Dallas Is No Pushover Now

Four years ago, the Clippers owned the Dallas Mavericks, winning five times over a six-game stretch.

Since then, however, the Clippers have taken on another rebuilding project while the Mavericks have become one of the league’s hottest franchises.

The reason? Start with Dallas owner Mark Cuban.

Compared to his Clipper counterpart Donald Sterling, who could pass as the Grinch who stole Christmas to many of the team’s followers, Cuban has already gained a Santa Claus reputation with the Mavericks.

Unlike Sterling, who has not made too many strong financial commitments to improve the Clippers since he bought the franchise in 1981, Cuban is not afraid to spend money to upgrade his team. Instead of waiting and hoping for the Mavericks to grow into a quality team, Cuban has gone out and picked up as much talent (young and old) as he could since he took over the franchise last January.

And so far, Cuban is looking like a smart man. Behind up-and-coming players such as Michael Finley and Dirk Nowitzki along with recent pick-ups such as Steve Nash and Howard Eisley, the Mavericks are right in the hunt for the Midwest Division lead.’

“I told Mark Cuban before the start of the game that they have done a great job of putting together good players along with solid complimentary players,” Coach Alvin Gentry said. “I had Christian Laettner in Detroit and he’s as smart as a player as there is in this league and he’s coming off the bench for [the Mavericks]. They have a very good mix.”

By the way, with the Mavericks’ 105-96 victory Thursday night, they have defeated the Clippers nine consecutive times.

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One positive for the Clippers against Dallas was the play of veteran center Cherokee Parks. After being acquired in a trade from Washington late last month, Parks spent most of his time on the bench watching Michael Olowokandi and Sean Rooks.

But on Thursday, Gentry called on him in the second half and Parks responded with 10 points and four rebounds in 18 minutes. Parks made five of seven field goals, including a power dunk over Dallas center Shawn Bradley.

“We’ve been trying to find some minutes for him [and based on his effort against the Mavericks] we’re going to have to get him in there,” Gentry said. “We knew he would give us additional outside shooting. But he is also a real smart player and he understands how to play the game.”

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In the 10 games the Clippers have won this season, they shot 45.3% from the field. In the 20 games they have lost, they have shot slightly under 42%. . . . The Clippers’ free-throw shooting has improved dramatically over the last three weeks. After ranking next to last over the first month of the season, the Clippers have shot 70% or better in seven of their last 10 games, including five games when they shot over 75%.