Offseason Wishlist - Relaunching the Jet

Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Offseason Wishlist - Relaunching the Jet

Jason "the Jet" Terry was not satisfied with the end result of the 2009-10 season. Thoughts of what might have been now fuel Terry's desire this summer.

Coming off of a season that brought the sharpshooter the Sixth Man of the Year award, Terry entered his 11th campaign with his eyes set on more hardware. He had hoped to repeat as the league's best sixth man, while also leading his team to a title. But the 6-2 guard came up short in both areas, finishing runner-up to the Atlanta Hawks' Jamal Crawford for the individual award and then seeing his team fall to the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs.

With that disappointment Terry heads into the offseason, examining how he can better himself and improve his squad.

"It's all about looking in the mirror, what could you do better? For me, it's all about fine-tuning that jumper, getting that shooting percentage up and making sure that every shot goes in. And that's my job," Terry said.

Only one thing kept No. 31 from doing his job this season.


The former Arizona standout was briefly sidelined, after an unintentional elbow from Minnesota's Corey Brewer struck Terry in the face in the third quarter of a 112-109 home win on March 3. Though he went on to finish the game, tallying 26 points in the process, just two days later Terry was on a surgical table repairing a fractured orbital bone.

"It's a blessing. I got really lucky because I didn't break my nose. I actually just broke my cheek bone," Terry said of the injury.

But the Mavericks' emotional leader didn't sit on his hands for long. Terry returned to the lineup, wearing a protective mask, after missing just five games.

"(Terry) has always come back (from injuries) earlier than expected. He's a guy that plays hurt and has played with pain a significant number of times," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said.

By season's end, Terry had appeared in 77 games (12 starts), averaging 16.6 points in a mostly reserve role. But that scoring average was down from the 19.6 points an outing in the previous year, when he was recognized as the league's best reserve player.

With his shooting percentage also dropping from 46.3 percent to 43.8 percent in the span of a year, Terry understands that he will need to spend a lot of time in the gym this offseason. He also hopes that a renewed focus to the defensive end of the floor will help his total game, also boosting his team to the title.

"Like I said, fine-tuning the shot. The strength is the shot," Terry explained. "The weakness is defensive, a little bit. So, I'm going to do some things this year to work on that...It's all about hard work and dedication. That's the only way that you're going to win a championship. You got to keep working, keep working and keep getting better."


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