Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Sacramento Kings (21-40) at Dallas Mavericks (41-21)
Life without Jason Terry officially begins for the Dallas Mavericks.
(Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)
The reigning Sixth Man of the Year suffered facial injuries from an incidental elbow in the Mavericks' 112-109 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night. As a result, Terry underwent a surgery Friday afternoon to repair any damage sustained from the incident. It is unclear when he'll return to the court, but it is clear that the Mavericks will have to move ahead without the versatile guard. Riding a nine-game winning streak, Friday night the Mavs welcome in a Sacramento Kings squad that Dallas has already beaten twice.
But without Terry's 17.0 points, 3.8 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game, the Mavericks are missing a big part of their team. While the sharpshooter has been a star in a sixth man role, Mavs Rick Carlisle thinks of him as a first-stringer.
"(Terry) is really a starter. What we've lost is our sixth starter. We'll look at it that way," Carlisle said.
As Terry battles his way back for the Mavs' stretch run, Carlisle will be looking for a committee of players to step in and fill No. 31's output. The list starts with rookie Rodrigue Beaubois, J.J. Barea and DeShawn Stevenson.
"There's a lot of guys that can fill that position...Stevenson is certainly going to play some there, Beaubois can play some there and J.J. can play some at that spot," the coach added. "The different guys that we have available all bring something a little different. Stevenson's a tough, physical defender who plays well in our system. Beaubois can bring us some athleticism and quickness. Barea brings some play-making. All those guys are going to be certainly involved in the thought process, and a lot of them will be playing quickly."
"We're going to miss a great player in JET (Terry)," Barea said. "He'll be back soon, he's a fighter. We can't wait to have him back -- a great off the bench player. He's one of the main guys on this team, so we've got a bunch of guys that's got to step up and play for him."
Still, it is important that the Dallas reserves not try to individually fill Terry's shoes.
"It's had to say that we need one guy off the bench to give us 20 a game. That's hard to do...That collective group is going to have to fill the void with JET out," Carlisle said.
But while the Mavericks attempt to fill the void, the upset-minded Kings squad come in looking for retribution. Led by Rookie of the Year frontrunner Tyreke Evans, the Kings will be out to end the Mavs' streak dead in its tracks. Stopping Evans is priority No. 1 for the Mavs."(Evans) is a terrific young player. He does a little bit of everything. We're going to have to have a lot of guys coming at him, and we're going to have to be ready to double-team him if we need to," Carlisle concluded.
Fortunately for the Mavericks, while Terry will be out, point Jason Kidd will be back on the hardwood after sitting out a game to rest. The 36-year-old has been on a tare since making his 10th All-Star appearance.
"I think it was a great thing for me (to rest). The unfortunate thing was JET getting hit in the face, but that happens. But it was good watching from a different seat," Kidd said.
Now, with the Mavericks' 10th straight win in sight, Kidd and the Mavs look to remain hot while pedaling towards a postseason push. Kidd says the absence of Terry could be a blessing in disguise.
"It's something that we look forward to getting some guys some minutes, and look at it like JET gets some rest because he's been logging a lot of minutes, too," Kidd explained. "It's a two-way street, it gets the other guys an opportunity and it also gives JET a time to catch his breath and be ready to go once the playoffs start."
The Mavs try to run their winning streak to double digits, hosting the Kings on Friday night. The game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.
For up to the minute news on the Dallas Mavericks, visit Mavs.com. Follow Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.
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