Mavericks Practice Report (12/21/09)

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Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Mavericks Practice Report (12/21/09)

The Dallas Mavericks have a message to the rest of the NBA: Sunday night was no fluke.

(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

With leading-scorer Dirk Nowitzki sidelined due to a deeply lacerated right elbow, the veteran Mavericks didn't miss a beat as they used a complete team effort to defeat LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers 102-95 on the American Airlines Center floor. As six Mavs scored in double figures, led by forward Tim Thomas' 22 points after being inserted into the starting lineup in place of Nowitzki, the Mavericks proved to the rest of the league that Dallas is not a one-man team.

A strong effort on defense in the fourth quarter, holding James to just two of his 25 points in the final period, coupled with balanced scoring lifted Dallas to the win. Now, with Nowitzki's status still unknown for Dallas' game on Tuesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Mavericks are preparing for an encore performance against Brandon Roy and company.

"It was a good win for us," center Erick Dampier said after the team's Monday practice. "It just shows that even though our best player is out of the lineup, we still have guys that can step up and give us quality minutes and give us the scoring we need."

"It was a team effort last night. We went out there and got the job done defensively, got rebounds and got stops. We were able to put the ball in the basket and we played good last night."

The Mavericks have talked about their depth since Training Camp, but Sunday it was truly on display. Though Mavs coach Rick Carlisle decided to play just an eight-man rotation against the Cavaliers, he certainly got his full use out of all of his players in the win.

With guys available at the coach's disposal nightly that have played in big games, balancing playing time for a team this deep is a nice problem to have, according to Carlisle.

"That's why we put the team together the way that we did, because we felt we had to have a lot of depth and a lot of protection because you go through injuries," Carlisle said. "You have to have other guys ready to step up."

"All of our guys played well. Some nights it will be eight, some nights it will be nine or 10, but whoever is on the floor has got to give us great effort and they have to bring to the table what they do -- if it's a shooter, or driver or whatever. But everyone on the floor has got to give us defense."

Dallas certainly received a strong effort defensively from their full compliment of players against James and the Cavs. A defensive disposition is one that Carlisle feels his team can not lose, especially with Roy, one of the league's most dangerous scorers, coming in town.

"The improvements in our team this year has been more about better things we're doing at the defensive end, and we have to stick with that," Carlisle said. "Shot-making can come and go, but your defense can hold you in games and give you a chance to win if you're not making it."

The Mavericks admit that Roy presents different challenges than James, though he may not equal the reigning MVP in talent. But after limiting James' scoring opportunities down the stretch to claim then win, Dallas is fairly confident that they can contain the league's ninth-leading scorer.

(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

"They're both great players, LeBron James and Roy," Carlisle said. "We're going to have to have a lot of different guys ready to guard him. We're going to have to have our team defense geared towards containing him, because one guy can't do it -- you just simply can't. He's a perennial All-Star player, he's a perennial All-NBA guy and he's a great guy in crunch time."

"Brandon Roy is not LeBron James, so we'll approach him differently. He's the best player on their team, so he's going to take shots. He's not really a post-up guy. We just have to give him different looks, blitz him on picks, make him find other guys and make them be play-makers. He's the best player on their team, we just have to find a way to get him under control," Dampier said.

Dallas will try to keep Roy under control when the Blazers head into Dallas for the third game of the Mavs' four-game home stand. Though he is still listed as questionable, the Mavericks could have Nowitzki back in action as soon as Tuesday night. That game will air locally on TXA 21, TXA HD and HD NET at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.

The Mavericks and the NBA have introduced the official NBA All-Star game ballot, featuring Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, Shawn Marion and Jason Terry. For more on how to vote for your favorite Mavs for the All-Star game, to be held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, visit Mavs.com.

Follow Mavs.com’s Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.

Mavericks-Cavaliers Recap

(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Cleveland Cavaliers 95 at Dallas Mavericks 102

The Dallas Mavericks entered their meeting with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night knowing that the entire team would need to come together with leading-scorer Dirk Nowitzki on the sidelines in street clothes.

Nowitzki, inactive after suffering a deep laceration to his right elbow in the second quarter of a 116-108 overtime loss at home to the Houston Rockets on Friday night, tested the injury before the game but realized that he couldn't give it a go due to soreness.

In Nowitzki's stead, six Mavericks scored in double figures, led by Nowitzki's replacement, and the Mavericks grounded the reigning league MVP in the fourth quarter to capture a 102-95 win on the American Airlines Center floor.

"Today, I was going to try to step up and actually try to go a little bit and get a couple of jumpers up before the game, but I just couldn't get my elbow up, couldn't extend my elbow out, couldn't really bend it," Nowitzki said. "Looking at the game now, it was a great decision. We got the win and I got a little rest today, so it was great."

"It is a huge win," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "Any time you can win without a guy like Dirk, it just says a lot about the group of guys and the team. We are obviously happy with it."

With Tim Thomas inserted into Nowitzki's power forward spot in the starting lineup next to Jason Kidd, J.J. Barea, Shawn Marion and Erick Dampier, the Mavericks' top priority was to stop the NBA's third-leading scorer, LeBron James. Both teams found themselves turning to backup centers midway through the opening quarter, as Dampier and Shaquille O'Neal both picked up two quick fouls. Meanwhile, James' nine first quarter points, coming from inside and out, lifted the Cavaliers to a 26-25 edge after one. Cleveland shot 9-of-15 in the period, while holding Dallas to 9-of-22 at the other end.

With Dampier in early foul trouble, the Mavericks turned to Drew Gooden in the second quarter and the big man did not disappoint. After O'Neal picked up his third personal foul at the 3:06-mark in the second, the Mavericks attacked the rim with the 7-footer not available to contest shots. Dallas jumped out to an eight-point advantage before James and the Cavaliers closed to within 52-50 headed into the halftime break.

The combination of Thomas and Gooden, Nowitzki's stand-ins, collectively posted 19 points in the half and grabbed 12 rebounds (eight by Gooden). Dallas overcame 41 percent shooting with a 23-18 rebounding edge. James' 18 first half points, on 6-of-12 from the floor, led all scorers at that point as Cleveland shot 53 percent through the first two quarters.

"We made some mistakes in the first half and we corrected them at halftime," Thomas said. "LeBron was doing most of the scoring in the first half, so we just wanted to make the other guys beat us. The main thing was our rotations on defense and we all did what we had to do to win."

As the second half opened up with Thomas catching fire from the outside, the Mavericks sped up the pace and pushed the tempo out to a double-digit lead as large as 12 early in the third quarter.

"(Thomas) has just given us positive production any time he has been on the floor and people have to guard him because he is a great shooter," Carlisle said.

"Of course with Dirk being out, coach gave me the nod as far as being in the starting lineup and I just wanted to be aggressive with the minutes I was given tonight," Thomas said.

Cleveland responded by grinding the game into a half-court affair, as James, O'Neal and Mo Williams cut the deficit to as little as two. But after Jason Terry's floater with 12.9 ticks left in the period, the Mavericks took a 73-67 edge into the fourth.

James' above-the-rim finish off of a Delonte West all-oop feed energized the Cavalier roster with 8:56 left in the fourth quarter, but the superstar never scored again on the night. Marion, Josh Howard and Kidd then put the clamps on James the remainder of the game, fighting through Cleveland's one-three, screen-and-roll offensive sets to keep No. 23 from getting in the lane.

"With the one-three, pick-and-roll, we were getting screwed up on it and we had smaller guys in the game. We were trying to show and get shaped back up. When we got (Kidd) back in along with Marion, we were able to switch it because of (Kidd's) size, and that helps," Carlisle said of the defensive strategy on James in the fourth.

"I was just trying to make it hard for (James), make him take contested jump shots and keep him from getting to the basket." Marion said of the defense on James in the fourth.

(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

Offensively, the Mavericks countered with an assertive Terry and Howard. The Dallas defense then turned up the intensity in the final five minutes, while Kidd took over the game late with his play-making and timely scoring. The point guard's 3-pointer with 3:57 remaining gave the Mavericks a 93-85 lead. Just over a minute later, Kidd found Terry in the corner for a three to give Dallas a 96-87 advantage. Cleveland stuck around by getting to the charity stripe in the last two minutes, putting points on the board without time coming off the clock. But Terry's falling floater with 10.9 seconds left secured the Dallas win.

"I thought both teams played particularly well," James said after his team took the loss. "I think the one that got a good spurt, got a good comfort level, a good feel on the offensive end was going to win the game. They drove the ball, they kicked out for threes, they really hurt us with some tough long jumpers."

Stepping in for Nowitzki, Thomas led the Mavericks with a team-high 22 points, doing so on 7-of-13 from the field.

"In a situation like this, when you lose a guy like Dirk that is such a great shooter, it is a real blessing to have a guy like Tim ready to go. The way he stepped in and not only played, but played really well," Carlisle said of the veteran forward.

Off the bench, Terry added 19 points while playing just under 35 minutes. It was a welcomed sight for the reigning Sixth man of the Year who has struggled offensively of late.

"The thing that was important for me offensively was to be aggressive and getting to the free throw line helped me early," Terry said. "I just need to stay on the attack."

Kidd secured a double-double with 10 points and 11 assists, while Howard (14), Gooden (12) and Marion (12) all reached double digits in scoring. Falling just short of a double-double while battling through foul trouble was Dampier, who finished with eight points and 10 boards.

"That's why they're one of the best teams in the West -- one of the best teams in the league," James said of the Mavericks squad. "They've got guys even without Dirk that are All-Stars on their team. Josh Howard, J-Kidd and Jason Terry, and the rest of those guys, Tim Thomas played great tonight. Guys stepped up."

James finished with a game-high 25 points (two in the fourth) on 9-of-23 shooting, while West added 18 points off of the Cavs' bench.

After a slow start, Dallas out-shot Cleveland 48 percent to 46 percent, making up for the Cavaliers' 43-39 rebounding advantage and their 13-4 edge in second chance points.

"We were a little better in the second half than we were in the first half, defensively," Carlisle said. "They were shooting 53 percent in the first half and we took them down significantly, so that was big."

"We've got a tough, savvy group of veterans in this locker room and if anyone goes down, regardless of who it is, I know we're all going to step up. But since it was Dirk, you could see it on all of our faces that we needed to come out and make a statement tonight, but we do miss him and hope he'll be back soon."

Though he is still listed as questionable, the Mavericks could have Nowitzki back in action as soon as Tuesday night, when the Mavericks play host to the Portland Trailblazers at the American Airlines Center for the third match of a four-game home stand. That game will air locally on TXA 21, TXA HD and HD NET at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.

The Mavericks and the NBA have introduced the official NBA All-Star game ballot, featuring Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, Shawn Marion and Jason Terry. For more on how to vote for your favorite Mavs for the All-Star game, to be held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, visit Mavs.com.

Follow Mavs.com’s Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.

Mavericks-Cavaliers Preview

(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Cleveland Cavaliers (20-7) at Dallas Mavericks (19-8)

The Dallas Mavericks are used to the odds being stacked up against them.

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

After the basketball prognosticator overlooked and underestimated Dallas coming into this season, the Mavs have have proved the naysayers wrong by leading the Southwest Division through 27 games. When the critics said Dallas couldn't win when swingman Josh Howard sat out to rest his surgically-repaired left ankle, the Mavs won and won again. And now the Mavericks will try to prove the skeptics wrong yet again, with leading-scorer Dirk Nowitzki questionable for Sunday's matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers with a deep laceration to his right elbow.

"We obviously hope for the best, but we don't know what the timetable is going to be (for Nowitzki's return)," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "We have to have other guys ready. We've had a lot of guys play well this year and I expect them to do that in his absence."

Nowitzki sustained the injury early in the second quarter of a 116-108 overtime loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday night, colliding with Rockets forward Carl Landry at the 9:28-mark of the period. While Landry left the game missing a few teeth, Nowitzki sat in the home team's locker room, never returning after receiving stitches from the incident. Though x-rays were negative, the Mavs star remained at home, taking pain medications, while the team practiced on Saturday. No. 41's status is still up in the air going into the Mavs' game on Sunday.

But if the Mavericks are to be without the league's sixth leading-scorer for an extended period of time, a veteran core is prepared to pick up for the void left by Nowitzki's absence.

(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)

That veteran leadership starts with point guard Jason Kidd and filters down to the reserve role players. The future Hall-of-Famer will be called upon to be both a vocal and on-court leader if Nowitzki is on the shelf.

"Kidd is great. He took a hard foul the other night, and he was making a point -- it's time to quite being soft and start playing harder and at a higher level. That helped us at that point and time," Carlisle said.

But it will take a total team effort to make up for No. 41's on-court production and intangibles.

"Obviously, (Nowitzki) is our go-to-guy on this team and the leader of this team," center Erick Dampier said. "But regardless of whether he's going to play or not, we still have to put five guys out on the floor. We have the talent to compete with anyone in this league, with Dirk or without him."

"We still have the talent to go out there and win. It doesn't matter who is out there. As long as we're playing together, having fun, sharing the ball and the things we've been doing the whole season, we're going to give ourselves a chance to win."

(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
Stopping LeBron James is a must for Dallas to get a win Sunday

Now the Mavericks will need Kidd and the veteran core most of all if they are going to get back on the winning side against a perennial Eastern Conference power in Cleveland, led by reigning MVP LeBron James. The Mavs will be out to avenge a 111-95 loss in Cleveland on Nov. 28, when James put up 25 points and dished out 12 assists to outdo Nowitzki's 27-point night.

"They're an excellent team -- a lot weapons. LeBron James is a great, great player. (Shaquille O'Neal) is still a major force to deal with, and their guard-play is excellent, they shoot the three great. There's a lot of things you have to prepare for. But most of all, you have to play really hard and really efficiently, and that's what we'll have to do," Carlisle said.

James, the league's third leading-scorer, will once again play a prominent role in the Cavaliers' attack, both as a primary scorer and a play-making facilitator. With O'Neal and Mo Williams by his side, James has plenty of options to go to when the ball is in his hands.

"We know exactly what Cleveland is going to do coming in," Dampier said. "(James) is going to take his shots, he's going to make great passes to those guys and he's going to do what he's been doing the whole season to try to get a win. He's one of the best players in the league."

In a battle of division leaders, the Mavericks host the Cavaliers at the American Airlines Center on Sunday evening at 6:30 p.m. CT. That game will air locally on TXA 21 and TXA HD, and nationally on NBA TV. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS. It is the second game of a four-game home stand.

The Mavericks and the NBA have introduced the official NBA All-Star game ballot, featuring Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, Shawn Marion and Jason Terry. For more on how to vote for your favorite Mavs for the All-Star game, to be held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, visit Mavs.com.

Follow Mavs.com’s Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.

Mavericks-Cavaliers Recap

Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Dallas Mavericks 95 at Cleveland Cavaliers 111

The Dallas Mavericks entered the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singing a high note, riding a five-game road winning streak including the first two legs of a three-game road trip.

They left singing the blues, as the Mavs fell 111-95 to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers for the fourth straight time. The Mavs struggled to rekindle the success from the past two games, finishing up a brutal stretch of four games in five nights including playing on the second night of a back-to-back.

"We're not going to make that excuse," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said about not using the tough schedule as reasoning to explain the play on Saturday night. "Nobody played more than 30 minutes last night (at Indiana), so I don't buy that."

"It was frustrating," big man Drew Gooden said after the loss. "We didn't play our game tonight and they did a great job of getting out on us early. They shot over 50 percent, I believe, for the whole game, and it's tough to win basketball games when you let a team get it going like that."

(Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)
LeBron James got to the basket easily early

Once again starting a lineup of Jason Kidd, Rodrigue Beaubois, Shawn Marion, Dirk Nowitzki and Gooden, Dallas hoped to complete a sweep of their three-game road trip with a victory over the Cavaliers. The starting unit's top priority was to keep James out of the lane. As it often can be, keeping James away from the rim was a tough task for the Dallas defense, as No. 23 and the Cavs used a 10-0 run midway through the first quarter to take a seven-point lead (19-12).

Dallas answered with sixth man Jason Terry, who came off the bench to provide much needed scoring from the perimeter with three 3-point bombs. But the Cavs showed the Mavericks just why they rank tops in the league in first quarter scoring, taking a 35-26 lead after one behind James' 11 points.

The Mavericks quickly found themselves down 14 in the second quarter, causing Dallas to switch to a zone defense in an attempt to stop the penetration in the lane. Meanwhile, the Mavs got a spark from J.J. Barea, as the smallest man on the court got into the lane at will in the period. With the lane closed down by Dallas' defense, the Cavs began to swing the ball and stroke it from long range.

"(The Mavs' defense) came with double teams, and at times they didn't so we still made the extra pass and that's why our guys were able to get some really good looks," James said after he systematically bisected the Dallas defense. "We are a really, really good team when we do that."

"It (ball movement) was huge for them in knocking down the shots," Gooden said. "It made it even harder to guard. It's tough to beat any team with that."

After Cleveland sprinted out to an 18-point lead, Dallas closed the first half with five unanswered on a Terry jumper and Barea's buzzer-beating 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 68-55 at the break.

"In the first half, we got caught ball-watching too many times," Carlisle said. "Cuts for layups, cuts for catches that led to another pass and a three, it got us behind the eight ball. It was probably as poor a defensive half as we've played all year. And you can't do that against a team that's this good on their home court. It makes it very difficult."

Despite shooting just under 53 percent in the half, Dallas couldn't overcome Cleveland's red-hot shooting, as the Cavs hit on 68 percent from the floor and 7-of-8 from behind the three-point arch. Cleveland also held a decisive rebounding edge with a 23-11 advantage on the glass.

"We needed to be better defensively. Simple as that. You give up 68 percent field goal shooting in the first half, you're going to be behind. We were fortunate to be 13 down at that point," Carlisle said.

Terry led all scorers at the half with 18 points, including 4-of-6 from three. Mo Williams' 17 points paced the Cavaliers, while James seemed on pace for a triple-double with 13 points, 11 assists and five rebounds in the first 24 minutes of play.

Carlisle needed scoring right away as the second half began, so the head man inserted Terry in the lineup for Beaubois at the beginning of the third. The decision quickly paid off as Dallas trimmed the deficit under double-digits, but the Mavs never got closer than seven in the period. Outscoring Cleveland 24-19 in the third, Dallas went into the final period down 87-79.

The Mavericks never got into a good rhythm offensively in the fourth, due in large part to a suffocating Cavalier defense that showcased why it is one of the best in the league. Dallas' inability to protect the ball, while not scoring at a high volume, sealed the Mavs' fate for the night. Cleveland's 24-16 scoring edge in the final period put to bed any chance of a Dallas comeback.

"They were a step quicker," Terry said. "You take your hat off to them. They moved the ball well and found their shooters in rhythm, ready to shoot the ball."

(Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)

Doing much of their damage at the rim in the first half, the Cavaliers out-shot the Mavs 58 to 47 percent. When the shots weren't falling for Cleveland, the Cavs still managed to grab the rebound, winning the battle of the boards 39-24.

"We were better in the second half, but when we got some stops, we weren't able to convert on offense. So our undoing was the first half when we just didn't do the job we needed to do defensively," Carlisle said.

Nowitzki finished with a game-high 27 points in his 42 minutes of game time, while Terry provided 25 of his own. Marion (12) and Barea (10) were the only other Mavs in double-figures.

James and Williams tied for team-high scoring honors with 25 points apiece, while James dished out 12 assists and grabbed five rebounds.

Cleveland found a way to neutralize what is so often a strength for Dallas, as the Maverick bench was basically played to a draw with the Dallas reserves merely outscoring the Cavs' bench 41-40.

Dallas returns to the American Airlines Center on Monday, when they play host to the Philadelphia 76ers. That game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.

"You can't get your head down, you stay confident," Terry said. "We're at home and we have a big game against Philly and our whole focus should be on that game. This one is over with."

The Mavericks and the NBA have introduced the official NBA All-Star game ballot, featuring Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, Shawn Marion and Jason Terry. For more on how to vote for your favorite Mavs for the All-Star game, to be held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, visit Mavs.com.

Follow Mavs.com’s Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.

Mavericks-Cavaliers Preview

Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Dallas Mavericks (12-4) at Cleveland Cavaliers (11-5)

Both the Dallas Mavericks and the Cleveland Cavaliers came into the 2009-10 season with gold hardware on their brains.

Both squads made blockbuster off-season trades this summer to bring in former All-Stars, as Dallas pulled off a four-team trade to welcome in Shawn Marion and Cleveland acquired Shaquille O'Neal via trade.

(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
Both Nowitzki and James are playing like MVPs this season

Essentially, the two teams are in the same place, as both the Mavs and Cavs lead their divisions and have won eight of their last 10 games in pursuit of an NBA title. Both franchises are also faced with the daunting task of building a championship contender while their superstars are still in their prime, as both Dirk Nowitzki, a former league MVP, and LeBron James, the reigning MVP, are each putting up numbers worthy of the honor again this season.

"Cleveland's a top team. They're a top franchise. So is Dallas. It's an interesting matchup," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said before the two teams met in the preseason.

With neither team playing their full compliment of players in the two meetings, Dallas and Cleveland split the pair of exhibition games. Now the two meet, and the game actually counts.

As with any time you square-off with the Cavs, you must try to contain James on the perimeter, while also not allowing O'Neal to dominate in the painted area. If only it was that simple.

"LeBron is one of the best, if not the best player in the league. You just have to try to limit his touches," Mavs point guard Jason Kidd said.

"Shaq is still a great player," Carlisle said though the big man has fought through injuries this season and is getting up in age. "No question. We'll try to play him straight up when we can, but it's very difficult. So, you have to have help ready."

At the other end, the Mavericks will hope to carry over the offensive explosion and high activity that has been on display the last two games, both blowout Dallas wins on the first two legs of a three-game road trip.

"Our activity and our energy were good, and we have to carry it over to Cleveland," Carlisle said of his team's play recently.

The Mavs have averaged 122 points per game in this two-game stretch, which will have to continue if Dallas is going to sweep this road trip with a victory against traditionally one of the best defensive teams in the league.

"Our offense really seems to be clicking," Nowitzki said. "The last two games we've done a good job of swinging the ball and shooting the ball well."

"All around, our offense has been looking better the last couple of games. I like what we’re doing lately."

Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Mavericks hit the court against James and the Cavaliers on Saturday evening, with the game airing locally on KTXA 21 and KTXA HD at 6:30 p.m. CT.

Dallas returns to the American Airlines Center on Monday, when they play host to the Philadelphia 76ers. That game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.

The Mavericks and the NBA have introduced the official NBA All-Star game ballot, featuring Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, Shawn Marion and Jason Terry. For more on how to vote for your favorite Mavs for the All-Star game, to be held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, visit Mavs.com.

Follow Mavs.com’s Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.