Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) looks to pass as Oklahoma City Thunder's Nick Collison (4) defends during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011.

Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) looks to pass as Oklahoma City Thunder's Nick Collison (4) defends during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011.

Nick Collison (Oklahoma City Thunder) had one of his better statistical games of the season on Thursday. Collison scored eight points on perfect 4 for 4 shooting in 22 minutes against the Dallas Mavericks. Collison also added three rebounds (full stats here).

Before the game on Thursday, NBA.com’s Charley Rosen called Collison “arguably the best defensive power forward in the league.” And Rosen’s theory was quickly put to the test, as Collison was tasked with guarding 2011 Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki for a good portion of Thursday night’s game. Nowitzki still finished with 29 points off of 9-17 shooting, but Collison’s plus-16 for the game (“just another Nick Collison +/- line,” quipped Sports Illustrated’s Zach Lowe) was the only positive plus/minus stat for a Thunder big.

Plus/minus, in a nutshell, keeps track of the score while a player is on the floor. Ideally, a higher score indicates that a player is doing a better job of helping his team score and stopping the other team from scoring.

Collison takes some pride in the measurement. From Thunder writer Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman:

I asked Collison after the game tonight how he feels about plus-minus since he’s the Thunder’s resident king of that stat. He said he looks at it and believes in it but acknowledged it has its flaws. “Sometimes, you’re out there and what happens has nothing to do with you,” Collison said. But when I told Collison he was a plus-16 tonight he lit up.

• Marcus Morris (Houston Rockets) hasn’t seen much playing time in the regular season since scoring 20 points in 22 minutes during the last preseason game. Marcus played four scoreless minutes in his debut Monday, and on Thursday, Marcus couldn’t get off the bench against the San Antonio Spurs until seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, when the game was already out of hand. Marcus scored his first two NBA points off 1 of 4 shooting, with one rebound in seven minutes (full stats here). Fellow rookie Chandler Parsons entered the game before Marcus and played 16 minutes.

No word on why Marcus has fallen to the end of the bench, but the Rockets might be trying to bring the rookie along slowly. After the game, Marcus tweeted:

Slow process, never gone stop working .. F.O.E Memphis tonight

• Cole Aldrich (Oklahoma City Thunder) did not play (coach’s decision) on Thursday against the Mavericks. Aldrich made his season debut on Wednesday but was not needed a day later, as the Oklahoma City starters stayed out of foul trouble against Dallas.

Other notes

• On Thursday night, Greg Ostertag (NBA D-League’s Texas Legends) played in his first professional basketball game in five years. Ostertag, who sported a No. 50 jersey, played 17 minutes for the Legends and scored two points with 11 rebounds and a block (full stats here).

You can watch video of Ostertag in action here (starting around :40).

Earlier in the day, the Deseret News published a short Ostertag piece. Writer Jody Genessy talked to Utah Jazz head coach Tyrone Corbin, an assistant when Ostertag was finishing up his Jazz career:

When asked for his reaction to Ostertag being signed by the D-League’s Texas Legends, Corbin simply replied, “Are you serious?”

Corbin then walked off laughing.

Ostertag, it seems, is serious and he opened up to Kevin Scheitrum of NBADLeague.com. In the Q&A, Ostertag reveals that he’s only been training and exercising for two weeks (“When I quit, I quit.”). He also talks a bit about his motivation (“I’m not doing it to prove anybody wrong, but to prove I can still do it, and to give it one last good effort.”) and his timetable (“If at the end of the month or month and a half, if I don’t feel like anything’s happening, I’ll pack my stuff and go back to Arizona.”)

He also has some words for “naysayers” like Corbin:

I wasn’t an All-Star. I’ll be the first to admit it. But people knew I was there when I was there.

I was always, per 48 minutes, at the top of the league in blocked shots. I’m still 7-foot-2, still got big long arms, I’m a big body still. It’s just gonna be a matter of how fast can I get into shape.

If you have a few minutes, it’s worth your time to read the whole interview.

• The D-League’s other Jayhawk, Brady Morningstar (Tulsa 66ers), scored eight points with four rebounds and two steals on Thursday night. Morningstar played 31 minutes but was only 4 of 11 from the field (full stats here). Morningstar will play again tonight against Ostertag and the Texas Legends. The game will be broadcast at 7 p.m. at nba.com/futurecast.

• Paul Pierce (Boston Celtics), who sat out all three of the Celtics’ games with a heel injury, tweeted on Thursday:

I’m close very very close very

The Celtics play tonight, and they wouldn’t mind having Pierce back on the court. Without him, Boston is 0-3 to start the season.

Jayhawks in upcoming NBA games

Friday, Dec. 30

• 6:30 p.m., Paul Pierce (if healthy) and the Boston Celtics vs. the Detroit Pistons

• 7 p.m., Marcus Morris and the Houston Rockets vs. Josh Selby and the Memphis Grizzlies

• 7 p.m., NBATV, Markieff Morris and the Phoenix Suns vs. the New Orleans Hornets

• 7 p.m., Mario Chalmers and the Miami Heat vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves

• 7:30 p.m., Drew Gooden and the Milwaukee Bucks vs. the Washington Wizards