NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE.(players, teams and coaches of the National Basketball Association's Western Conference)

Dallas

BEEFING UP: PF Juwan Howard and C Calvin Booth put the team in better shape for the playoffs against opponents with imposing frontlines. Howard, Booth and C Shawn Bradley gave the Mavericks the muscle they needed to win games at Utah and Portland. Those victories send a message to the rest of the league that erases the team's wimpy reputation.... Coach Don Nelson has quit playing Hack-a-Shaq because Lakers C Shaquille 0'Neal has been hot from the free-throw line against Dallas. In a game last week, O'Neal winked at Nelson after swishing a free throw.... C Wang Zhizhi, the team's 1999 second-round pick, has been working out in Dallas with assistant Donnie Nelson. It is not clear yet if` he will play this year.

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME: Veterans SC Vernon Maxwell and PF Mark Bryant haven't made much of an impact on the court, but when they talk in the locker room, teammates listen. Maxwell has SG Michael Finley's ear. In a recent game at Utah, the Mavericks lacked aggression in the first half and were trailing by 11. During the intermission, Maxwell urged Finley to be more forceful while Bryant was spreading the same message to others. Finley set the tone by throwing down a massive dunk on Dallas' first possession of the third quarter. The team rallied for a victory over the Jazz, a possible first-round playoff opponent. --Ken Sins

Denver

BANGED UP: The team is battered and bruised. Every night, someone new is hurt. PF Antonio McDyess re-injured his knee last Friday against the Hornets. G/F George McCloud sat out with a sore lower back. C Terry Davis could be out for the season with a sore calf. PG Nick Van Exel played, but he added a bruised thigh to a litany of injuries. On the bright side, the Nuggets won a road game against a winning team for the first time since beating the Rockets on December 16. They did it after falling behind by 21 points. Van Exel, after missing two games with a sore back, scored a season-high 41, with seven 3-pointers.

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME: Coach Dan Issel finally made good on his threat to shake up the starting lineup. Calbert Cheaney has been starting in place of Voshon Lenard at small forward, and Kevin Willis is in place of Raef LaFrentz at center. LaFrentz was back in the starting lineup against the Hornets, but Cheaney remained, despite his ugly jump shot, because he's a better defender than Lenard. Issel has toughened up a bit, albeit a little too late for it to matter this season. He tends to shy away from disciplining his players and shaking things up. Many players think a change was long overdue and would have been more effective if it had come when the team still had a chance in the playoffs race. --Michael BeDan

Golden State