5 Mavs on All-Star ballot: Harris snubbed

Five Mavericks are among the 60 Western Conference players on the NBA All-Star ballot released today. Of those five, only Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard, both All Stars last year, are starters. The other Mavs on the ballot are Jason Terry, Jerry Stackhouse and Erick Dampier.

The notable omission is starting point guard Devin Harris, who is fourth on the team in scoring (13.0) and second in assists (4.8). “Stuff happens,” Harris said diplomatically.

Howard knows a little something about snubs. Despite having a career year, he was left off the team initially last season after voting by West coaches. He was eventually named an injury replacement by commissioner David Stern.

“Going to the All-Star Game is overrated,” Howard said with a laugh. “Not to take anything away from the guys on it, but it’s like the all-defense team. It’s the same five guys every year. I went through it. You have to prove yourself and Devin has proved himself. He can use this as more motivation to prove that he belongs on the All-Star ballot next year.”

Three guards from the Spurs and Suns are on the ballot. There are some questionable names among the guards, including Randy Foye (yet to play this season), Luke Ridnour (averaging 2.0 ppg and 15.2 mpg), Jarrett Jack (coming off the bench) and Antoine Walker (he’s a forward).

Nowitzki is a shoe-in even if he’s not voted in by fans. Howard should be, but it could be close when it comes time for coaches to vote. Terry, currently the team’s leading scorer, and Stackhouse have come off the bench all season. Avery Johnson likes to refer to them as 6A and 6B, in terms of the sixth-man role. Dampier made his debut in last night’s win over Philadelphia. Johnson has said that Gana Diop will remain the starter even when Dampier gets back to full strength.

To see the complete list of West and East nominees, and for info on how to vote, here’s the link at NBA.com. The All-Star Game is Feb. 17 in New Orleans.