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OKLAHOMA CITY -- At some point admissions just have to be made. And after two poor shooting games to start the playoffs, there's no getting around the fact that the Mavericks are just a mediocre shooting team.

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Matt Mosley puts the Mavs season to rest and takes some unnecessary shots at Jason Kidd. Listen

Have been all season. Nothing has changed.

Dallas ranked 19th in the league in field-goal percentage during the regular season at 44.3 percent, the lowest shooting percentage among the Western Conference playoff teams. The Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers were the only playoff teams with a lower percentage.

In this first-round series, shooting percentages have held to regular-season form. The Oklahoma City Thunder, which ranked third in the NBA in shooting percentage at 47.1 percent, are shooting 46.6 in the two games, despite Kevin Durant struggling at 15-of-44. The Mavs are at 42.7 percent -- and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc after Monday's 5-of-23 brick-fest.

"We had some great looks that normally go down for us," Jason Kidd said.

That's been the refrain all season. But it simply hasn't happened.

Still, the Mavs are so close to having this series tied, if not up 2-0. Chalk up the 0-2 hole to horrible fourth-quarter shooting and late-game execution. In Game 1, Dallas was 7-of-19 (36.8 percent) from the floor in the final quarter. Dirk Nowitzki's bucket at the 2:31 mark for a 94-87 lead would be their last.

In Game 2, Vince Carter's bank shot with 2:18 left for a 97-96 lead would again be Dallas' last of the quarter with the exception of Jason Terry's uncontested layup with 20 seconds left and the Thunder protecting a three-point lead.

In both games, the Mavs are 14-of-40 (35 percent) in the fourth quarter with six turnovers.

And that's simply not going to cut it.

DALLAS -- There's Lamar Odom's drama and Jason Terry's mouth. And for whatever reasons Rick Carlisle appears headed to the postseason without a contract extension. There have certainly been some interesting days in Dallas this season, but it all pales to the ongoing circus in Orlando -- the Dwightmare as some have dubbed it.

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Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle discusses Friday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Rodrigue Beaubois' play of late and whether he's ever had a player try to get him fired. Listen

After his Indecision '12, Dwight Howard -- who listed the Mavs among the three teams he preferred to be traded to (when he actually preferred to be traded) -- finally opted to stay in (moments after he opted out) Orlando for another season, but Magic coach Stan Van Gundy told the media Thursday that his star center is angling to have him canned.

The scene truly turned bizarre when Howard sidled up to the Diet Pepsi-swilling SVG as he was surrounded by media moments after Van Gundy dropped the bomb.

Howard, unknowing that SVG had leaked his conspiracy, put his arm around his coach in seemingly a show of support -- and then denied he'd gone to management with a request to fire his coach.

Unreal.

"I guess my perspective is it makes me realize how fortunate we are here to have very stable ownership and great stability with star players like Dirk and Jason Kidd and Jason Terry," Carlisle said. "We haven't gone through things like that. Dirk was a free agent two years ago and he was only interested in being here, and that's what makes him special and makes our situation special. That's what I take from that situation is it just makes me more grateful for what we've had here."

Howard then laid an egg Thursday night as the Magic got trounced at home by the New York Knicks for their fifth consecutive loss. As the final seconds ticked down, a contingent of Knicks fans cheered the visitors' victory and Howard sat on the bench smiling and waving his arms as if urging the Knicks fans to bring it.

The most dominant center in the game today has said he stayed in Orlando to chase a championship this season. Who knows if that team can even keep it together at this point?

And the defending champs, just one game over .500 since Feb. 1, thought they had problems.

"I think everything we've been through the last three to four years, we'll never let it divide us," Terry said. "Yeah, I've said whatever I say in the media, but I'll come back and back it up the next night. And Dirk will say what he says, but it'll fire somebody up. It never breaks us apart and I think that's the difference between us and other teams."

The Mavs have handled internal strife, the limited amount there has been over the years, quickly and mostly seamlessly. One incident that sticks out was the screaming match between Terry and Jose Juan Barea late last season that also saw Terry jaw with Carlisle with the coach banishing Terry from the huddle.

"You've got to give credit to myself, Dirk, J-Kidd, the leaders of this team for not allowing distractions to divide us," Terry said. "You may go through your struggles throughout the season and guys get into it, but it's a family and it's going to happen. But you can never let it divide you. We believe in each other, we believe in the system. Obviously coach Carlisle, what he accomplished last season, he's one of the best.

"When you've got everyone's back and everyone's on the same page, it's a big difference."

DALLAS -- No controversy involving the Mavericks can pass without Mark Cuban being asked for comment.

So we asked him to weigh in on the infamous, invisible haymakers thrown by Brendan Haywood at Dwight Howard's lower back. Or so Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said, at least.

“That’s an internal issue,” Cuban said. “To me, teams have to manage their own internal issues and that’s one of the ways you do it. So who knows?”

Cuban declined to elaborate, so it’d be inaccurate to report that he said it was a desperate attempt by Van Gundy to salvage his relationship with the Magic's superstar by making a big scene of sticking up for Howard. Cuban just implied that.

Give Cuban credit for seeing through the bull, which he’s pretty good at spreading himself when he sees fit. He made his “internal issue” comment Wednesday evening, well before Van Gundy pulled back the curtain after the Magic’s morning shootaround and let the world know that management had confirmed that Howard had lobbied for the coach’s firing.

So, just to be clear on all this, Van Gundy’s complaints about Haywood punching Howard in the back were probably part of an effort to prevent Howard from stabbing Van Gundy in the back.

DALLAS -- Apparently the league office didn't see Brendan Haywood throw a punch either.

NBA authorities do not plan to take any action regarding the alleged punch that Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said Haywood threw into the back of Magic center Dwight Howard during the Mavs' comeback victory Friday night, according to a league source.

Van Gundy said he turned in film for the league to review. Haywood has maintained his innocence saying that things can get testy between players, but that he never threw a punch.

Howard missed Saturday's practice and did not play in Sunday's game against Denver because of back spasms, just the third game he's missed due to injury in his eight-year career. After Saturday's practice, Van Gundy told reporters that Haywood threw two punches into Howard's back during one possession and that he planned to send the film to the league. Howard still played 44 minutes, recording 19 points and 15 rebounds. Van Gundy said Howard was able to stay in the game because he was loose, but that after the game Howard tightened up.

Haywood said he doesn't know about the film Van Gundy must have sent to New York because the Mavs' staff has scoured the game film and found no evidence of a punch being thrown.

"I guess he’s got something no one else has," Haywood said of Van Gundy on Monday during an appearance on "The Ben & Skin Show" on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM. "Like I said, it’s a physical game and sometimes guys get testy with elbows thrown, forearms, but no one throws any punches out there. Most of the NBA guys, without a doubt, it’s all WWE to us. We’re fake tough guys. No one throws any real punches. It’s unfortunate Stan feels that way. I know he has to protect his guy, but that’s just not the case. No one has any footage of it I guess except him, so unless he had [assistant coach] Patrick Ewing on the bench taping with his iPhone, I don’t think that really happened."

Brendan Haywood initially figured Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy had to be pulling an April Fool's joke on him Saturday when he claimed the Dallas Mavericks center had sucker-punched Dwight Howard in the back during Friday's game.

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Mavs C Brendan Haywood responds to Stan Van Gundy's claim that he punched Dwight Howard. April Fool's joke? Listen

Haywood, making an appearance Monday morning on the Ben & Skin Show on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM, said he quickly realized Van Gundy wasn't kidding around.

"I was at home and I thought Stan Van Gundy was setting everybody up because it was April 1st," Haywood said. "I thought it was a big April Fool’s joke. I thought we’re all going to laugh about it, and then I realized he was serious. There's nothing to it."

Haywood, who claimed innocence after Sunday's practice, was still chuckling about Van Gundy's accusation Monday morning, making light of it when he was introduced onto the show: "I’m just sitting here training with Floyd Mayweather getting ready for my next fight," Haywood said.

Van Gundy wasn't laughing when he made the claim after the Magic's Saturday practice in which Howard did not participate, and he certainly wasn't chipper Sunday when back spasms sidelined Howard in the Magic's 104-101 loss against Denver. It was only the eighth game Howard has missed in his eight-year career and the third due to injury.

Van Gundy didn't specify when the alleged incident occurred, but he accused Haywood of punching Howard in the back twice during one possession and said he planned to send video of the infraction to the league office.

"It's really ridiculous and I want to get it on film and send it in," Van Gundy said Saturday, according to OrlandoMagic.com. "Haywood just punched him literally with a closed fist right in the back. So [Howard] got through the game because he was loose, but then it really tightened up."

Haywood, who had missed the previous seven games with a sprained right knee, reiterated that he didn't throw any punches. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said his staff has reviewed the game film and and found no evidence of a punch.

"I guess he’s got something no one else has," Haywood said of Van Gundy. "Like I said, it’s a physical game and sometimes guys get testy with elbows thrown, forearms, but no one throws any punches out there. Most of the NBA guys, without a doubt, it’s all WWE to us. We’re fake tough guys. No one throws any real punches. It’s unfortunate Stan feels that way. I know he has to protect his guy, but that’s just not the case. No one has any footage of it I guess except him, so unless he had [assistant coach] Patrick Ewing on the bench taping with his iPhone, I don’t think that really happened."

Haywood called Howard the most physical player in the league and said that 6-foot-11, 266-pound All-NBA center made his presence felt on the opening possession.

"The first play of the game he popped me real good in my chest," Haywood said. "He hit me so hard in my chest, I felt it in my knee. You’re never supposed to get hit hard enough in your chest that you feel it in your knee. I didn’t know what that was about."

The league office did not immediately respond to an email asking if it has received a video from the Magic. Haywood said he isn't concerned about any disciplinary action because he doesn't believe the punch exists.

"No one has this footage except for Stan," Haywood said. "Stan has it and it’s going in his video archive."

ORLANDO -- How it happened: Let’s be honest. Jason Terry has driven you nuts this season.

You love him. You hate. You love him. You hate him. On and on it goes.

He was awful Thursday against Miami, and had no impact on the first three quarters against Orlando. Dirk made the game-winner with five seconds left, but Terry made it possible.

But the trait that has made Terry a difference-maker in Dallas is that he has no fear of the moment. He often plays his best basketball after his worst performances because he has supreme self-confidence.

No matter how many shots he misses, Terry always believes the next one is going to drop. And he can find the zone athletes always talk about and stay in it longer than most.

After a forgettable game Friday against Miami - he was 1-for-10 - and after not having an impact during the first three quarters, Terry took over on offense and defense.

He scored seven consecutive points, grabbed a couple of rebounds and made a steal as the Mavs erased a 15-point deficit late in the third quarter to tie the score with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter

Maybe, it’s as simple as he wore his trademark headband and high socks in the second half. In the first half, he went without his headband and socks because of an off-season bet he lost to Orlando’s Jameer Nelson.

Whatever the reason, without his performance in the fourth quarter and Shawn Marion’s work in the third quarter, the Mavs would’ve never been in position to win.

Terry finished with 17 points and the Mavs picked up their latest most important victory of the season because it keeps Dallas a game ahead of ninth-place Denver in the loss column.

What it means: Maybe this is the win that gets the Mavs rolling. They were 3-18 when trailing at any point by 10 points in a game and were just 1-19 when trailing after three quarters. Considering the Mavs trailed 77-62 late in the third quarter this was among their most unlikeliest wins of the season.

Bold play:Dwight Howard showed the full array of his athleticism early in the third quarter. After Shawn Marion bobbled a pass on the right wing, Howard outraced him to the ball, scooped it up and made a whirling pass into the front court to Jameer Nelson, who threw a lob to Howard. Although the pass was behind him, Howard reached way back with his right hand and slammed it home for a 59-52 lead.

Stat of the night:The Mavs went 7-7 in February and are 9-8 in March after slipping past Orlando to avoid posting consecutive non-winning months for the first time since 1999.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- It has been seven weeks -- 46 days, if you’re counting -- since Rick Carlisle had a full complement of players.

Now, he does.

Delonte West re-joined the team Thursday night against Miami after missing five weeks with a broken finger, and Brendan Haywood is expected to play Friday night against Orlando after missing seven games with a sprained knee.

Ordinarily that would be great -- and it is a positive. The problem, of course, is working all of the returning players back into a rotation without screwing up the Mavericks' chemistry.

For a team that’s 8-10 since the All-Star break and still isn’t anywhere close to securing a playoff spot with 14 games remaining in the regular season, maybe it won’t be that difficult.

“We gotta move forward and try to get everyone involved and still keep a rhythm doing the things well that we’ve been doing well,” Carlisle said. “We gotta look at everything.

“We have been together long enough now to have a pretty good feel for everyone and everyone has a pretty good feel for what’s asked of them and what we need from them. Going forward it’s going to be based on matchup, opponent, and how guys are playing. We’re going to ask our guys to play their minutes hard and play together, and we’ll figure out the rotation.”

The Mavs can certainly use Howard’s 7-foot, 263-pound frame to contain Dwight Howard, the league’s best center. Haywood has missed 11 of the past 13 games.

“We missed our big, strong guy,” Carlisle said. “Against the guys like (Andrew) Bynum, Howard and (Marc) Gasol, there’s no substitute to having a 7-footer that’s big and strong like Brendan. We need him.

“He’s been out awhile and he’s been working, but he’s probably going to get tired pretty quick and I’m going to have to pull him and try to get him back in the game.”

Follow along with our experts as they tweet and chat throughout tonight's Mavs-Magic game in Orlando.

Since the playoffs unofficially started for the Dallas Mavericks last Saturday, they're 2-1, twice beating the Houston Rockets, a team now on the outside looking in, and enduring a throttling Thursday by the Miami Heat, a favorite to win it all.

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Mavs coach Rick Carlisle talks about the team's sense of playoff urgency, Friday's game against the Magic, and suggests Jason Terry was ambushed when asked if he'd like to play for the Heat. Listen

Now comes tonight's tough matchup at the Orlando Magic. If the Mavs are going to make a strong push in the final month of the season -- and at this point that means simply qualifying for the postseason -- two things have to change quickly. Dallas has to start winning on the road (they're 10-15 with eight of their final 14 games on the road) and do so by getting serious about rebounding.

The differential that the Mavs are getting beaten by is getting absurd. Through 52 games, the Mavs rank 21st in the NBA in rebound differential at minus-1.39, so they're not a great rebounding team to begin with. In the last five games it's off the charts in a bad, bad way.

First, consider this from the Heat loss: Dallas went into halftime trailing by seven, which wasn't bad since the Heat shot 61.1 percent. Miami held a modest 16-12 rebounding advantage overall, but the offensive boards were even, 4-4, and the Mavs held an 8-7 advantage in second-chance points.

In the second half Miami blew the game open and won by 21 points despite shooting just 36.6 percent. How does that happen? The Heat outrebounded the Mavs 28-17 and 7-2 on the offensive glass, skunking them 10-0 in second-chance points.

In the last five games, Dallas has been outrebounded 235-173 overall and 50-27 on the offensive boards while being outscored 73-35 in second-chance points.

In those five games, the Mavs are 2-3 and 1-2 (winning in overtime at Houston) on the road.

Next up is Dwight Howard, who averages nearly four offensive rebounds a game by himself.

Records: Mavs (29-23); Magic (32-19)

When: 7 p.m.

Where: Amway Center

TV: ESPN, FSSW

Radio: ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM/1270 AM (Spanish)

What to watch: The rotation is certainly getting interesting with 14 games to go. Delonte West made his return Thursday at Miami, logging just eight minutes. He made all three of his shots and his playing time is surely going to start trending upward. Where that leaves Rodrigue Beaubois, who played less than 15 minutes and was scoreless with one assist, is up in the air. And will Lamar Odom's minutes rise if he continues to play well? Could he see more time at small forward, which would decrease Vince Carter's minutes there? It's a possibility that might not be a bad thing.

Key matchup: Brendan Haywood vs. Dwight Howard
The Mavs' big man was in uniform Thursday at Miami, but did not play because he was being spared a back-to-back off the bat and was being saved to go against Dwight Howard and the Magic. It's quite the assignment for his return. Haywood has not played since March 15 and that was just for 15 minutes before he sprained his right knee. Howard is averaging 20.9 points and 14.5 rebounds.

Injuries: Mavs -- C Brendan Haywood (sprained right ankle) expects to play tonight. Magic -- None.

Up next: Los Angeles Clippers at Mavs, 7:30 p.m. Monday

Jason Terry will play Friday's game against the Orlando Magic naked. Or, at least that's what he'll feel like.

For the first time in his 13-year NBA career, Terry won't be wearing his signature headband and high socks Friday as his Dallas Mavericks take on Orlando at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN.

Why won't Terry have his signature look against the Magic? Glad you asked, because it's an interesting story.

Is this the week?

The week that the Dallas Mavericks finally become whole?

The week this team just maybe begins to come together? Begins to show what kind of team it can be?

With 16 regular-season games left and the West standings more gummed up than Woodall Rodgers, it is time for all hands on deck. It might happen Tuesday against the Houston Rockets. If the Mavs don't get both center Brendan Haywood and guard Delonte West back, then Haywood will likely return first. West, out since he gruesomely fractured his right ring finger on Feb. 15, will not be far behind.

"Every game is big now," said Shawn Marion, who has played the last two games since missing three with a sore left knee. "We’re in such a close race for the postseason, and everybody is pulling together."

They must.

The schedule is brutal from a competition standpoint this week. The frequency of games has eased up, and the Mavs have to use that to their advantage. After all, when's the last time they played just three games in one full week? That said, it comes with one heck of a back-to-back through South and then Central Florida.

"We’re fighting now. We’re fighting every night we go out on the floor," guard Jason Terry said. "Each game is very critical for us, as far as playoff positioning. It’s been a tough season, but overall I like the effort of everybody. We’re doing what we have to collectively as a group to have success."

They can only hope they'll be fighting with a full force for the first time in a long time.

Tuesday: vs. Houston Rockets (26-23), 7:30 p.m.
TV/Radio: FSSW/103.3 FM ESPN; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: Last game, it was the Rockets waiting at home for the Mavs to get to town after playing the night before at San Antonio. This time around, Dallas will have had two days off since their 101-99 OT win at Houston on Saturday, while the Rockets will be wrapping up a homestand Monday night against Sacramento. Their game at the Mavs will be a fourth in six nights and Houston will still be without Kyle Lowry (bacteria infection) and likely without Kevin Martin (strained right shoulder), who has not played or practiced since March 11. But as everyone saw in the first meeting of the season, these no-name Rockets are a tough bunch.

Thursday: at Miami Heat (35-12), 7 p.m.
TV/Radio: TNT/103.3 FM ESPN; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: The Mavs make their first trip to Miami since that magical night of June 12, 2011. They'd like to show that their re-crafted title team is not the same one that played dead on the Christmas Day opener and allowed the Heat to roll over it. Unfortunately for Dallas, the Miami crew will be well rested, with two days off prior to the matchup. And be sure that LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and company will still be seeking retribution for what went down on their home floor last June. The Heat are 20-2 at home and haven't lost there since Jan. 22 -- to Milwuakee.

Friday: at Orlando Magic (31-18), 7 p.m.
TV/Radio: ESPN, FSSW/103.3 FM ESPN; 1270 AM (Spanish)
What to watch: Again, the schedule-makers don't do the Mavs any favors on this demanding back-to-back, because the Magic will have a day off and won't have played a back-to-back since March 17-18. Orlando has been up and down all season, and when they're up they're busting 3-pointers. The Magic rank third in the NBA in 3-point percentage, knocking down 38.3 percent. Then there's the inside threat with the big man, Superman, who won't become a free agent this summer, Dwight Howard. Mark Cuban can daydream about Howard all he wants, but his team better be ready for 21.0 points and 14.8 rebounds, best in the league.

The Dwight Howard/Deron Williams/Dirk Nowitzki dream isn’t necessarily dead in Dallas, but it’s delayed at least a year.

That being said, the slim odds might have improved for the Mavs to pull off the amazing feat of adding a pair of superstars in their prime over the last 24 hours.

It’s a good bet that the Mavs will land Williams this summer. That became clear the moment Howard finally made a firm decision after waiving the right to opt out of the final year of his contract in Orlando.

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Senior NBA writer Marc Stein talks about the NBA trade deadline and why the Mavs didn't make any moves. Listen

The Nets will spend the next three and a half months doing everything in their power to try to put together a supporting cast intriguing enough to persuade Williams to be the face of the franchise as it moves to Brooklyn. However, it’s hard to envision the Nets being attractive enough to keep The Colony native from coming home to play with Nowitzki on a proven contender.

The Mavs will be able to offer Williams a max contract this summer. They weren’t going to be able to offer max deals to both Williams and Howard this summer, so they would have had to hope that the pair of All-Stars would have given Dallas a discount to play with Dirk instead of opting to make more money in Brooklyn.

The Mavs should be able to get much closer to a full-max offer for Howard next summer if he doesn’t re-sign with the Magic. It’s probably more feasible to bring Williams and Howard together in Texas if it’s a two-step process.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that Howard will ever leave Orlando, where his loyalty is strong enough to ignore his agent’s advice and commit to the Magic for one more full season. The fact that Howard seems to be distancing himself from Dan Fegan, his extremely Mavs-friendly agent, doesn’t exactly bode well for him coming to Dallas.

So it’s a long shot for Howard to ever sign with the Mavericks. But they’ve got a great shot at landing Williams, one of the best point guards in the game, this summer.

Adding Williams without Howard isn’t the pie-in-the-sky scenario for the Mavs. It is realistic, however, and it’d be a remarkable payoff for the difficult decisions to let some championship contributors leave after the lockout.

And the Dwight dream doesn’t end unless Howard signs something with ramifications that reach well past the summer of 2013.

DALLAS -- All-Star point guard Deron Williams doesn’t want to address the subject of possibly playing in his hometown on a permanent basis during this trip to Dallas, but his coach acknowledged that the Mavericks are a major threat to sign the free agent-to-be.

New Jersey Nets coach Avery Johnson believes that because of the respect he has for his former boss, billionaire Mavs owner Mark Cuban, who has teamed with Dallas president basketball of operations Donnie Nelson to give the Mavs the financial flexibility this summer to attempt to sign Williams and/or Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard.

“He’s a threat, OK?” Johnson said of Cuban after the Nets’ practice Monday night at SMU. “I know the guy. I think because of the success he’s had -- and I know he got criticized a lot for quote-unquote having all those years where he didn’t win a championship -- but he’s had some great success here that rivals any situation. So that’s a threat.”

Williams, whose team plays the Mavericks on Tuesday night, pretended to not be aware that the Mavericks would have enough salary-cap space to be major players in free agency this offseason. He made it clear that he had no intention of discussing the possibility of joining Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas next season.

“I’m just going to play out this season and look at my options after this season,” Williams said, repeating several variations of that statement during a five-minute session with the media.

But Williams, a native of Dallas suburb The Colony who attended several Mavs playoff games during last year’s championship run, acknowledged that he enjoys playing in the American Airlines Center.

“I’ve always liked playing here,” Williams said. “This is one of my favorite arenas to play in, probably my favorite arena to play in. I just enjoy playing in it. I enjoy playing in front of my friends and family. It’s always good for them to get the chance to see me play.”

Williams, who has averaged 22.3 points on 50.3 shooting in 10 career games at the American Airlines Center, said he likes the shooting background in the arena. He also appreciates the atmosphere.

“It’s always good when an arena has a lot of energy,” Williams said. “Ours doesn’t have too much energy.”

The Nets hope that changes when they move into the Barclays Center in Brooklyn next season. They also hope that Williams will be the face of the franchise when that happens.

“For us, we don’t make any assumptions until we get Deron signed on the dotted line,” said Johnson, who played 55 games for the Mavs late in his career and was the head coach in Dallas from 2005-08. “The main thing is we keep doing what we’re doing. Deron’s been a major part of what we’re doing behind the scenes. He’s been a major part of what we’re doing with the new Barclays Center, so we’re saying he’s doing all of that with the intent that he’s going to remain with us in the future.”

However, Johnson is also saying that he’s aware that Cuban’s Mavs will be serious competition for Williams’ services this summer.

Orlando Magic owner Richard DeVos Sr., doesn't want to trade Dwight Howard, and that's just fine by the Dallas Mavericks.

The Mavs don't have the assets to acquire the 6-foot-11 center in a trade, so they need Howard to reach free agency this summer and take their chances from there.

Howard has listed the Mavs, Los Angeles Lakers and New Jersey Nets as his top three choices, with some reports making the Nets his preferred new home. The franchise is moving into a new arena in Brooklyn next summer and if it can't work a trade with Orlando -- which still hopes to convince Howard to stay -- has hopes of landing Howard in free agency and then retaining point guard and Dallas native Deron Williams, who is also on the Mavs' free agency radar.

If Howard is not traded and becomes a free agent, it would effectively take the Lakers out of the running. The Mavs and Nets will have plenty of cap space to try to entice the game's most dominant big man, who is averaging 21.0 points and 15.4 rebounds.

The lockout has pushed the NBA's trade deadline back to 2 p.m. CT on March 15.

We already know that the Dallas Mavericks are the oldest team in the NBA, boasting a mature average of 30.3 years and a starting lineup that averages 32.8 years (and Delonte West, 28, lowered that when he took over for 34-year-old Vince Carter).

But what about the tallest team in the NBA? Yes, it appears that Dallas, with its recent signing of 7-foot Chinese center Yi Jianlian, can also claim this distinction (if not in total feet and inches, which they might, than in total number of tall players). Seven -- virtually half of the Mavs' 15-man roster -- stand 6-10 or taller. Dallas is the rare team with three 7-footers (Yi, Dirk Nowitzki and Brendan Haywood), plus 6-11 center Ian Mahinmi and three 6-10 forwards and/or centers in Lamar Odom, Brandan Wright and Sean Williams.

Dallas has already shown a lineup that includes Odom, Nowitzki and Mahinmi, or darn near 21 feet of front-line players.

The league average for the number of players 6-10 or taller on a team is 4.2.

Four teams -- the New York Knicks, thanks to the addition of 7-1 center Tyson Chandler, the Orlando Magic (with five players at 6-10), the Washington Wizards and the Minnesota Timberwolves -- all have six.

Two teams -- the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers -- have just two players at 6-10 or taller.

Six teams, including tonight's opponent, the Detroit Pistons, have five, six have three, 11 teams -- including the entire Pacific Division -- have four, but just one team stands the tallest with seven.

What does it all mean? Probably not a whole lot. Three of the Mavs' tallest players -- Yi, Williams and Wright -- are role players at best at the moment. Williams is playing for the Mavs' D-League affiliate. Wright has seen limited action of late and Yi could see his first action tonight.

However, the addition of Odom, who is still trying to find his footing in Dallas, does give Mavs coach Rick Carlisle intriguing versatility, such as using Odom to bring the ball up the floor and initiate the offense. And Haywood and Mahinmi are showing to be a nicer-than-expected combo at center. Williams and Wright do provide additional bodies to use in the middle in case of foul trouble.

So, take it for what it's worth. The Mavs have a lot of tall guys.