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Our weekly look at how coach Rick Carlisle is managing the minutes of Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd during this 66-game schedule:

DALLAS -- The plan is a success. Jason Kidd will average a career-low minutes, right around 29 per game. Even though he's dealt with three separate injuries during this jam-packed, 66-game schedule, with three to go, he's in his best shape at the exact right time.

He was excellent in Wednesday's 117-110 win over the Houston Rockets with 12 points, all on 3-pointers, and eight assists to move Dallas a win away from securing a playoff berth. The 34 minutes he logged would have been considered on the high side just a week ago, but not anymore.

"If it’s playing more minutes than 30 then so be it," said Kidd, who has played 35, 45 and 39 minutes in the last three games. "As long as I can help my team win, that’s what I’m supposed to be here to do."

The Mavs went just 1-2 in those three games, with both losses going to overtime (triple OT at Utah), but Kidd's performances have to be heartening with the playoffs around the corner. His three consecutive 3-pointers in Wednesday's second quarter pulled the Mavs out of a tough spot with the Rockets making a run before halftime. His fourth 3 late in the game kept Houston at bay.

"There's never going to be another Jason Kidd," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "The things that he does and the things that he's doing at this age are remarkable. Just how he affects winning in so many ways; giving guys confidence, the uncanny ability to make the key play -- taking the charge (late in the fourth quarter) was the biggest play of the game. His shot-making in the first half was critical to us because we were in a funk offensively and defensively, and he kept us in it. It's special."

J-Kidd
Season averages: 28.9 mpg, 6.4 ppg, 5.5 apg, 4.2 rpg
The breakdown: Check out the scoring numbers: 12, 10 and 13 points in his last three games, his only string of three consecutive games in double digits this season. It's also his highest minute total for any three games of the season, racking up 119 minutes over the four-day span. And just look at the shooting percentage: 54.2 percent from beyond the arc, dropping 13 of his 24 bombs. Take it back a fourth game and he's 16-of-29 for 55.2 percent. When Kidd is dropping 3s it dramatically changes the Mavs' offense. Look no further than last season's championship run when he shot it at a 37.4-percent clip.

Dirk
Season averages: 33.8 mpg, 21.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.3 apg
The breakdown: Dirk's minutes are at a season-high, yet remain a career-low, so the plan to limit his minutes much like with Kidd has worked out well. He's gone through shooting slumps, but by and large Dirk remains one of the most dangerous offensive threats in the game and a deadly fourth-quarter player. He's showing that his body is physically ready to go for the postseason. In the five games crammed into this past week starting last Thursday at Golden State, Dirk has averaged 41.8 minutes, topping out at 53 in the triple overtime marathon at Utah. He totaled 96 minutes in the back-to-back at the Lakers and Jazz, and capped this run with a 31-point second half to secure Wednesday's big win over the Rockets.

Our weekly look at how coach Rick Carlisle is managing the minutes of Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd during this 66-game schedule:

These final eight games of the regular season will decide the Dallas Mavericks' playoff fate, and it has nothing to do with whether they'll make the playoffs.

How deep they can go in the postseason depends on the health and level of play that Jason Kidd can maintain. The Mavs went 1-3 without him this time and teammates were practically giddy to get him back from a groin injury Tuesday night, a 110-100 win over the Kings. It was his third nagging injury of the season and one he says has been bothering him all year.

"When you have struggles you can easily see the things you miss when he's out," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "At the same time, I don't necessarily know that he's going to be finishing the game for us. I made it clear to our point guards that those guys have to be ready to do that."

Kidd's return lasted 22 minutes in the win over the Kings. Not a second of that playing time was spent in the fourth quarter, a formula Carlisle has followed at times this season and one you can bet he'd love to employ tonight at Golden State and Friday at Portland with the Los Angeles Lakers waiting for Sunday's nationally televised game.

This is a challenging week for Carlisle, not only in managing Kidd's minutes, but Dirk Nowitzki's as well with four games in five nights and two sets of back-to-backs. Close games will require both players to be on the floor late because the Mavs can't afford many missteps or a playoff spot will be in jeopardy.

From Mark Cuban to Carlisle to Nowitzki, all put the team's health and, in particular, Kidd's health and energy at the top of the list for playoff success.

"We’ve got to stay healthy, I think that’s the main key," Nowitzki said. "We need Kidd out there when we make the playoffs. We need some of the other guys to make an impact, so hopefully we can stay injury-free from here on out and see what we do."

J-Kidd
Season averages: 28.0 mpg, 5.9 ppg, 5.3 apg, 4.1 rpg
The breakdown: Kidd has played 43 games this season, more than just Delonte West (36), Brian Cardinal (39), Dominique Jones (31) and Yi Jianlian (27). If he plays the final eight games, he'll finish the 66-game schedule having played just 51 games, his fewest since playing 50 during the lockout-shortened 1999-99 season. Of course, then the season consisted of 50 games. Kidd's conditioning could be challenged this week because of the number of games and how quickly they come. Kidd hasn't logged at least 30 minutes in a game since March 24.

Dirk
Season averages: 33.1 mpg, 21.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.2 apg
The breakdown: Nowitzki's average finally topped the 33-minute mark with a heavy workload that included just his second 40-plus-minute game of the season in the overtime loss to Portland. He logged 43 minutes, one shy of his season-high 44 that strangely also came against the Blazers in a double-overtime win. Should he be prepared for another 40-minute night Friday when the Mavs play at Portland? Carlisle was able to limit Dirk to 29 minutes Tuesday to get him rested for this first back-to-back. Of some concern is Dirk's recent shooting swoon, 9-of-30 from the floor in the last two games.

Our weekly look at how coach Rick Carlisle is managing the minutes of Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd during this 66-game schedule:

DALLAS -- The only way the Dallas Mavericks can view Jason Kidd's third injury -- a strained right groin -- at this critical juncture of the season is to believe that at least he'll be well-rested and presumably healthy for the start of the postseason.

Because coach Rick Carlisle certainly has an opinion on what postseason life would be like without the 18-year veteran.

"Unless he's healthy, it's all moot," Carlisle said. "The one thing about him, he hasn't missed a lot of long stretches, but whenever he has, he always comes back and is able to get back in the flow quickly. Somebody with that many years of experience, he understands how to get back into it and that's a special skill."

Kidd injured his groin in Friday's comeback win at Orlando. He has since missed Monday's loss against the Clippers and Wednesday's win over Memphis. He expected to miss at least two more games. But, as with any injury, predicting a return can be tricky.

If Kidd misses only two more games, his return would come Tuesday against Sacramento just prior to a four-game road swing out west.

J-Kidd
Season averages: 28.1 mpg, 5.9 ppg, 5.2 apg, 4.0 rpg
The breakdown: Kidd played in two games last week. In the 21-point loss at Miami, he had six points, four rebounds and six assists in 29 minutes. However, he had another awful shooting night, going 2-of-8 from the floor with all eight shots coming from beyond the arc. The next night at Orlando he missed all four of his shots, three from long distance, in 24 minutes. That was through three quarters. Delonte West played the entire fourth quarter and had a big hand in the comeback win. At the time it was assumed that coach Rick Carlisle had simply stuck with West because he and the team were playing well. It wasn't until the team reconvened for practice that it became known that Kidd was injured.

Dirk
Season averages: 32.9 mpg, 21.2 ppg, 6.6 apg, 2.2 rpg
The breakdown: His minutes and scoring average continue to creep up, but still anyone who thought that Nowitzki would be averaging fewer than 33 minutes a game this late into the season would be lying. However, his minutes are continually on the rise with this past week being a prime example. He lowest total was 34 minutes at Miami. He then logged 37, 36 and finally 38 minutes Wednesday against the Grizzlies for an average of 36.3 minutes in the four games. The increased time certainly didn't affect his shooting. Dirk went 35-of-69 (50.7 percent) from the floor in averaging 23.8 points. Expect his minutes to remain right around 36 a game if not higher in these final weeks.

Our weekly look at how coach Rick Carlisle is managing the minutes of Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd during this 66-game schedule:

DALLAS -- The philosophy all season has prioritized health and rest above all else. It's why coach Rick Carlisle pulled Jason Kidd for the second overtime against Portland and why he decided not to play Shawn Marion Wednesday against the Lakers.

Such discipline to the bottom line has reaped remarkably low minutes for the Mavs' key veterans. Dirk Nowitzki is the Mavs' top minute man, averaging 32.3 minutes, two minutes less than last season and five fewer than the two season prior to that. Nowitzki ranks 57th in the NBA in minutes per game. Jason Kidd's 28.1 minutes, the first time he's ever averaged less than 33 minutes a game in his 18-year career, ranks just inside 100.

No team's top minute man has averaged fewer minutes than Nowitzki. Closest is Utah's Al Jefferson at 32.9 and Phoenix's Marcin Gortat at 32.9 and Steve Nash at 32.5.

"It was one of our goals," Carlisle said. "It's kind of been implemented in a different way than we expected, but it was a necessity. To this point we like where we're at with it, but on nights when we don't have back-to-backs the minutes will ramp up slightly. I just think that's going to be a byproduct if they have to. That's kind of where we are."

That's been the case for Nowitzki, who averaged 34.0 minutes in four games going back to last Thursday night, twice logging 36 minutes, including Wednesday against L.A. Kidd's minutes have remained constant, averaging 27.8 minutes in those four games.

"When something is a fact of life you adjust to it," Carlisle said. "This became a fact of life and we knew it was going to be. The truth is [Lamar] Odom has made it possible to keep Dirk's minutes much lower than expected. I didn't expect him to be at 32 minutes a game or wherever he's at...But, going forward we've got to be vigilant about using the position that we're in and if we need to have a little latitude and play guys a little more we can do it within reason, but we've got to stay to a template that is relatively similar."

They've also got to make sure they win games.

J-Kidd
Season averages: 28.1 mpg, 5.8 ppg, 5.5 apg, 3.9 rpg
The breakdown: Kidd had one of his better shooting weeks, knocking down 8-of-17 from 3-point range. He scored 14 points and had 10 assists in the big win over San Antonio, playing 34 minutes in that one, the only game in which he played more than 28 minutes in the last four-game stretch. The Mavs play at the Spurs on Friday and at Houston on Saturday, so how liberal will Carlisle will be to extend Kidd in a close game in the first of back-to-backs?

Dirk
Season averages: 32.3 mpg, 20.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.3 apg
The breakdown: It was another big week for Nowitzki as he averaged 28.3 points in four games. He recorded consecutive double-doubles in the last two games for only the second time this season. His shooting percentage continued to rise, making 40-of-83 shots, but he had a rough night against the Lakers. He started the game 4-of-10 and finished 10-of-24 missing some jumpers that are typically automatic. With 18 games left and the importance high for every one, Carlisle might have no choice but to keep Nowitzki's minutes creeping up.

Our weekly look at how coach Rick Carlisle is managing the minutes of Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd during this 66-game schedule:

DALLAS -- Owner Mark Cuban suggested that now that the schedule evens out a bit for the Dallas Mavericks in terms of a nice stretch with at least a day off between most games that coach Rick Carlisle will look to play his starters more minutes together, including Jason Kidd.

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Yet, in the Mavs' return home from that brutal three-game road trip, Kidd played just 23 minutes against Washington, sitting out the entire fourth quarter as Rodrigue Beaubois played well enough to afford Kidd the extra rest.

"Really significant because down the stretch I wanted to keep Kidd out if possible and have Roddy and Jet finish," Carlisle said of the 107-98 win over the Wizards on Tuesday. "Ideally, I'd have liked to have sat Dirk down the stretch, too, but the lead wasn't substantial enough and the games are just too tenuous, they're too back-and-forth straight across the board."

Still, Nowitzki played just 28 minutes in the game due to rare foul trouble and just 5:11 in the fourth quarter. Decreased minutes for both vets was a theme the last week, possibly with Carlisle looking ahead to a monster stretch of games.

J-Kidd
Season averages: 28.1 mpg, 5.4 ppg, 5.4 apg, 4.1 rpg
The breakdown: After scoring 12 points in 30 minutes a week ago at Phoenix, Kidd has barely broken a sweat. He played 22 minutes Friday at Sacramento, took Saturday off at Golden State and logged just 23 minutes against Washington. If he can get another light night tonight against the Charlotte Bobcats, it would set up the soon-to-be-39-year-old with seemingly plenty of energy to expend in the 12-game, possibly season-defining stretch against premium competition that starts Saturday against the San Antonio Spurs. That's when, as Cuban noted, you'll probably see Kidd's minutes begin to be stretched.

Dirk
Season averages: 32.1 mpg, 20.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.0 apg
The breakdown: Nowitzki is coming off his second-most efficient scoring game of the season, hitting 10-of-14 shots for 27 points in the win against Washington (he made 9-of-10 at Detroit on Jan. 10) while playing the fewest minutes (28) since Feb. 15 (25), excluding the 10 minutes he logged at Memphis before leaving the game with back tightness. As bad a week as it was for the Mavs, at least Nowitzki wasn't loaded down with a tons of minutes in the lost cause. Since logging 36 minutes at Phoenix a week ago, he's averaged 29.0 minutes in the last three games. Like Kidd, if Dirk can take a seat for most or all of the fourth quarter against the Bobcats, it would certainly set up well for Saturday's game against the Spurs, who play at Oklahoma City on Friday night.

Our weekly look at how Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle is managing the minutes of Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd during this 66-game schedule:

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Rick Carlisle stole a catch-phrase from those silly cell phone commercials to describe those few extra minutes he plays Jason Kidd every now and then above his preferred limit.

Rollover minutes.

Kidd got a few of those Tuesday night against the Knicks. Carlisle's good with it as long as there's a day off in between games. He thought he was headed for a fifth consecutive game of holding Kidd to fewer than 30 minutes with the start of a back-to-back-to-back just ahead, but then he got a tad frustrated with Rodrigue Beaubois early in the fourth quarter and sent Kidd back in.

He logged 32:12, his second-highest total since Jan. 23 when Kidd ended a stretch of six consecutive games of playing 33 minutes or more. The next game, Kidd's right calf went haywire and he would miss the next six.

How Carlisle handles Kidd in these three games will largely depend on how the games are going. At 23-17, the Mavs don't necessarily have the luxury of just giving away a game in the name of preserving minutes like San Antonio did a few weeks ago at Portland (take a look at the Mavs' competition level the rest of March), but Carlisle also won't go nuts with Kidd's minutes even if all three games are nip-and-tuck.

As for Nowitzki, the leash on his minutes has loosened and for good reason. The Mavs need him on the floor as much as possible. Since Feb. 1, his average minutes are 34.7, up just a tick from last season's average of 34.3. Some of this has to do with the extended absence of Lamar Odom. He's the one guy that can keep Nowitzki down at around Carlisle's target of 32 -- but that's another story.

J-Kidd
Season averages: 28.4 mpg, 5.4 ppg, 5.6 apg, 4.2 rpg
The breakdown: Carlisle has done a remarkable job of keeping Kidd's minutes extremely steady while making sure he's in the game during critical periods. Carlisle's job has been complicated by the extended loss of Delonte West (broken right ring finger). Since Feb. 10, Kidd has played at least 30 minutes just five times and never more than 34 minutes. During this incredibly busy past week, (going back to last Thursday), a span of four games, Kidd averaged 29.3 minutes and 7.0 points and 6.3 assists. In his last two games, Kidd made 6-of-13 shots, which is definitely a welcomed boost for the offense (he's shooting 32.7 percent on the season).

Dirk
Season averages: 32.3 mpg, 20.2 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.1 apg
The breakdown: His minutes, points and rebounds continue trend upward, as do his shooting percentages, which now stand at 47.5 percent overall and 37.9 percent from 3s. Remember, it wasn't that long ago that Nowitzki scraped bottom in the high-teens from 3-point range. As for those minutes, Carlisle is adding more as we go. He's been taking Nowitzki out rather early in the first quarter of late, around the 7-minute mark and then putting him back in about four minutes later, same with the third quarter. Nowitzki averaged 34 minutes and 28.5 points in the last four games since leaving the Memphis game after 10 minutes with tight lower back.

Our weekly look at how coach Rick Carlisle is managing the minutes of Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd during this 66-game schedule:

DALLAS -- It's like the old days for Dirk Nowitzki, who is logging a heavy workload, averaging 35.3 minutes in four games this past week and shouldering the scoring burden, averaging 28.3 of the Mavs' rather lethargic 89.8 points a game.

That's not all good news. The Mavs went 2-2 in those four games with wins over slumping Philadelphia and spiraling
Boston, and close losses to Linsanity and the Lakers.

As for Jason Kidd, he's now eight games back from his second injury. His shooting has improved -- it couldn't have gotten much worse -- and his stats over the last four games have increased incrementally to 7.0 points and 6.0 assists in 28.8 minutes. Only once, Wednesday against the Lakers, did Mavs coach Rick Carlisle play Kidd more than he would like, taking him to 34 minutes, about four over the preferred barrier.

"We had rollover minutes," Carlisle said. "He's got five days off. [Head athletic trainer] Casey [Smith] and I talked about it, and Jason, and this is an exception. When we get [Rodrigue] Beaubois back that's going to help. In the second half, I decided not to play [Dominique] Jones just because I thought this was the kind of game where we needed our veterans out there. Going into the game, understood that Jason could end up at 32 or 33, but he's got a break now and coming back we've got to kind of pick it up where we left off."

J-Kidd
Season averages: 28.3 mpg, 5.1 ppg, 5.5 apg, 4.6 rpg
The breakdown: Since his 13-point game against Denver in last week's breakdown, Kidd's scoring has decreased in each of the next four games: 9, 8, 6 and 5. It's important to note because everyone knows that Kidd isn't going to light up the scoreboard on a regular basis, but it is important for him to be close to double figures. Because Kidd shoots almost exclusively 3-pointers, when he's close to 10 points it typically means he's hit a few 3s and that's always a big weapon in the grand scheme of the Mavs' offense. When he's ice cold from the perimeter it can lead to transition the other way and ultimately spreads the scoring pressure around. He nailed 4-of-6 against Denver but went 7-of-24 (29.2 percent) in the four games since.

Dirk
Season averages: 32.7 mpg, 19.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.3 apg
The breakdown: The good news is the point production is going up. The bad news? Dirk's minutes skyrocketed this week. In the last four games, he played 36, 30, 38 and 37 minutes. The good news is the All-Star break is here and Dallas doesn't play again until Tuesday. The bad news (and good news, too) is Nowitzki, 33, is an All-Star for an 11th consecutive team. But, that means he's off to Orlando for a busy weekend of media appearances, NBA events, the All-Star Game itself and then back home. It's a whirlwind and Dirk will be on his feet a lot. The Mavs will need their leading scorer to be at his fully rested best when he gets back because they've got nine games coming in 12 nights with six on the road, including a back-to-back-to-back to wrap it up.

Our weekly look at how coach Rick Carlisle is managing the minutes of Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd during this 66-game schedule:

Dirk Nowitzki is back, baby.

"I was telling the guys that I've actually got my confidence back and my ability to move," Nowitzki said after scoring 25 points with nine rebounds in Wednesday's 105-95 win over the Denver Nuggets. “I think that was the main thing."

Whether Nowitzki's three-game surge will be enough to extend his All-Star streak to 11 in a row will be known tonight when the reserves are announced. Of greater concern to the Dallas Mavericks is that their franchise player, the reigning NBA Finals MVP is again playing like one. And when that's the case, anything is possible.

In terms of minutes, coach Rick Carlisle has clearly decided that Nowitzki can handle an uptick. Not that Carlisle is taking him to 40, but in five of his last seven games, Nowitzki has logged at least 35 minutes. In three games this past week, he's played 33, 35 and 35 minutes. Prior to the last seven games, Nowitzki played at least 35 minutes just four times.

As for Jason Kidd, he's still not back, at least not quite yet.

J-Kidd
Season averages: 28.7 mpg, 4.1 ppg, 5.1 apg, 4.5 rpg
The breakdown: Kidd said he plans to practice today and could play Friday night at Minnesota. The last time he returned from back spasms, Carlisle turned him loose for 29 minutes and then 34, 35, 34, 34, 33 and 33 minutes before he strained his right calf two minutes into the Jan. 27 game against Utah. In the nine games he played prior to his return, Kidd logged 34 or 35 minutes (and never more than 35) just three times. He's now missed six games with this injury and 10 overall.

Dirk
Season averages: 31.9 mpg, 17.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.3 apg
The breakdown: Nowitzki finally appears to be at a point where the more he plays, the better he feels. That's in stark contrast to earlier this season when it seemed the more he played, the more he aggravated that right knee. With his confidence flooding back, evidenced by the array of moves he's showing in recent games, Nowitzki's minutes are climbing toward 32 a game, still the lowest of his career outside of his rookie season. With eight tough games ahead leading to the halfway point of the season and the All-Star break, it wouldn't be surprising to see Dallas playing in a lot of close games and to see Nowitzki's minutes continue to trend upward.

Our weekly look at how coach Rick Carlisle is managing the minutes of Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd during this 66-game schedule:

DALLAS -- Nowitzki sat out four games last week to undertake a personal training program. This week Jason Kidd is down again, this time with a strained right calf.

Kidd has missed the last three games and will sit at least two more. Meanwhile, Nowitzki still can't find his jumper as his minutes piled up in his three games back, twice stretched out to 38 minutes, including Wednesday night when he finished with eight points. The 104 total minutes he logged in those games marks a high for any three-game stretch this season. He logged 103 minutes in the three games prior to his break.

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The minutes have not translated into production. In his return, Nowitzki is 11-of-39 from the field and that includes an 0-of-11 stretch from beyond the arc.

"I'm staying very closely connected with [Mavs head athletic trainer] Casey [Smith] on the minute situation, and we'll go from that,'' Carlisle said. "But that's about all I can tell you at this point.''

Carlisle preached patience after Nowitzki's 2-of-15 performance for eight points in Wednesday's 95-86 loss to the Thunder. It will be interesting to see if Carlisle makes it a priority to scale Nowitzki's minutes back down to 33 or so no matter how closely contested a game is moving forward. That challenge begins Friday night when the much-improved Indiana Pacers (15-6) come to town.

Here's a look at where they stand:

J-Kidd
Season averages: 28.7 mpg, 4.1 ppg, 5.1 apg, 4.5 rpg
The breakdown: There's no other way to say it than to acknowledge how awful the start of the season has been for the proud Kidd, who started things off by talking about playing an additional two seasons to reach 20 at age 40. He's currently nursing a second injury, has missed six games and counting and his game has been awful. In addition to the slumping numbers above, Kidd's shooting percentages (28.2 overall, 25.8 on 3s) are at rock bottom -- at least he would hope.

Dirk Nowitzki
Season averages: 31.5 mpg, 16.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 2.3 rpg
The breakdown: Talk about rock bottom, surely not even Dirk thought he could have a night like Wednesday, going 2-of-15 from the field and 0-of-5 from beyond the arc. He continues to say his troublesome right knee is getting better and that swelling is no longer an issue. That's the good news. The bad news is his jumper has never looked so ragged. His shooting percentages are staggering -- 43.0 overall and 17.8 on 3s, the lowest of his career. At some point, it figures Dirk is going to pop, but after Wednesday's game even he Dirk said, "I don't know what to tell you."

Our weekly look at how coach Rick Carlisle is managing the minutes of Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd during this 66-game schedule:

Well, Dirk Nowitzki let us know that the fewest minutes he's averaged since his rookie season were too many. The 7-footer has sat out the last three games and plans at least one more Friday night. Instead of playing, he's been engaged in something of training-camp-style workouts designed to strengthen his ailing right knee and build up his stamina.

Nowitzki will shed more light on where he's at later today after the team wraps up practice around noon.

Jason Kidd has played seven games since his four-game absence with back spasms, and his performances haven't exactly been championship caliber. Kidd's minutes keep going up while his shooting percentages keep going down.

Here's where both players stand:

J-Kidd
Season averages: 30.5 mpg, 4.3 ppg, 5.5 apg, 4.7 rpg
The breakdown: Kidd played 29 minutes in his return from injury Jan. 14 and in the six games after that he has averaged 33.8 minutes a game, which is a tick more than last season's average and probably a little more than coach Rick Carlisle would like to play his 38-year-old point guard. Carlisle has said he'd like to keep Kidd around 30 minutes a game. Some of Kidd's performances have been real head-scratchers. He makes such wonderful passes so often that when he makes a turnover it's easy to overlook it. But lately, it's been hard for anyone to make sense of some of the decisions and ill-advised passes he's made. Compounding the issue is the fact that his shooting is awful. Kidd is at career-lows for field goals (28.2 percent) and from 3-point range (25.8 percent). His two 3s in Wednesday's loss to Minnesota marked the first time he made more than one since Dec. 30, a span of 11 games.

Dirk
Season averages: 30.9 mpg, 17.5 ppg, 5.4 apg, 2.3 rpg
The breakdown: Nowitzki hasn't played since last Thursday. He will address the media today and could address whether he will be ready for his scheduled return date Sunday at home against the Spurs.

Our weekly look at how coach Rick Carlisle is managing the minutes of Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd during this 66-game schedule:

Rick Carlisle continues to closely monitor the minutes of his two stars and said this week that he believes that keeping their minutes down is the right thing to do and that it will hopefully pay off come April.

Lakers coach Mike Brown said Tuesday that he's concerned about the 37.7 minutes a game that he's played Kobe Bryant. In fact, Pau Gasol is also averaging more than 37 minutes.

Carlisle said as this compressed, 66-game season chugs along, he will start to increase minutes.

Here's a look at where they stand:

J-Kidd
Season averages: 29.4 mpg, 4.7 ppg, 4.9 apg, 3.9 rpg
The breakdown: Kidd's stats keep going down except for his minutes. Kidd is now averaging fewer points a game than Brendan Haywood and more than four assists below his career average. In the three games he played this past week since returning from backs spasms, he has played 29, 34 and 35 minutes respectively. He's totaled 13 points and 18 assists. Today's game at Utah will be his first back-to-back since Jan. 4-5.

Dirk Nowitzki
Season averages: 30.5 mpg, 17.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.3 rpg
The breakdown: Carlisle has been extremely disciplined in sitting Nowitzki. One has to wonder if Nowitzki had played more during a hot third quarter Monday against the Lakers if Dallas could have opened a larger lead than five points after holding L.A. to seven points in the period. Nowitzki played 38 minutes last Wednesday in the win against Boston and in the next four games he averaged just 27 minutes. Two of those games were blowout wins and didn't require his services in the fourth quarter, but he played 33 minutes in both tightly contested games against the Lakers and Clippers.

Our weekly look at how coach Rick Carlisle is managing the minutes of Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd during this 66-game schedule:

Obviously, Jason Kidd's lower back injury has taken him out of the lineup all week and perhaps surprisingly, the Dallas Mavericks have put together three consecutive wins without their 38-year-old floor general. Delonte West has filled in nicely -- he might want to find the 7-foot blond guy a bit more often -- switching from starting shooting guard to the point.

Kidd has not had a great start with numbers (including 30.8 percent field-goal shooting) far below his standards across the board. Across with Kidd, it's his intangibles that are so highly counted on by this veteran team than his stat line.

Dirk Nowitzki, meanwhile, added another game-winning bucket to his ledger Wednesday night at Boston with a strong drive and finish for a three-point play with 5.1 seconds to left. He struggled for the better part of the game after going 9-of-10 in Detroit, which followed a 5-of-22 stretch in the previous two games. Such is life in the post-lockout NBA.

It's simply going to take time for players to get in shape and find a consistent rhythm. Dirk included.

Here's a look at how Carlisle is handling his two most important players through the first seven games.

J-Kidd
Season averages: 28.1 mpg, 4.9 ppg, 4.7 apg, 3.8 rpg
The breakdown: Since last week's report, Kidd played 11:32 of the first quarter at the San Antonio Spurs and then headed to the locker room holding his lower back. He later described the injury as back spasms, caused when big man DeJuan Blair leaned on Kidd as the two battled for rebound position. Kidd attended Monday's White House ceremony and then returned to Dallas to resume treatments. He will be re-evaluated today. The hope was that he would be ready for Friday's game against Milwaukee, the first of a home back-to-back, but that could be pushing things. His availability will be determined closer to game time.

Dirk
Season averages: 31.6 mpg, 18.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.7 apg
The breakdown: Dirk's scoring (including 19.0 percent from 3-point range) and rebounds continue to be well below his career marks, but coach Rick Carlisle said he's not worried, pointing out that his playing time is also well below normal levels. That's due to several reasons that include Carlisle being mindful of his minutes with so games lumped together, Dirk still working his way into shape and the fact that four of the first 11 games have been blowouts, limiting him to just a few minutes or no minutes in those fourth quarters. Finally on Tuesday he was on the right side of a rout at Detroit and it kept his minutes down to 28, helping him to go 38 in Boston, one minute shy of his season-high in that stunning road loss at Oklahoma City. Even with the 38 minutes, Dirk averaged just 30.0 minutes in the four games played in the past seven days.

What's ahead: We'll just have to wait and see if Kidd's back has bounced back enough for the home back-to-back or if it is a better idea for him to take the weekend off and get ready for two big games in Los Angeles -- Monday against the Lakers and Wednesday against the remodeled Clippers. Dirk, coming off a very manageable week minutes-wise, should be in fine shape for this stretch of five games in seven nights that starts Friday and ends next Thursday at a suddenly resurgent Utah team that features former Mavs Devin Harris and Josh Howard.

Our weekly look at how coach Rick Carlisle is managing the minutes of Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd during this 66-game schedule:

DALLAS -- Dirk Nowitzki half-joked that his 1,000th career game Wednesday night felt like his 2,000th. After playing four games in five days Monday night, Jason Kidd said it's to early to really tell how the body and legs will feel after two, three and four such stretches during this compacted, 66-game schedule.

Carlisle said it will always be important to monitor minutes during games, understanding the rugged clump of games that is always around the corner. We've seen him go heavy on both players' minutes in high-intensity games such as the pair against Oklahoma City, and try to keep things more in check against Toronto and Phoenix. Other times, feisty squads like Minnesota will force Carlisle to keep his guys in longer than he may like.

Through it, Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle will try to rest both veterans whenever possible to keep their minutes within reason with an eye toward late April when the real season begins.

Here's a look at how Carlisle is handling his two most important players through the first seven games.

J-Kidd
Season averages: 30.4 mpg, 5.6 ppg, 4.7 apg, 4.0 rpg
The breakdown: The 30-minute is exactly where Carlisle would like to keep Kidd's average minutes, right at about three fewer minutes per game than last season. Kidd played arguably his strongest game in Monday's win over Oklahoma City, posting nine assists and solid defense in 34:05. It came 24 hours after playing 34:31 at Minnesota and it was also the fourth game in five nights. He played five games in seven nights in all this past week, capping it Tuesday by playing a well-executed 27:43 in the win over Phoenix. A key to this season will be what happened Friday night against Toronto, the second game of a back-to-back. Kidd logged about 28 minutes through the first three quarters and was able to rest the final 10 minutes of the fourth quarter thanks to quality play from Rodrigue Beaubois.

Dirk
Season averages: 32.6 mpg, 22.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 3.0 apg
The breakdown: Dirk has admitted that it has been a slow burn to get into playing condition and the 32.6 minutes he's averaged so far is probably just about right. Now, had the first two games not been blowouts, he would likely be averaging around the 34- or 35-minute mark, which is realistically where he will be soon. He logged more than 34 minutes three times in the five games this past week, including a season-high 38:48 in last week's buzzer-beater loss at Oklahoma City in which he put up season highs with 29 points and 10 rebounds. He played 36:01, scoring 26 points with three six rebounds in Monday's win over the Thunder. Limiting Dirk's minutes is not as critical as with Kidd and, frankly, the more he plays at this point, the stonger he is likely to become.

What's ahead: Beginning tonight at the San Antonio Spurs, Dallas plays a manageable four games in seven nights. Three are on the road and a trip to Washington D.C. to visit President Barack Obama at the White House on Monday precedes the lone back-to-back of the week at Detroit (Tuesday) and Boston (Wednesday).