Shawn Marion is averaging the least amount of minutes (31) and shots (10) per game since his rookie season in 1999-’00, but he has still been a very strong and consistent player for the 30-15 Dallas Mavericks this season.  He shoots for a good percentage (51%) and is one of the Mavericks’ best defenders.  On the season, Marion is averaging 11.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.9 blocks.  Despite being in the league for 10 years now, the 31-year-old Marion has not lost much of his athleticism and is one of Dallas’ best play-makers.  He is good complementary player to Dirk Nowitzki as well as Jason Kidd.  Kidd still likes to get out on the break and dish it off to a good fast break finisher, something Marion has always been great at and still is.  Marion is one of those players who does not have to score a ton to make a big impact on the game, but he still can be relied on to give the Mavs some extra scoring on offense when they need it.  Marion will be a big asset for the Mavs in the playoffs.

Jason Kidd will go down as one of the best point guards to ever play in the NBA, and even though he has been in the league for over 15 years he is still one of the best point guards currently in the league.  Although Kidd is averaging a career low in points, he is still a stat sheet filler that sets his teammates up perfectly and plays great defense.  Kidd is averaging 8.9 points, 9.2 assists, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.6 steals.  The knock on Kidd has always been his lack of an outside shot but he has been very effective from three point land, hitting 41% of his threes.  His 9.2 assists per game average is good enough for 5th best in the league and he still makes things difficult for opposing guards with his strength and great anticipation on defense.  Kidd is one of the main reasons why the Mavericks have the second best record in the Western Conference and they will need his strong play and leadership come playoff time.

The Mavericks have gotten outstanding production out of the center position this season. Erick Dampier and Drew Gooden are combining to average 47.7 minutes, 15.7 points, 16.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 2.8 blocked shots per game. Both players are used to playing bigger minutes so they are fresh and ready to rock for the Mavericks and the team is benefitting big time from it.

Jason Terry was the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year winner last season, and although he is still one of the best in the NBA in that role, his numbers have dropped in nearly every category this season.  Last year Terry shot 46% from the field and 37% from three, while averaging 19.6 points, 3.4 assists, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.3 steals.  Well, this season all of those numbers (except assists) have dropped.  This season he is shooting only 43% from the field and 34% from three, averaging 16.3 points, 3.5 assists, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.1 steals.  Terry can’t blame playing time for his diminished play as he is getting nearly the exact amount of playing time this year (33.5 mpg) as last year (33.7 mpg).  The Mavericks are going to need Terry to step it up, especially shooting the ball.

Early in the 4th quarter of the Dallas Mavericks’ 100-95 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers last night, Dirk Nowitzki hit a baseline-jumper to put his career point total to 20,001.  Nowitzki was part of the first big wave of European players to come to the NBA in the 1990′s, and the German-native was drafted 9th overall in the 1998 draft.  A lot of people questioned this pick at the time and the 7-foot lanky German did not play well his rookie year.  Nowitzki was not used to the physicality of the NBA, as well as the supreme athletes he had to face night-in and night-out.  Nowitzki has even stated he contemplated quitting the NBA and going back to Germany.  Nowitzki and the Mavericks sure are glad he decided against that.  He put in the hard work, got stronger and learned the NBA game so his great skill-set could finally emerge.  He is a perennial All-Star and is the best European player to ever play in the NBA.  He became the first European player to win the NBA MVP Award in 2007 and now has become the first to score 20,000 points in his career.

The Mavericks took Roy Tarpley with the 7th pick in the first round of the 1986 NBA Draft. He played in 280 games (57 starts) for the Mavericks in his career averaging 26.7 minutes, 12.6 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocked shots per game. Tarpley had big problems with drugs throughout his career which ended way too soon. Tarpley would have been a NBA star if he could have just stayed off the sauce. What a waste of talent.

31-year old power forward Dirk Nowitzki keeps rolling along for the Dallas Mavericks. He has played in 36 games (all starts) for the Mavericks this season and he is averaging 37.8 minutes, 25.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.3 blocked shots per game. Nowitzki has now played in 875 games (851 starts) in his career with the Mavericks and he is averaging 36.6 minutes, 22.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.0 blocked shot per game. Nowitzki is the rare 7-footer who is a great outside shooter as he has hit 37.9% of his shots from three point range in his career. Nowitzki is the face of the Mavericks’ franchise and he is showing no signs of slowing down yet.

The Mavericks have acquired 33-year old forward Eduardo Najera from the Nets for 24-year old forward Kris Humphries and 23-year old small forward Shawne Williams. Najera played in 13 games (2 starts) for the Nets this season and he averaged 15.7 minutes, 3.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He has now played in 533 games (82 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 18.9 minutes, 5.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Najera is back to where he started his NBA career as he played for the Mavericks from 2000-2004. Kris Humphries played in 25 games (0 starts) for the Mavericks this season and he averaged 12.6 minutes, 5.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Mavericks’ coaches were upset with Humphries who sometimes runs the wrong plays. Shawne Williams has not played in any games this season for the Mavericks. Last year he played in 15 games (0 starts) for the Mavericks in which he averaged 11.3 minutes, 2.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game on only 28.6% shooting from the floor. The Mavericks are really happy with this trade as it gets rid of a couple of problems while bringing in a player they have always liked.

The Mavericks really like rookie PG Rodrigue Beaubois but he is buried on the depth chart right now. He has played in 20 games (13 starts) for the Mavericks this year and he is averaging 11.9 minutes, 5.5 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Beaubois is also shooting the lights out so far this season hitting 51.1% of his shots from the floor. He will likely have a much bigger role down the road for the Mavericks but he has got to be a good sport and bide his time.

The Mavericks really need a healthy Josh Howard if they are going to really compete for a NBA title because he makes the team a really awesome offensive team with no weaknesses in the starting line-up when he is on the court. He has played in 13 games (3 starts) for the Mavericks this season and he is averaging 26.7 minutes, 13.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game. When Howard gets 100% healthy he will give Jason Kidd a second lethal player on the fast break along with Shawn Marion which will make the Mavericks one of the funnest and best basketball teams in the NBA.