Stripped of Animal

On orders from Avery Johnson, the team wasn’t allowed to use Brandon Bass’ nickname after the bruising power forward didn’t commit a foul in 19 minutes against Cleveland on Dec. 27. Johnson has three options for the big guys protecting the paint: Block the shot or take a charge or commit a hard foul.

Bass claims to have never taken a charge in his life. And since he had only one blocked shot that night and no fouls, Johnson took away his “Animal” moniker. His teammates, especially Dirk Nowitzki, took to over-pronouncing his first name “B-Ran-Don.”

The ban didn’t last long. “I got it back the next game,” Bass said of his nickname. He nearly fouled out, muscling up for five fouls in 23 minutes against Golden State on Jan. 2.