Always a Maverick: Nick Van Exel was known as much for his difficult attitude as his trademark hot streaks until he was traded to Dallas last season. Now, the fire in his belly has ignited the Mavericks' run to the Western Conference finals

Sporting News, The, May 26, 2003 by Sean Deveney

Here comes Nick Van Exel off the visiting bench with just about 4 minutes to play in the first quarter, as usual. He is built like a coat rack, 6-1 and generously listed at 195 pounds, socks pulled to his brace-wrapped knees, Dallas warmup jacket on, some remnants of sweat from pregame shootaround still visible on his forehead. In sync--it's as well-timed as some Laurel and Hardy comedy bit--the home crowd takes notice. "Booooo!" Van Exel taps the scorer's table as he walks onto the court, removes the warmup and points to Mavs starter Raja Bell--and more crowd attention follows. "Booooo!" As the game resumes, Van Exel touches the ball. "Booooo!" He dribbles. "Booooo!" He drives, shoots. "Booooo!" He scores. "Booooo!"

Just a typical evening for Van Exel. "I don't mind it," Van Exel says. "Let 'em boo. They are not supposed to like me."

Not a problem. Van Exel is not liked around the NBA, not by coaches, not by front office execs, not by fans. He has been disliked in the NBA dating all the way back to his induction into the league when he slipped from his expected draft spot in the middle of the first round to 37th in 1993, thanks to two missed flights to Charlotte, a botched interview with coach George Karl in Seattle and rumors of a bad attitude in general.

Most of Van Exel's career has gone the same way. There have been figurative head-butting sessions with referees and one that was more literal--when he delivered a forearm to referee Ron Garretson in 1996. There were the epic clashes between Van Exel and former Lakers coach Del Harris in Los Angeles, including a shouting bout on the sideline in the last loss of a playoff series in 1997. There were more clashes with coach Dan Issel after Van Exel's trade to the Nuggets, including Issel's accusation that Van Exel dogged it through his first season in Denver. There was Van Exel's sulking last year as he demanded a trade from the Nuggets. If anyone has earned a little heckling, it's Van Exel.

But if the booing has gotten louder in recent weeks, it's a good sign for the Mavericks. It means Van Exel, once dubbed "the baby-faced killer" by ex-Clippers coach Bill Fitch, still is on the roll he started in Round 2 of the postseason. He created havoc for the Kings' defense by averaging 25.3 points on 51.9 percent shooting off the bench and almost single-handedly led the team to wins in Games 2 and 3 by scoring 36 and 40 points, respectively. His average ranks second in playoff history for off-the-bench scoring in a single series. The performance represents a change in Van Exel's disappointing postseason history. Entering these playoffs, he had shot 36.6 percent from the field in 44 games and averaged just 14.0 points and 5.5 assists.

Heading into the Sacramento series, it was the Kings' point guard combo of Mike Bibby and Bobby Jackson that was supposed to shine, especially considering the way Van Exel and Steve Nash, the Mavericks' starter at the point, flopped in last year's five-game playoff flameout against the Kings. Van Exel shot a miserable 1-for-17 from the 3-point line in that series; Nash averaged 4.4 turnovers. This year, the Dallas point guards sizzled in the conference semis. Nash averaged 7.4 assists and just 2.4 turnovers, and Van Exel went from inconsistent sub to the focal point of Dallas' offense.

As the all-Texas conference finals got under way in San Antonio, the biggest challenge for the Mavericks was stopping back-to-back MVP Tim Duncan, but the challenge for the Spurs was to control Nash and Van Exel, and that could prove equally daunting. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich must use defensive whiz Bruce Bowen on Mavs swingman Michael Finley, leaving second-year point guard Tony Parker, along with Stephen Jackson and rookie Emanuel Ginoblli, with the task of dealing with Van Exel and Nash. If the Mavericks stand a chance against the favored Spurs, it will depend on the ability of Nash to skitter inside San Antonio's right defense and, more important, Van Exel's ability to create havoc and show the toughness and leadership that got the Mavericks to this point. "No doubt," Nash says of Van Exel, "he has been our MVP so far."

Guarding Nash and Van Exel starts with the Mavs, pick-and-roll. The Kings usually switched against that play, often leaving Van Exel in a mismatch. That backfired because Van Exel was hot from all his favorite spots--behind the 3-point line, off the dribble for awkward-looking one-handed runners and in the paint for layups--and easily was able to exploit mismatches. "He is quick, and when you have both of them, you have to do what you can to keep up," Bobby Jackson says. "Sometimes, it does not matter. Sometimes, it just does not seem like anyone is guarding them."

As a two-time All-Star and one-third (with Finley and Dirk Nowitzki) of the Mavs' Big Three, Nash has been essential to the Dallas game plan for three years. But Van Exel's increasingly hefty role is a surprise, so much that the locals in Dallas have upped the Big Three to the Big Four. During the regular season, Mavericks coach Don Nelson pulled Van Exel off the bench but never was sure what was in store. "When I think he's going to have a good game, he's 2-for-13," Nelson told reporters. Those 2-for-13 games always are a possibility--Van Exel was 2-for-11 in Game 4 against Sacramento--but they have been rare in the postseason.