In a Maverick State of Mind

There is a terrific recklessness about the Dallas Mavericks, their owner, their coach, their many-colored philosophies and strategies. First in scoring, last in preventing it, there is frenzy in everything they do, except winning championships, about which they are apparently more methodical.

So, there is no telling Don Nelson, a man with nothing to lose that he hasn’t lost before.

One day, he’ll beat the Lakers but good, and then maybe he’ll dance off to his beloved Maui, never to hack again.

Until then, he schemes. And he stands before his bench, before his funky owner and his posse of coaches and his loaded basketball team, and he folds his arms and rocks on his heels and nods.

Yes, this is exactly how he planned it, from Shaq-a-Dope, to all zone defenses all the time, to 40 three-point tries, the last played so gallantly to the 300 sections at Staples Center on Sunday night.

Then, he tilts his head and snaps his tongue and says he’ll be back soon, with something fresh, something that will get him six more points, or three, or even one.

“Well, that’s Don Nelson basketball,” Laker Coach Phil Jackson said. “They used to call it Donny-ball, back when he was at Golden State and Milwaukee. It’s a very unusual game and a fresh look at basketball.

“It’s tough to play against and has its own merit.”

They’ll play again tonight, the Lakers and the Mavericks, this time in Dallas, not 48 hours after they played a riveting game in Los Angeles, won by the Lakers. Of course.

The Mavericks, improving as quickly as Mark Cuban’s savings account will allow, are 0-3 against the Lakers, 46-17 against the rest of the NBA. Amazingly, Nelson has had three extreme game plans for the Lakers, all remarkably unlike the one before, all terribly entertaining.

In the first game, in Los Angeles, Nelson ordered his defense to front Shaquille O’Neal, hoping O’Neal would tire and the Laker offense would stall. O’Neal made 18 of 23 attempts, scored 46 points and the Lakers won, 98-94. “I should have had 60,” O’Neal groused.

In the second game, in Dallas, Nelson zoned the Laker offense for more than 30 minutes, hoping O’Neal would tire and, well, you know. O’Neal scored 31 points and the Lakers won, 101-94. “I’m not going back to the drawing board,” Nelson promised.

Back in L.A. for Sunday’s game, the Mavericks jacked all those threes, and zoned, and screen-and-rolled, and fretted, and lost, 105-103. “We were right where we wanted to be,” Nelson said.

The question is, are they closing in on the Lakers? Or, do they simply shoot well sometimes?

“They shot the ball very well,” O’Neal said Monday afternoon. “In order for them to beat us, they’re going to have to shoot the ball perfectly.”

Time, and perhaps the playoffs, will tell.

“We have to have a better structure on our screen-and-roll defense,” Jackson said. “They broke us down, they got the kinds of looks they wanted, and we just had to survive with it. You can say, ‘How well can a team shoot three-pointers over the course of a game?’ They can shoot them well, and they’re a team that’s capable of doing it. So, we’re going to have to be attentive.”

For what, exactly, tonight?

“I don’t know,” Robert Horry said. “With Nellie, you don’t even try to get into his mind and try to out-think him.”

It is unlikely that the Lakers would ask for substantial--if any--compensation were Jerry West to leave his consulting job to become president of another organization.

West spent his adult professional life with the Lakers, building two separate winners in the process, and team owner Jerry Buss is not expected to complicate an agreement should West conclude he would pursue a challenge elsewhere.

Out of the basketball management side for nearly two years, West, 63, is said to be mulling several situations outside of the Lakers, including a potential club presidency with the Atlanta Hawks. If none felt perfect to him, according to sources, West happily would remain in Los Angeles and with the Lakers. Those close to him, however, say West for the first time is curious about and willing to consider other opportunities.

Rick Fox, the Art Garfunkel era: 61 games, 7.3 scoring average, 40.2% shooting, 31.4% three-point shooting, 4.9 rebounds per game.

Rick Fox, the Paul Shaffer era: four games, 14 scoring average, 63.9% shooting, 60% three-point shooting, 6.8 rebounds per game.

Fox, who sheared himself before a fashion shoot last week, has scored 12 or more points in four consecutive games. In the 61 before, he scored at least 12 in seven.

Lindsey Hunter, who strained his left Achilles’ tendon late in the third quarter Sunday, practiced Monday and said he expected to play tonight.

TONIGHT

at Dallas, 5:30 PST, Channel 9

Site--American Airlines Center.

Radio--KLAC (570).

Records--Lakers 47-18, Mavericks 46-20.

Record vs. Mavericks--3-0.

Update--The Mavericks are 25-9 at home, though one of the losses was to the Lakers, by seven points on Feb. 3. The Lakers have won three in a row in Dallas, and seven in a row and 41 of 44 in the series.