The Dallas Mavericks are playing some great basketball lately and have now won 12 straight games.  Their winning streak has given them the second best record in the Western Conference and they are now only 2.5 games behind the Los Angeles Lakers.  There isn’t one guy who you can attribute the Mavericks’ recent success to, as all five starters have been playing some solid basketball.  Dirk Nowitzki, of course, is their leader averaging 28.3 points during the winning streak.  It is the role players who have really been stepping it up and they are the difference makers for the Mavs lately.  Guys like Caron Butler and Shawn Marion have really been playing well.  Butler averages 16.8 points per game on the season, but in the past six games he is averaging 18.2 points.  Marion is averaging only 11.5 points per game this season, but in his past four games he is averaging 18.5 points.  Then there is Jason Kidd who has been having some monster assist games, dropping 10 dimes per game during the current winning streak.  The rookie Rodrigue Beaubois has been playing great recently, averaging 16.3 points, 2.5 assists, and 2.0 rebounds in the four games he has played this month.  If the Mavericks continue their stellar play in the playoffs, they just might be the surprise of the year and make a run at the NBA Title.

Shooting guard Jason Terry will have surgery tomorrow to repair a fractured orbital bone (eye socket) that will cause him to miss the next 10-14 days. Terry has played in 62 games (12 starts) for the Mavericks this season and he is averaging 33.9 minutes, 17.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. It will be impossible for the Mavericks to replace Terry. Jose Juan Barea and Rodrigue Beaubois will likely both see a bump in minutes with Terry out of action. Barea has played in 61 games (18 starts) for the Mavericks this season and he is averaging 20.2 minutes, 7.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Rookie Rodrigue Beaubois has played in 37 games (13 starts) for the Mavericks this season and he is averaging 11.2 minutes, 5.3 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Complicating matters further is the fact that the Mavericks would like to give Jason Kidd some time off to keep fresh for the playoffs but they might not be able to do that with Terry out of action.

The Mavericks have signed 24-year old shooting guard Von Wafer to a 10-day contract. Wafer played in 63 games (11 starts) for the Rockets last season and he averaged 19.4 minutes, 9.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. He has now played in 109 games (11 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 13.3 minutes, 6.2 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. The Mavericks were lucky to find a quality player like Wafer to help them off the bench.

With the acquisition of Brendan Haywood from the Wizards last night it looks like Erick Dampier is now the second string center for the Mavericks. He has played in 38 games (all starts) for the Mavericks this season and he is averaging 7.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game. Haywood and Dampier will likely combine to give the Mavericks a very productive center for 48 minutes a night as long as Dampier doesn’t mope because he’s coming off the bench now.

UPDATE: Erick Dampier dislocated his right middle finger last night in his first game playing with Brendan Haywood. His injury will require surgery that will keep him out indefinitely.

The Dallas Mavericks have traded 29-year old SG/SF Josh Howard, 28-year old PF/C Drew Gooden, 28-year old SG/SF Quinton Ross and 28-year old PF James Singleton to the Wizards for 29-year old small forward Caron Butler, 30-year old center Brendan Haywood and 28-year old shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson. Butler will move right into the starting lineup at small forward for the Mavericks. He played in 47 games (all starts) with the Wizards this season and he averaged 39.4 minutes, 16.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Butler has now played in 533 games (500 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 36.7 minutes, 16.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Butler will give them a good lift on both sides of the court. Brendan Haywood will bump Erick Dampier to the bench. He has played in 49 games (48 starts) for the Wizards this season and he averaged 32.9 minutes, 9.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 2.1 blocked shots per game. He is playing the best basketball of his career right now and he will give the Mavericks a presence under the basket at both ends of the court. Haywood has played in 579 games (450 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 24.5 minutes, 7.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game. DeShawn Stevenson was a throw in that the Mavericks will have little use for. He played in 40 games (13 starts) for the Wizards this season and he is averaging 15.4 minutes, 2.2 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. His shooting (28.2% from the floor) has been really pathetic this season. Stevenson has now played in 621 games (422 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 23.9 minutes, 8.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.

The Mavericks won’t miss any of the guys they traded as they replaced them with better players. Josh Howard is the best player the Mavericks traded but he has been gimpy this season. Howard has played in 31 games (9 starts) for the Mavericks this season and he is averaging 26.7 minutes, 12.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Drew Gooden was a solid backup PF/C for the Mavericks. He played in 46 games (11 starts) for the the Mavericks this season and he was averaging 22.4 minutes, 8.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game. Quinton Ross wasn’t doing much for the Mavericks this season. He played in 27 games (7 starts) for the Mavericks this season and he was averaging 11.1 minutes, 2.0 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.3 assists per game. James Singleton also wasn’t making much of a impact for the Mavs this season. He played in 25 games (0 starts) for the Mavericks this season and he averaged 8.4 minutes, 2.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.4 assists.

This was a great trade for the Mavericks and it will put pressure on the powers in the Western Conference to counter it.