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.

It appears that 29-year old small forward Josh Howard is getting offered around the league in trade talks. He has played in 28 games (7 starts) for the Mavericks this season and he is averaging 26.4 minutes, 12.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. But, his shooting has been off this season as he is only hitting 39.4% of his shots from the floor and 26.5% from three point range. Howard is a talented player but I really doubt that he can bring as much in return in a trade as he is probably worth to the Mavericks.

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.

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.