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NEW ORLEANS – Let me get this straight.

Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks wanted this first-round matchup?

The Mavericks felt New Orleans was the team that would allow them to get over their Golden State blues?

The Mavericks hope their experience will make a difference now that the series moves to American Airlines Center. But the way this series has begun, experience appears to be nothing more than a code word for old.

Maybe the club can fly noted curmudgeon Wilford Brimley in for Game 3 to whip the crowd into a frenzy and pass out Quaker Oats for every 60-point half the Mavericks allow.

They better have plenty of oats on hand.

The Hornets have scored 60, 67 and 64 points in their last three halves of basketball. The Mavericks have no answer for Chris Paul or the team's pick-and-roll.

New Orleans shot 60.8 percent from the field in Tuesday's Game 2 blowout. Three players scored 20 or more points – by the end of the third quarter – and six players finished in double figures.

In the spirit of true sportsmanship, New Orleans coach Byron Scott offered a possible solution to the Mavericks' defensive woes. The problem is it's not legal.

"They could put an extra defender out there, but I don't know if they will allow that," Scott said.

The NBA won't allow that. But what good would another old guy do anyway?

Believe me. I know.

Perimeter speed is an essential element for success in today's NBA. I know this because Mavericks coach Avery Johnson has said so repeatedly since he's become a head coach.

The Mavericks lost their fastest perimeter player when they sent Devin Harris to New Jersey. Don't get me wrong. Unlike others, I'm not here to argue that was a bad deal.

But once Harris' speed was removed from the equation, the Mavericks were left with precious little of that commodity on the perimeter. Jason Kidd, Jerry Stackhouse, Eddie Jones and Devean George have a wealth of experience, but they're not speed merchants.

That's why Jason Terry must go back into the starting lineup for Game 3. He's the only Mavericks guard who has a chance to keep up with the Hornets' younger, faster backcourt.

That's why the defense has broken down. New Orleans attacks on the perimeter, and the Mavericks don't have the speed to resist.

The Mavericks did what they wanted to Paul early in Tuesday's game. They rotated defenders on him. They trapped him early with a big man and forced the ball out of his hands.

The problem was, everyone Paul passed to hit his shots.

"We've shown that we can defend, and we've shown that we can give up a lot of points," Kidd said. "We've got to find that team that was defending there for awhile. Even when we lost those close games [in the regular season], we were defending.

"We have it in us."

It's buried deep at the moment.

Actually, this problem raised its gray head in last season's first-round loss to the Warriors. The Mavericks have given up an average of 111 points in their last six playoff games.

Why should we think this trend will reverse itself?

"Pride," Terry said. "When you take a butt-kicking like that, you dig in deep and come out swinging."

That would help. So would a little more speed on the perimeter.

How fast do you think Wilford Brimley is?