NSBNews.net graphic / Vince Carter Sports Notebook
DAYTONA BEACH -- Vince Carter's place as the starting shooting guard lasted all of one game as the Dallas Mevericks went with Delonte West in Monday's 115 to 93 drubbing by the Denver Nuggets, 115 to 93 on Monday night.
At the beginning of the second half, when Daytona Beach's Carter could have been paired with his New Jersey Nets backcourt mate Jason Kidd, Coach Rich Carlisle went with Jason Terry with West back on the bench.
Still, Carter played 20:32 minutes overall and went 3 for 6 for 11 points, including two three-pointers. He also had a rebound and three assists. Carter played only eight minutes in the first half, having picked up three quick fouls.
At haltime, the Mavs trailed Denver, 62-41. Carter picked up three quick fouls in the first half, playing only eight minutes. Carter's benching actually started in the third quarter of Dallas' Christmas loss to the Miami Heat, 105-94.
Carlisle told the Dallas media he was looking for more playmaking ability.
"I don't know, that's what he said," Carter told ESPN Dallas' Jeff Caplan, when asked if his benching was a coaching decision and not a health issue. "We're a new team ... that has to kind of learn each other on the fly, that's just the way it goes.
Carter continued, "There's a lot of teams that have the bulk of their guys returning. We don't. There's six guys missing from last year and added six more guys. So it's going to be a process and we need to learn on the fly. I think we understand that."
The Mavericks, winless in their first two games play tonight on the road against the Oklahoma Thunder, who are undefeated after three gamers, including a 97-89 Christmas victory over Carter's former team, the Orlando Magic to start the shortened NBA season.
For more on Carter, here's a link: http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/mavericks/post/_/id/4682490/vince-carter-takes-benching-in-stride
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