.

And like Don, I will probably still be looking for my mythical player next year too.  But it is the middle of summer.  Everything is possible right now.  Right?  Right?