Erick Dampier has been cleared to play as many minutes as coach Avery Johnson needs him to. The 6-11 center is in far better condition than he was last season. And the system Johnson will employ assures Dampier will not need a court order to get the basketball thrown to him.

Is there anything, then, standing between Dampier and the breakthrough season that never developed last season, one in which he plays at an All-Star level?

"I don't think so," Dampier said Tuesday before the season opener against Phoenix. "I think Avery's made a point that they're going to let me touch the ball. Obviously, the ball runs through Dirk [Nowitzki]. But I can pick and choose where to get my shots."

All-Star caliber centers are few and far between in the Western Conference. Dampier could join that group without too much imagination.

"It's a matter of me being consistent," he said. "My numbers may not be where I want them to be, but hey, if I go out and get a double-double every night, who knows? I might have a chance to be there."