Sports

Post-deadline Mavs have new look

It would be a sacrilege not to begin today’s blather with doubly dangerous Dallas.

Winners of 12 straight, the Mavericks, strictly offensive a moment ago, are No. 2 in the Spaghetti Western standings after last night’s 125-112 win at Minnesota, a scant 2½ games behind the loopy Lakers.

Their current stretch of prosperity — longest since reeling off 17 in succession three seasons ago — was energized by picking the Wizards’ carcass and fleeing the trade-deadline scene with their three best defensive players.

Accordingly, Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson became the Mavs’ three best defensive players. Meaning their previous best defenders automatically shifted down three notches.

Shawn Marion and Jason Kidd provide honest coverage more times than not, but aren’t exactly tamper-proof at this stage of their careers. Yet, as fourth and fifth on the Dallas Resistance depth chart, they are traffic cops.

Consequently, the complexion of the Mavs has changed dramatically. For years, they’ve been urgently in need of a defensive presence to supplement their Dirk Nowitzki-dominated offense, above all when it stalls or conks out altogether.

What’s more, each of the new acquisitions is capable of contributing offensively. Specifically, Butler is equipped to carry the team for extended periods when Nowitzki is off or being swarmed. No disrespect to Jason Terry, but I can’t remember the last time the Mavs owned the luxury of such an element of elasticity. I’m drawing a blank; has Nowitzki ever played alongside someone so skilled?

Adding to Dallas’ newfound defensive culture is Eduardo Najera. A consummate role player, he’s a specialist whose specialty is digging in and dishing it out. He sets picks, takes hard fouls, secures extra possessions and can’t be offended by Dan Issel.

“This is the best team the Mavs have had,” declares a connoisseur of NBA redesign.

Better than the team that was disposed in six Finals games by the Heat?

“Easily,” he replied promptly, “because it is their first team where the defense comes from within. Regardless of what it may have looked like, Don Nelson and Avery Johnson had good defense principles (same ones), but there was never enough bona fide defenders to make it a ‘get-stops’ outfit.”

Still, it was good enough in combination with the offense to average more than 55 wins for the decade.

Nonetheless, the Mavs failed in their only Finals. And it was their defense that let them down then, as well as previous aborted attempts to get to the championship. That was never more true than the ’07 season, when the seventh-best team in league history (67-15) couldn’t rely on its defense to get it a first-round win against the Warriors, a wild, Sam Peckinpah bunch that could not possibly beat a legit defensive unit.

Moving along to the present, the Mavs won Saturday night in Chicago minus their 7-footers: Haywood has back tightness and played about two minutes last night vs. the Wolves; Erick Dampier’s dislocated finger has kept him in casual attire for the entire win streak (no comments from the peanut gallery) and 15 of the last 17.

Lest we forget, Terry, whose nuclear sub stats are 17 points and 3.8 assists per, was given an unscheduled ObamaCare eye exam by Minnesota’s Corey Brewer on March 3. He underwent successful orbital surgery and is expected back in a couple of weeks.

No problem — when in doubt, go deep; rookie Rodrigue Beaubois promptly scored a career-high 24 points — four times his season’s average — hitting 10-17 in 35 minutes.

Even the butcher, the baker and the schedule maker have cut the 44-21 Mavs some slack. After visiting the Off-Target Center, they get to host both our local yokels, the Nyets tomorrow and the Knicks three nights later.

While on the subject of Camp Cablevision, reader Jerry Sobel, reacting to last Friday’s column re Donnie Walsh’s “Master Plan,” wants to know why I’m always so negative.

“Who needs first-round draft picks? Didn’t you read that Eddy Curry may be back before the season ends?”

Good point. Then again, I just received this e-mail report from reader Phil Savery: “Following suit with LeBron James, Curry wanted to change the number on his Knicks uniform for next season. Unfortunately, Curry was injured filling out the documents and missed the deadline.”

peter.vecsey@nypost.com