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.

33-year old power forward Dirk Nowitzki is off to a slow start for the Mavericks so far this year.  He has played in 9 games (all starts) for the Mavericks so far this year and he is averaging 31.3 minutes, 19.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  Nowitzki is only shooting 4 of 20 (20%) from three point range so far this year as his shot appears off.  The Mavericks need Nowitzki to get into gear, because they aren’t going to be a winning team with the way he’s playing right now.

32-year old forward Lamar Odom was supposed to give the Mavericks another very solid performer along the frontcourt, but he has been horrible so far this year.  He has played in 7 games (0 starts) for the Mavericks so far this year and he is averaging 18.9 minutes, 6.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game.  Odom’s shooting has been way off so far this year as he has hit 26.4% from the floor, 19% from three point range and 60% from the free throw line.  The Mavericks need Odom to get into better shape if they are going to start playing him 30 minutes per night.

Starting center Tyson Chandler finally had a big game against the Blazers with 14 points and 20 rebounds in the Mavs’ big win last night.  Chandler has now played in 5 games (all starts) for the Mavericks so far in this series and he is averaging 28.0 minutes, 6.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  Chandler is also shooting 50% from the floor against the Blazers.  The Trailblazers really need Chandler to step up as he gives them a presence inside at both ends of the basketball court.  When he plays well like he did last night, the Mavericks win….so they need him to get more consistent in his performance.

37-year old Jason Kidd doesn’t have much gas left in the tank.  He played in 16 games in January in which he averaged 34.4 minutes, 8.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game on a hideous 32.8% shooting from the floor.  Kidd has now played in 47 games (all starts) for the Mavericks this year and he is averaging 33.6 minutes, 8.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 8.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game on 35.1% shooting from the floor.  Kidd’s place in NBA history is secure even if he decided to quit right now as he is #3 all-time in three pointers made (1,718), #2 in assists (11,316) and he’s #4 in steals (2,423).  Don’t be surprised to see the Mavericks try to make a deal for a point guard at the trade deadline.

With all of the injuries the Mavericks have suffered lately they have been pretty much forced to use 33-year old SF/PF Brian Cardinal a lot.  In his last 8 games, Cardinal is averaging 21.8 minutes, 5.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  He is hot from three point range, hitting 11 of 22 (50%) shots from three point range in his last 8 games.  Cardinal has now played in 22 games (2 starts) for the Mavericks so far this year and he is averaging 13.0 minutes, 3.0 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  Cardinal is only shooting 36.5% from the floor this year so that will need to improve if Cardinal is going to continue to get minutes when the Mavericks get healthy.

22-year old rookie shooting guard Dominique Jones is off to a rough start to his NBA career.  He has played in 14 games (0 starts) for the Mavericks so far this year and he is averaging 7.2 minutes, 1.6 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  Jones is only shooting 28% (7 of 25 from the floor) so far this year for the Mavs.  The Mavericks would probably like to send Jones back to the D-League so he can get some legit P.T. which he’s not going to get in Dallas any time soon.

With Caron Butler down for the year the Mavericks need someone to step up at small forward.  32-year old Shawn Marion is likely to get the first shot of being that guy.  In his last two games, Marion has averaged 29.0 minutes, 15.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.  Marion has now played in 33 games (6 starts) so far this year for the Mavericks and he is averaging 27.0 minutes, 11.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game.  The Mavericks won’t need to make a deal for a small forward if Shawn Marion steps up.

37-year old point guard Jason Kidd is looking like a shell of his old self.  Kidd has played in 26 games (all starts) for the Mavericks so far this year and he is averaging 32.5 minutes, 7.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 8.7 assists so far this year.  Kidd’s shooting has been even worse than usual this year as he is only hitting 36.6% of his shots from the floor and 34.7% from the three point line.  At some point the Mavericks are going to have to start cutting Kidd’s minutes if he doesn’t start playing better.

Backup shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson is really stinking it up this season for the Mavericks since coming over in the big Caron Butler trade. Stevenson has played in 11 games (2 starts) for the Mavericks this season and he is averaging 12.2 minutes, 2.6 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game on 32.4% shooting from the floor. The Mavericks should consider just nailing Stevenson’s butt to the bench as he is not helping matters much on the court.