Four Mavs might draw Jamison

Updated: January 20, 2005, 10:48 AM ET

By Brian James | ESPN Insider

As the Dallas Mavericks and Washington Wizards face off in Dallas, the Mavs are on the right track again, winning seven of their past 10 games. That's remarkable, given that Marquis Daniels, Josh Howard, and Erick Dampier each have missed games with injuries or illness.

The Wizards, on the other hand, are still feeling the aftershocks of losing Larry Hughes on Jan. 15 for the next 4-6 weeks with a fractured right thumb, as was evident from their blowout loss in San Antonio on Jan. 17.

Still, even without Hughes, who's having a breakout year, the Jan. 18 Wizards-Mavs matchup has marquee value.

Antawn Jamison returns to Dallas for the first time since he won NBA Sixth Man Of The Year with the Mavericks last season. He was traded to the Wizards in a June 2004 deal that sent Jerry Stackhouse, Christian Laettner and the draft rights to Devin Harris to Dallas.

Both Jamison and Stackhouse have had outstanding seasons. Jamison has helped change the Wizards into Eastern Conference contenders and he will be out to remind the Mavericks' fans what they lost.

What are the Mavericks in for, and how might they plan to stop him?

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