The Dallas Mavericks seem to thrive when the odds are stacked against them so maybe if Dirk Nowitzki is not selected as an All-Star reserve they can use it as motivation.

Because if the Western Conference coaches leave him off the team and end his run of All-Star appearances at 10 in a row, the Mavs will make NBA history. Never before has the reigning NBA champion not been represented on the All-Star team*. Nor has there ever been a champion crowned that did not have at least one player make the All-Star team that season, ESPN Research confirmed (and that includes the ABA on both counts).

The first NBA All-Star game was played in 1951. The seven reserves for the 2012 Western and Eastern conference squads will be announced Thursday night. The All-Star Game is Feb. 26 in Orlando.

"That would be crazy," Mavs guard Jason Terry said. "Dirk has to be there. I think he will be. If he’s not, I know he needs the rest, too. I’d love to see him in the game just because he’s earned it. Some guys are grandfathered in. You’ve seen that throughout the history of the NBA. Guys like Tim Duncan, primarily his stats aren’t always what they were, but just because he’s a perennial All-Star; Shaq, same thing."

Duncan's run of 13 consecutive All-Star games is likely to come to an end. Same for Kevin Garnett's run of 14 in a row. Nowitzki's sluggish start has put his streak in jeopardy, too. He's had a two-game bounce-back, scoring 54 points on 21-of-32 shooting entering tonight's game at Denver.

The reigning NBA Finals MVP is already in a rare All-Star category. He and Boston Celtics sharpshooter Ray Allen are the only players that have made at least 10 All-Star games and have never been voted in as a starter by the fans.

This season was Nowitzki's best opportunity with longtime fan-favorite Carmelo Anthony residing in the East. But, second-year dunk enforcer Blake Griffin quickly filled the void and will start alongside Kevin Durant. Get used to that All-Star forward duo. Griffin is 22 and Durant is 23.

And now Nowitzki's run as a reserve is in jeopardy. His sagging numbers are starting to climb back up. He's averaging 17.2 points with a field-goal percentage back above 45 and a 3-point percentage that's finally back north of 20 percent. Remarkably, Nowitzki's PER -- Player Efficiency Rating, a measure of per-minute production -- is 18.8, above the league average of 15.0, although still well below Nowitzki's career standards.

The West is loaded at forward with Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge and Minnesota's Kevin Love expected to be locks as reserves. Other candidates include the Lakers' Pau Gasol, Memphis' Rudy Gay and Utah's Paul Millsap. Denver's Danilo Gallinari was in the running until he sustained a bad ankle sprain Monday that threatens to keep him out a month.

If the West coaches listen to Nowitzki, who missed four games in January to strengthen a bothersome right knee and work on his overall conditioning, they'll give him the weekend off for the first time since 2001. Earlier this week, Nowitzki said he doesn't deserve an All-Star spot.

"Averaging whatever, 15, 16 points, I don't think you should be an All-Star," Nowitzki said. "But we'll just have to wait and see. I think there is a lot of great young talent in this league that deserves to go."

*Footnote: Had the first lockout in 1998-99 not wiped out the 1999 All-Star Game, the Chicago Bulls might have become the first reigning champion not to be represented on the All-Star team. That season was the first without Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen following the dismantling of the three-time champs. The Bulls' top three players that season were Toni Kukoc, Ron Harper and Brent Barry, none of whom ever made an All-Star team.