Drew Gooden speaks the truth about Mavs' expectations

Drew Gooden has been around long enough to know the difference between closers and posers. He sees nothing in the way of posers when it comes to the Mavericks. In fact, he's matter-of-fact when it comes to analyzing where this team is this season, even before tonight's preseason opener. "We are one of the teams that luckily can say we are competing for a Finals spot,'' Gooden said after shootaround this morning. "Because let's be realistic: there's only six or seven teams that have a chance every year to do that. And I think we are one of those.'' Gooden takes exception when it is mentioned that the Mavericks are relatively small when he's at center. At 6-10, 250, he's plenty big. And it's the other positions on the court that make up for any lack of size in the paint. "We're athletic,'' he said. "Don't just say we're small. When Josh Howard is your two guard, that's an advantage, I believe. With Jason Kidd being the quarterback and you got a lot of guys that are athletic and can run and shoot the ball, that's a deadly force. And we will rebound.'' Tonight will be a chance for a nice first impression against the East champion Orlando Magic, who Gooden knows well. "That's my home team,'' he said. "I'm from Orlando, I stay in Orlando (in the off-season). It's always fun to play against these guys because they all live in the neighborhood.'' --Eddie Sefko