Former Dallas Mavericks head coach Don Nelson sure wasn?t kidding when acknowledging upon his resignation on Mar. 19 that the team simply was responding better to assistant coach Avery Johnson.

 Now that shouldn?t necessarily be seen as a knock towards Nellie; besides, he is the NBA?s second winningest coach all-time and is the Mavericks franchise leader in both wins (339) and winning percentage (.575%).  However, with The Li?l General now on board on a full-time basis, Dallas may boldly go where no Nelson-led squad has gone before:  the NBA Finals.

 Though he had more leeway than most of the league?s other top assistants, running practices in training camp as well as during the season - mostly because Nellie couldn?t be bothered any longer - in addition to the 13 games he took over for Nelson before his full-time appointment, questions still lingered regarding the timing of Johnson?s promotion.  With less than 20 games remaining in the season, it was thought the Mavs would simply be better off handing the reins to Johnson at the start of next season instead.

 But the results speak for themselves.  After Thursday?s rather convincing (to put it mildly) 104-68 victory at home over San Antonio, Dallas is now an impressive 9-2 under Johnson, and with less than two weeks remaining still have a fighting chance of overtaking the Spurs atop the Southwest Division (four games back) ? not inconceivable considering how San Antonio has faired thus far with their MVP Tim Duncan out of the lineup.  

 Prolonged winning streaks are nothing new in Dallas, not when the franchise has surpassed the 50-win total the last five seasons.  However, it?s the way in which the Mavs are winning games that has them looking like a bona fide title contender and my so-called sleeper pick if you will come playoff time.  

 Upon his hiring, we all knew Johnson emphasized defense first and foremost.   But no one expected his presence to pay immediate dividends, not when Nellie saw 135-120 shootouts as the way to reach the Promised Land.  

 In eleven games under Johnson, the Mavs are allowing a very respectable 92.3 points per game, including five games in which they held opponents to under 90 points.  As opposed to the last few seasons, where Dallas was a team you could drive down the lane on repeatedly and score on at will, they are now much more efficient defending in the low post (the Mavs rank 5th in the NBA in rebounding) as well as contesting shots (8th in the league in blocks) and passing lanes (4th in the league in steals). In Thursday?s win, Dallas limited San Antonio to just 35% shooting from the field in addition to their 11 blocked shots and 10 steals.  

 An improved defense has actually helped the Mavs? offense as well, believe it or not.  

 A newfound commitment to playing defense has enabled Dallas to pounce on the opposition by running on them in transition.  Stops on the defensive end, as most championship-caliber teams will tell you, always results in easy baskets at the other end.   Think defense first and the offense will take care of itself, right?    

 ?No question,? echoed Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.  ?This is the best team we?ve ever had here - especially because of our depth.  When you?re able to make stops on defense and then counter by running on teams - especially a team like ours where we can roll out 10 guys - it makes it so much harder for teams to keep up.?

 Arguably the most important player on Dallas? deep roster, if they intend on making a long playoff push, may not be perennial all-star Dirk Nowitzki, but free-agent pickup Erick Dampier.  

 Dampier, who signed a lucrative seven-year, $73.3 million contract in the off-season, gives the Mavericks a legitimate low-post presence they have been unable to lure since, well? ever since Cuban became owner.  Dampier is a bona fide double-double threat who can alter shots on the defensive end and give a team second opportunities offensively by pulling down critical rebounds.  

 Though injuries are always a concern with Dampier (he has missed 21 games this season with a stress facture in his right foot), he nevertheless, if healthy (and, for now, he is), can be the Mavs? final piece of the puzzle.  

 In what will be a wide-open playoff season, more so now that the Spurs have come back down to Earth with the loss of Duncan, Dallas has all of a sudden become a viable championship contender.

 And if that does indeed happen, they?ll have Nellie to thank, for his decision to step down may very well be the coaching move of the year.  

Kostas.Bolos@realgm.com