The Mavericks have shut down 33-year old starting power forward Dirk Nowitzki for a while due to a knee injury and to work on his conditioning as he didn’t start the season in tip top shape.  Nowitzki has played in 16 games (all starts) so far this year for the Mavericks and he is averaging 30.9 minutes, 17.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.  His shot has been off this season, especially from three point range where he is 8 for 34 (23.5%).  The Mavericks have replaced Nowitzki in the starting lineup with Lamar Odom and it hasn’t worked out so far.  Odom has started 3 games while Nowitzki has been out of action and he is averaging 10.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.  Maybe Coach Carlisle thought this would jumpstart Odom’s season, but it hasn’t workout out that way yet.  Odom has now played in 19 games (3 starts) for the Mavs so far this year and he is averaging 21.0 minutes, 7.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.  He has shot lousy from the floor (32.9%), the three point line (24.1%) and the free-throw line (58.9%) so far this year.  The Mavericks better hope that Nowitzki gets healthy soon, because Lamar Odom is showing no signs of snapping out of his year long funk.

The Dallas Mavericks will be without 22-year old rookie shooting guard Dominique Jones indefinitely due to a stress fracture in his foot.  Jones played in 18 games (0 starts) for the Mavericks so far this year and he is averaging 7.5 minutes, 2.3 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.  He has had an awful time so far in his rookie year as he is only hitting 31.1% of his shots from the floor.  It’s never a good thing to get injured but maybe some R&R will do Jones some good.

The Dallas Mavericks have lost 30-year old, starting small forward Caron Butler for the rest of the year due to a ruptured right Achilles tendon.  Butler played in 29 games (all starts) for the Mavericks this year and he averaged 29.9 minutes, 15.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  This is a big blow to the Mavericks but at least they still have Shawn Marion around to pick up the slack.

22-year old shooting guard Rodrigue Beaubois will have surgery this Friday to insert a pin into his broken foot. This will keep him out 2-3 months and put the start of the 2010-11 NBA season in jeopardy. This is a blow to the Mavericks who have big plans for Beaubois this year. He played in 56 games (16 starts) as a rookie for the Mavs last season and he averaged 12.5 minutes, 7.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. He also is a deadeye shooter as he has made 40.9% of his three point attempts last year. The Mavericks hope he has a speedy recovery because they need him this year.

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.

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 Mavericks will be without starting shooting guard Josh Howard for a while as his ankle is still bothering him. Howard will be on the inactive list indefinately until he starts to feel better. Howard has played in 3 games (all starts) for the Mavericks this season and he is averaging 22.3 minutes, 12.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game. The Mavericks will miss him big time while he is out.

The Dallas Mavericks will be without starting point guard Devin Harris for the next 2-3 weeks with a sprained ankle. Harris has played in 39 games (all starts) this season for the Mavericks and he is averaging 30.4 minutes, 14.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Harris has also shot the ball really well for the Mavericks this season as he is hitting 48.3% of his shots from the floor and 82.1% from the free throw line. Jason Terry will likely pick up more minutes in Harris’ absence. Terry has played in 43 games (12 starts) this season for the Mavericks and he is averaging 31.1 minutes, 15.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game. J.J. Barea will also likely see a bump in playing time. Barea has played in 26 games (4 starts) this season and he is averaging 8.4 minutes, 4.2 points, 0.7 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. The Mavericks will miss Harris’ defense as neither Terry or Barea is much of a defender.

Eddie Jones will be out until early December with a sprained ankle. Jones has played in 5 games (all starts) this season for the Mavericks and he has averaged 19.0 minutes, 2.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Jones also has had a terrible time shooting the ball as he has only hit 26.3% of his shots from the floor. Jones better play much better than that when he returns or he will lose playing time.

D.J. Mbenga will miss the remainder of the season with a torn right ACL. He only played 79 minutes in 21 games and averaged 0.8 points per game.