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Tenth in a series chronicling the Dallas Mavericks' streak of 10 seasons with 50 or more wins (previous installments).

As the regular season wound down, Dirk Nowitzki was confident his team was built for the playoffs. He was ready to roll in the postseason, looking for his first long playoff run since the 2006 NBA Finals.

Once again, owner Mark Cuban opened his wallet in making moves that he believed would help the franchise get back into the thick of Western Conference contention. Dallas finally traded Josh Howard to Washington and in return received scorer Caron Butler, an agile big man with good hands in Brendan Haywood and an extra defender in DeShawn Stevenson. With the addition of Shawn Marion in the offseason, even the pundits couldn't help but notice the size, strength and toughness of this revameped roster.

Through some wild swings throughout the 82-game regular season, it was the Mavs who outlasted Utah, Denver and Phoenix for the No. 2 seed, and after a big win over the Los Angeles Lakers during a 13-game win streak following the blockbuster trade, the Mavs themselves were buying into the hype -- and the growing expectations.

Nowitzki, who had another outstanding regular season, avergaging 25.0 points and 7.7 rebounds, said this team had more talent than any he played on in his dozen seasons in Dallas. Jason Kidd, who had played in two NBA Finals with the New Jersey Nets, said this was one of the best teams he's played on.

Yet, somehow, it all came crashing down in a familiar postseason letdown.

The Spurs, led by the Big Three plus the emergence of George Hill and revolving role players, made big shot after big shot and defensively suffocated Kidd, who struggled to get the Mavs on the run. With a stagnant halfcourt offense, Dallas failed to score more than 90 points in four of the six games, leaving more questions than answers about the club moving forward.

No one, not in this season, expected the Mavs to be licking their wounds again before the calendar turned to May.

Coach: Rick Carlisle
Record: 55-27 (1st in Southwest)
Playoffs: Lost to San Antonio (4-2)
Team payroll: $88.9 million*
Highest-paid player: Dirk Nowitzki ($19.8 million)*

Offseason transactions: Traded 21st overall draft pick C B.J. Mullens to Oklahoma City for 24th draft pick G Rodrigue Beaubois and a future second-round pick; in four team deal, traded F/G Devean George and G Antoine Wright to Toronto, and G/F Jerry Stackhouse plus a future second-round pick to Memphis for F Shawn Marion, Kris Humphries and Nathan Jawai (from Toronto), plus Greg Buckner (from Memphis, later released); signed G Quinton Ross (free agent); signed F Drew Gooden (free agent); signed F Tim Thomas (free agent); signed F Kris Humphries (free agent);

In-season transaction: Jan. 11, 2010: Traded Kris Humprhies and Shawne Williams to New Jersey for Eduardo Najera; Feb. 13, 2010: Traded Josh Howard, Quinton Ross, James Singleton and Drew Gooden to Washington for Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson.

The high: Following the big trade that finally rid the club of Josh Howard, the Mavs played like a team in which a heavy weight had been lifted. The club rolled off a season-best 13 consecutive wins, the longest streak since the 2006-07 season. Victories included Phoenix, Atlanta, Orlando and the Los Angeles Lakers, fueling the club with optimism that it had the ingredients to conted for the Western Conference crown. Dirk Nowitzki added to his illustrous career by becoming just the 34th player in NBA history to score 20,000 career points against the Lakers on Jan. 13. On Nov. 25, Jason Kidd notched his 10,335th career assist to move into second place on the NBA's all-time list. On the final night of the regular-season, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich rested his starters and the Mavs secured the West's No. 2 seed, their highest seed since claiming No. 1 in 2006-07.

The low: San Antonio 4, Dallas 2. Sure, the Spurs were not your typical No. 7 seed, but so what? The Mavs lost the home-court advantage by losing in Game 2 and then dropped two in a row at San Antonio to go down 3-1. The Mavs melted down in the third quarter of Game 4 and then in the do-or-die Game 6 they opened the first quarter with eight points. Despite taking the lead briefly in the third quarter, Dallas suffered its third first-round defeat of the last four seasons. This one particularly stung because of the big trade that had Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd calling this club one of the best either had ever played on.

The roster:
F Dirk Nowitzki (25.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 48.1% FG)
G Jason Terry (16.6 ppg, 43.8% FG)
G/F Caron Butler (15.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 44.0% FG in 27 games)
G/F Josh Howard (12.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg in 31 games)
F Shawn Marion (12.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 50.8% FG)
G Jason Kidd (10.3 ppg, 9.1 apg, 5.6 rpg)
F Drew Gooden (8.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg in 46 games)
C Brendan Haywood (8.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg in 28 games)
G J.J. Barea (7.6 ppg, 3.3 apg, 19.8 mpg)
F Tim Thomas (7.5 ppg in 18 games)
G Rodrigue Beaubois (7.1 ppg, 51.8% FG in 56 games)
C Erick Dampier (6.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg)
F Kris Humprhies (5.2 ppg in 25 games)
F Eduardo Najera (3.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg in 33 games)
F James Singleton (2.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg in 25 games)
G Quinton Ross (2.0 ppg in 27 games)
G DeShawn Stevenson (2.0 ppg in 24 games)
G Matt Carroll (1.8 ppg in 25 games)

*Source: Basketball-Reference.com

Ex-Mav Jim Jackson played for an NBA-record 12 teams and shares that distinction with Chucky Brown and Tony Massenburg.

Drew Gooden has played for nine teams in eight seasons and sees the inevitable.

"I'm on my way to breaking that record," Gooden said with a laugh Tuesday night. "I'm on my ninth team now, and I'm a free agent this summer."

Gooden had just delivered his best individual performance of the season -- 26 points and 20 rebounds -- in the Los Angeles Clippers' 106-96 loss to the Mavericks, slamming home precisely why Dallas was so hopeful of re-signing him after Gooden was packaged with Josh Howard, Quinton Ross and James Singleton to Washington in the Feb. 13 trade that netted Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson.

Had the Wizards reached a buyout with the veteran power forward, as they later did with Zydrunas Ilgauskas after acquiring Big Z from Cleveland in the Antawn Jamison deal, Gooden would almost certainly be back with a previous employer for the first time in his career. As he said many times before and after Tuesday's homecoming game at American Airlines Center, Gooden never wanted to leave Dallas and still hopes that the Mavs will consider re-signing him this summer.

The Wizards, though, didn't buy Gooden out. Instead they routed him to the Clippers as part of the three-way Jamison swap before the league's Feb. 18 trading deadline. And there would be no buyout in L.A. because the Clips, looking to bolster a front line weakened by rookie Blake Griffin's season-ending knee injury and the trade of Marcus Camby to Portland, told Gooden immediately that they needed to keep him for the rest of the season.

"It wasn't as easy it was last year for me with Sacramento," Gooden said, recalling how the Kings quickly bought out his contract after acquiring Gooden from Chicago at the deadline, enabling Gooden to sign with San Antonio for the stretch run.

"I think everybody knew that once I got a buyout that I would want to go back to Dallas and help [the Mavs] out even more. I think there [were] teams that didn't want Dallas to have their cake and eat it, too.

"I miss Dallas. I miss those guys over there. I committed myself to this team and left something on the table that was unfinished business for me. But that's the business."

The solace for Gooden is that his play with the Clippers isn't exactly discouraging the Mavs -- or prospective team No. 10 -- from keeping the 28-year-old in their offseason thoughts. Gooden is averaging a healthy 14.7 points and 9.7 rebounds in 16 games with the Clippers, which would represent the highest averages of his career in both categories if sustained for a full season.

"I've got to make sure I don't take for granted the opportunity I have now," Gooden said. "Even though, let's face it, we're not going to be a playoff team this year, I'm getting an opportunity to play and I'm going to do well.

"I do feel like I'm playing my best [basketball]. Maybe I don't jump as high as I used to, but my mental game is so much stronger than when I first got into the league. Even though I've been on a lot of teams, playing a lot of different roles, I've gotten better within those roles."

Asked if the Mavs miss Gooden's contributions off the bench, Dirk Nowitzki said: "Hell, yeah."

Oklahoma City's Kevin Ollie -- another Mavs alumnus -- has played for 11 teams, so Gooden isn't even No. 1 among active NBA vagabonds. The people who track such matters at the Elias Sports Bureau, furthermore, say Gooden doesn't get credit for making a stop in Washington because, even though he was issued a No. 90 jersey from the Wizards, he never played in a game for them.

Ollie, though, is 37. He's running out of time to get to 12 teams.

Gooden is nearly a decade younger and has only enhanced his reputation this season as a player who can produce when he starts and serve as the offensive focal point for a second unit. Playing for 13 teams certainly seems within reach, which isn't a prospect that insults Gooden.

"I was a victim of basketball [business]," Gooden said of the deal swung by the Mavs to get Butler and Haywood, which materialized about a month after Gooden and his partially guaranteed one-year contract in Dallas at $4.5 million was offered to Utah in an attempt to swipe Carlos Boozer from the Jazz.

"I was never locked into a long-term deal," Gooden continued. "I was always a guy that was talked about at every trade deadline, no matter if I was playing well or not. But there's been nothing bad about what happened for me, playing on a lot of different teams."

He was quickly schooled on the business of basketball as a rookie, when Memphis -- after taking Gooden with the fourth overall pick in the 2002 draft -- traded him to Orlando before his first season was finished.

"That was a situation that I kind of liked [being traded]," Gooden said. "All the other times that I got traded, I didn't want to get traded. But it wasn't the right situation for me in Memphis. I was playing small forward and I felt like I was more of a power forward playing out of position."

Gooden's selection by then-Grizzlies president Jerry West in West's first draft in Memphis is one of the few second-guessed picks of West's storied front-office career, since the Grizz already had Pau Gasol and Stromile Swift on the roster.

"I didn't think I was going to have that Memphis hat on long that night that I got drafted," Gooden said. "But Jerry West always said he was going to take the best player available."

Marc Stein covers the NBA for ESPN.com and is a frequent contributor to ESPNDallas.com.

DeShawn Stevenson became the eighth starting shooting guard for the Mavericks’ this season with Wednesday’s start against the Lakers.

Only seven different players started in the backcourt next to Jason Kidd last season.

J.J. Barea has a team-leading 16 starts at the two spot alongside Kidd this season, followed by rookie Rodrigue Beaubois with 13 and Jason Terry with 11.

The other five Mavericks to get a crack as the starting two guard: Josh Howard (six), Caron Butler (five), Quinton Ross (four), Shawn Marion (one) and Stevenson, who logged 24 solid defensive minutes in Dallas’ 101-96 victory over L.A.

Butler is expected to move back into the starting lineup Friday at Atlanta after sitting out Wednesday’s victory over the Los Angeles Lakers because of an adverse reaction to medication.

DALLAS -- The seven-player deal with the Washington Wizards, which is official, represents a major win for the Dallas Mavericks.

This was a classic Mark Cuban trade. The Mavs took advantage of a team looking to cut costs. And Cuban didn't even have to pay a ridiculous price in the process.

DeShawn Stevenson's $4.1 million player option for next season is the price the Mavs had to pay to make significant upgrades at two positions. The financial sting was lessened when the Wizards accepted Quinton Ross ($1.14 million) as part of the return. (James Singleton is the other throw-in headed to Washington.)

Caron Butler is simply a better all-around player than Josh Howard. Butler is a better scorer. He's a better rebounder. He's a better fit for the Mavs because of his ability to create off the dribble.

Brendan Haywood fills a major void as a shot-blocking, board-crashing big man, especially with Erick Dampier dealing with knee problems. Drew Gooden provided some scoring punch, but he was a power forward pretending to be a center, something that was painfully obvious from watching the Mavs' defensive misery the last month.

Butler, whose career numbers suggest he could be an excellent second scoring option despite his struggles this season, is on the books one more season at $10.8 million. Swapping him for Howard doesn't limit the Mavs' potential to be sign-and-trade players this summer.

Haywood is a $6 million expiring contract, but he could be the most important long-term piece in this trade. The Mavs definitely wouldn't have pulled the trigger without him included. The summer search for a long-term starting center at least has a Plan A now that the Mavs own Haywood's Bird rights.

Does this deal make the Mavs legitimate challengers to the Los Angeles Lakers? Doubtful, despite Kobe Bryant's gushing about the trade Saturday morning.

Does it make the Mavs significantly better? Absolutely.

DALLAS -- Would acquiring Caron Butler makes the Dallas Mavericks much better?

That's a subject being discussed by the Mavs brass as they engage in talks with the Washington Wizards.

ESPN.com's Marc Stein lays out the framework of the potential deal in the Weekend Dime: Josh Howard and another player (such as James Singleton or Quinton Ross) for Butler and DeShawn Stevenson.

It'd pain Mark Cuban to take Stevenson, a player who probably wouldn't crack the Mavs' rotation but would be a fool not to exercise his player option for more than $4 million next season. And the Mavs' decision-makers have mixed feelings about Butler, who didn't help matters by breaking a play with the game on the line in Washington's recent loss to Dallas.

In many regards, Butler is a lot like Howard without the relatively recent off-court drama. They're both 29-year-old small forwards with durability issues whose offensive numbers this season are way down from their career norm.

Butler is a much better rebounder than Howard, but he'd likely have the same problems fitting in the Mavs' mix with Shawn Marion entrenched as the starting 3.

Then again, maybe Butler would benefit from a fresh start after escaping the insanity in Washington.

If Butler doesn't work out, he'd at least be a decent sign-and-trade chip for the Mavs. He is due $10.8 million next season, the last year of his contract. (Howard's contract status -- team option for $11.8 million next season -- is one argument for keeping him because of his value in potential sign-and-trade deals.)

A Howard/Butler deal, with other pieces thrown in, won't make the Mavs any worse. But is it the best the Mavs can do? And is it worth the cost to Cuban?

The Mavs brass has less than two weeks to answer those questions.

SALT LAKE CITY -- As Rick Carlisle ponders ways to fix the Mavs' defensive mess, he might consider giving Quinton Ross a role.

Ross, a defensive-minded wing, opened the season in the starting lineup but has hardly played since November. He was a DNP-coach's decision the last two games, both of which were embarassing defensive efforts for the Mavs.

Ross is a limited offensive player, but he can probably helped a team that has recently played "very soft defensively," according to their coach.

"He’s in my thought process," Carlisle said. "With our need for defense, it’s something that’s certainly a possibility."

DALLAS -- Mavs swingman Josh Howard will rest Saturday night against the Charlotte Bobcats, a precautionary measure as he comes back from offseason surgery on his left ankle.

The Mavs didn't want Howard to try to play on back-to-back nights yet. He ended up sitting out 13 games after playing a back-to-back during his abbreviated return last month.

"We feel it's the right thing to do, managing the situation," coach Rick Carlisle said. "We don't have another back-to-back until [Dec. 26 and 27]. The hope is he'll be ready then to play a back-to-back, but we'll just have to see."

Some of Howard's minutes should go to Quinton Ross, who has missed the last nine games with lower back tightness.

Josh Howard, one game into his latest comeback, might or might not play both games in the back-to-back sequence starting at the Miami Heat on Friday night and back at home against Charlotte on Saturday.

Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle had suggested after the Phoenix game that Howard might sit out one of the two to help ease Howard, who scored 20 points in 26 minutes in the win over the Suns, back into normal minutes.

"I’m not going to say which game he’s going to play or not play and I’m not going to say he’s not going to play one of the games," Carlisle said Thursday afternoon as the team prepared to leave for Miami. "Some of that we may play by ear. I don’t think that I definitely said he’ll sit one of the games out. I think it’s a good possibility of it, but we’ll see. I think we’ll know where we are probably after Friday night."

Which sounds as if Howard will be in the lineup Friday against Dwyane Wade and the Heat.

In other Mavs news:
*Guard Quinton Ross, a defensive specialist out with a bad lower back, could be ready for Friday's game, Carlisle said.
*The Mavs will shoot for a Western Conference-high ninth road win at Miami. Dallas (8-4 on the road) has gone two seasons without a winning road record.

DALLAS -- With Josh Howard ready to return, this is an appropriate time to appreciate Shawn Marion's willingness to play through pain.

Howard missed the last 13 games due to soreness in his surgically repaired left ankle. In a case of terrible timing, Marion sprained his left ankle three games later.

Marion missed three games and has since played through significant pain. Marion's willingness to tough it out earned him admiration from coach Rick Carlisle, who hugged Marion in the locker room after his return in a win over the Houston Rockets.

Due to the absences of Howard and Quinton Ross (back), Marion has had to play more than 30 minutes in each of the last seven games.

"It’s been enormous for us," Carlisle said this morning, before news broke that Howard would play tonight against the Suns. "It started in Houston that night we had to bounce back from the tough home loss. He was able to play that night and gave us a big lift and has been in there ever since.

"He’s not completely healthy. He still has pain and he’s working through it, but he’s trying to help us win. He wants to win and that’s why he wants to be here."

One of the more interesting questions being bandied about on talk radio, blogs and message boards would be, “What is the identity of this team?”

I thought Rick Carlisle had an interesting take in the postgame presser with the assessment that this team is surviving. Perhaps that’s exactly what they are – survivors.

Let’s face it – a lot of these wins have by no means been pretty, but they are wins. For all the complaining and hand wringing over not putting opponents away early and snuffing the fight out of 'em, the Mavs are still sitting at a pretty salty 13-5 mark.

That record will play.

Fans, players, especially coaches – nobody likes excuses. But the Mavericks find themselves in the odd position of defending their wins. If you lose a game and talk about the injuries you’re enduring, you get beat up for dropping a lame excuse. But are injuries a good excuse for not winning in a convincing fashion?

Case in point – the Mavericks went into the fourth quarter against the 76ers up 78-72 but were already at an 11-board deficit with 12 minutes to go. So what does Carlisle decide to do for the majority of the fourth quarter? Roll with a three-guard lineup and fall back into a 2-3 zone against a big Philly lineup that amplified the mauling of the Mavs on the glass to the tune of 18-6 in the final frame.

Is that the ideal scenario the Mavericks front office and coaching staff envisioned heading into the season? Of course not.

But that dream scenario wasn’t available with Josh Howard and Quinton Ross in street clothes, Shawn Marion hobbled with a bum ankle that stiffens up on him, Tim Thomas several hours removed from a trip to the chiropractor and Erick Dampier available for limited minutes on his first night back after missing the past two weeks.

So the Mavs went small – very small - and survived. Carlisle wanted the play-making ability that Barea provides, and JJ rewarded him eight eight points, two assists and a little vintage old-school styled moxie in the fourth. And it got the job done.

Was it pretty? No.

Did they survive? Yes.

So we wait to see the eventual identity of a team that, once healthy, will be versatile, long, athletic, deep, seasoned and aggressive. For now, we’ll have to settle for a band of survivors grinding their way to 13-5 and first place in their division.

It's Monday, and that means it's time for “The Come Up” -- we look ahead at how the week lays out for the Dallas Mavericks.

Will Erick Dampier get the clearance to put the mystery illness behind him and take the floor? When will the mystery of Josh Howard’s ankle pain be solved? Three sub-.500 squads followed by one of the beasts of the East on this week’s schedule -- and it go a ‘lil summin’ like this …

Is The Answer the answer?

On Monday night, the Mavericks will host a Sixers team mired in a mountain of controversy, injuries and losing. The controversy, of course, is about whether or not the Sixers should bring Allen Iverson back into the fold. One report that surfaced last week had Sixers coach Eddie Jordan flying out to meet with A.I. immediately following tonight's game against Dallas.

The reason the A.I. question is being posed is because the Sixers have been slowed early by injuries. Marreese Speights was off to a great offensive start before a partial MCL tear in his left knee sidelined him until sometime in early 2010. Lou Williams was good for 17 a night on 50 percent shooting before a broken grill put him on the shelf for eight weeks. Early reports are that Elton Brand will return tonight after missing three games with a sore hammy.

As you may have suspected, the injuries have been followed by the losing. At 5-12, Philly is one of the worst teams in the East and roll into town for the second night of a back-to-back after San Antonio dropped them for their sixth consecutive loss last night. Andre Iguodala stuffs the stat sheet every night (last night he delivered 21/8/7 with 5 steals and 3 blocks) but there’s just not enough help right now.

Then again, if things were going well would anyone have even remotely entertained the idea of The Answer? Exactly.

Historic night

Remember last year when the Mavs went to Jersey in December and Devin Harris dropped 41 and 13 as The Nets rolled by 24? It’ll be a pretty different vibe this year.

On Wednesday night, the Nets will be playing to avoid the worst start by any team in league history at 0-18. And the Mavs will be playing to not be that team -- you know, the one that lost to the Nets.

How bad are they? Heading into last night’s loss to the Lakers, the Nets were averaging an NBA-low 85.6 points and shooting an also league-worst 40.3 percent from the field.

The good news is that Brook Lopez is really emerging as a nice inside presence going for 18 and 9 a night with 2.5 blocks for good measure. I also think Chris Douglas-Roberts and Terrence Williams have nice futures in the NBA. It just must seem so far off in the distant, distant future for those two dudes.

Both teams will put enormous pressure on themselves not to lose -- way more than normal. If the Mavs drop this one, it’ll make the Golden State loss last week seem respectable by comparison.

Friday night BBQ

The Mavs head to Memphis for the first time this season Friday night. They have no excuse to look past the Grizz towards Saturday night’s game against Hotlanta considering they dropped both of their roadies at Memphis last year.

Memphis is actually a pretty salty offensive team with scoring machines Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph dropping a combined 40 a night. The problem is that both of those dudes hate playing defense like it was going to keep them from feeding their families. But that’s a team-wide issue as well. Grizz opponents shoot a shade under 50 percent from the field, a shade under 40 percent from behind the arc, and score a shade under 107 a night.

Marc Gasol and O.J. Mayo are outstanding young players. Mike Conley is still an enormous question mark and actually seems to be trending down. And surely I’m not the only one amused by the Grizz parting ways with A.I. only to replace him with Jamaal Tinsley. Now that’s leadership. Good luck kids.

One of the elite?

Dallas and Atlanta came into this season in similar positions -- teams that were regarded as good but a tick or two below the so-called best teams in their conference. And while it’s early, both teams have spent some time in first place in their respective conferences so far.

The Hawks are absolutely loaded with dudes who can stick the ball in the basket. Their only major difference at the top of their regular rotation of guys is that Jamal Crawford has replaced Flip Murray as designated bench scorer and he is second on the team in that department to Joe Johnson’s 21.7 with 16.8 of his own.

They are extremely long and athletic along their frontline with Marvin Williams, Josh Smith and Al Horford -- which affords them the opportunity to competently “switch” screen situations on defense.

Assuming Josh isn’t back by Saturday, Carlisle might lean towards giving Quinton Ross the start ahead of Rodrigue Beaubois so that Dallas can have the extra length in defending Johnson. Both teams will be on the second nights of a back-to-backs and both teams will be eager to throw down the gauntlet against a quality opponent. Get ready for a little Uptown Saturday Night action -– this is easily the best game of the week.

HOUSTON -- Mavericks forward Shawn Marion will be back in the lineup after missing the last three games with a sprained left ankle.

Quinton Ross, who filled in for Marion as a starter, did not make the trip to Houston. Ross didn't return after halftime in Tuesday night's loss to the Golden State Warriors because of lower back pain. He stayed in Dallas for further evaluation and will join the team in Indiana before Friday's game.

Carlisle said he would manage Marion's minutes if necessary, but he didn't think the veteran's conditioning would be a concern after the layoff. Marion participated in the Mavs' last two practices.

"We’ll play it by ear," Carlisle said. "He’s going to go hard when he’s out there. When he needs breaks, we’ll give him breaks and go from there."

Center Erick Dampier, who has missed the last five games, is still sidelined indefinitely with an unspecified illness. Dampier made the road trip and worked out on the Toyota Center court about two hours before the game.

"Generally speaking, we’re optimistic," said Carlisle, who expects an official announcement about Dampier's status soon.

The Mavericks awoke Wednesday in Houston with a 10-4 record. One win shy of a tie for the best record in the West.

Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?

It does until you rewind through the four losses.

None of them were inflicted by teams with a winning record as of Wednesday morning. All of them have to be classified as excruciating.

Washington at home on opening night. New Orleans on the road in overtime after clanking three straight free throws in crunch time when just one make could have prevented OT. San Antonio on the road . . . with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker in street clothes.

Yet you'd have to say that Tuesday night's nightmarish finish in a 110-103 loss to Golden State was the worst of the four. The Warriors dressed only six players -- and had to leave coach Don Nelson in Oakland because of Nelson's bout with pneumonia -- and still managed to reel off 24 of the game's final 31 points.

Not how the Mavs were planning to start a dreaded stretch of four games in five nights.

They can't complain about the injury absences of Shawn Marion, Josh Howard and Erick Dampier or the second-half loss of Quinton Ross to a bad back when the other team only has one healthy sub. Nor can they try to convince themselves that this had anything to do with the old Warriors hex that humbled the 67-win Mavs in 2007 playoffs. Not with Nelson more than a thousand miles away and given that Monta Ellis was the only active Warrior who played in that series.

Dampier would have certainly given the Mavs some badly needed rim protection as opposed to the complete lack of defensive presence inside they had without him. But this was a deserved smack in the face for a team that has been consistently underwhelming and flat at American Airlines Center. The Mavs' supposed stature in the West doesn't mean much if they don't start play harder at home.

You've probably heard coach Rick Carlisle's view by now: "We've had too many of these games at home where we lost focus. We've been able to win the majority of them, but tonight we left too much to chance in the last six minutes."

Even after an 18-point home win over Houston featured a huge first-half deficit. The Mavs only pulled out a win over Utah on the strength of the second-greatest fourth quarter in NBA history: Dirk Nowitzki's 29-point detonation.

Their home schedule so far has been super soft, but the list of convincing Mavs performances at the AAC goes one deep ... and that came against a Toronto team playing on the second night of a back-to-back. A team that's not exactly synonymous with rugged D.

Maybe the Mavs can (and will) rebound on the road again. If there's any solace for Dallas, it's that the recent five-game win streak began with three straight roadies (Minnesota, Detroit and Milwaukee) right after the humbling defeat to short-handed San Antonio on Nov. 11.

But a sendoff like this one does make you wonder what might happen at home when more good teams start coming to town.

Some further statistical perspective on just how excruciating Tuesday's sendoff was for Dallas:

• Golden State, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, was just the third team since the NBA/ABA merger in 1976-77 to play six players in a game.
• Elias says it was the first time since 1952 that a team used only six players and won a regular-season game. The last team to do it was the Baltimore Bullets on Feb. 10, 1952, in an 82-77 victory over the Fort Wayne Pistons. The Bullets actually only used five players that night: Don Barksdale, Frank Kudelka, Stan Miasek, Dave Minor and Kevin O'Shea had no subs.
• Monta Ellis, Vladimir Radmanovic and Anthony Morrow each played all 48 minutes, which hasn't happened since Dale Ellis, Ervin Johnson and Antonio McDyess did so for Denver on April 17, 1997.
• It was the first time Golden State had three players go the full 48 in . . . 45 years. Almost 45 years to the day, actually. Wilt Chamberlain, Guy Rodgers and Nate Thurmond played every second for the Warriors on Nov. 25, 1964, with Wilt rumbling for 37 points and 32 rebounds in a 122-118 loss to Boston.

It’s unlikely that Shawn Marion will play Wednesday night against the San Antonio Spurs.

Marion told reporters after shootaround that he wouldn’t have been able to play in the morning. He’ll continue to get treatment on his left ankle, which he sprained in the first quarter of Monday’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

If Marion can’t play, the Mavs would be without their top two wing players. Josh Howard (rehab from ankle surgery) remains out indefinitely.

That makes the Spurs an extremely tough matchup with Manu Ginobili and Richard Jefferson. Mavs rookie Rodrigue Beaubois has been excellent as a fill-in starting shooting guard, but coach Rick Carlisle has kept him in a limited role. Quinton Ross, a defensive-minded player with a limited offensive game, would likely start at small forward if Marion can’t play.

There could be a revolving door at shooting guard for the Dallas Mavericks during Josh Howard's indefinite absence from the lineup.

"It'll be based on matchups," coach Rick Carlisle said of Howard's replacement in the starting lineup. "That will vary from game to game."

Carlisle would like to keep reigning Sixth Man of the Year Jason Terry in a reserve role. However, Carlisle said Terry could start some games during the stretch without Howard, who will continue practicing while rehabbing from offseason ankle surgery.

Quinton Ross started the first four games of the season. He's a defensive-minded player with limited offensive skills.

Rookie Rodrigue Beaubois, a raw talent, started when Ross was unavailable because of a back injury in the fifth game of the season. He had nine points and an assist in 14 minutes during the loss to the New Orleans Hornets, but that was his only meaningful playing time so far.

J.J. Barea, who started 15 games last season, is another option. He'd give the Mavs another starter who can create his own shot, but he's often a defensive liability because of his size.