Of defense and effort

The Mavericks spent the first three games struggling to stop opponents. Just ask the guy who probably is their best defender, Quinton Ross. "It's been sporadic,'' he said. "We have stretches where we're good. But we know we can get better. We're focusing on it.'' Jason Terry noted that the first half against Detroit on Thursday was not typical of what the team has come to expect. "You look at our practices and we compete at a high level,'' he said. "That wasn't what we were doing in the first half.'' Part of the problem, of course, is that Shawn Marion and Josh Howard, two of the Mavericks' best defenders, aren't playing these days because of injury. No excuse, they say. "We got to play with the guys who can suit up,'' Jason Kidd said. "In the couple years I've been here, there's always been some injuries and guys have stepped in and helped us win ballgames. I think we're kind of used to the injury thing. We just play with the guys who can go.'' --Eddie Sefko