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Ninth in a 15-part series ranking the Mavericks' 2011-12 roster in importance of bringing back next season.

Surely one can look around the NBA and field a lineup of unfulfilled careers. With the Dallas Mavericks that search stops with Rodrigue Beaubois, the highly-talented guard whose career appeared headed toward the stars until the unfortunate day when the fifth metatarsal in his left foot snapped.

Nothing's been the same since. And everything's been a struggle.

Beaubois is heading into the most important summer of his young NBA career and he knows it.

"I cannot tell you what is going to happen, but obviously I know that this summer is going to be big for me," Beaubois said. "I have to work out a lot and make sure that I am ready because if they give me space (more playing time) I will have to be ready for that."

For the first time in three summers, Beaubois is healthy and able to train. He broke his foot in early August 2010 training with the French national team and underwent surgery soon after. He missed two-thirds of the following season because he re-injured the foot and then hurt it again in the final game of the regular season, forcing him out of the entire championship run and back into the operating room.

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Few inroads were made this season and so here we are at a crossroads. Beaubois is effectively entering the final year of his contract. The Mavs can make a qualifying offer next summer or they can say goodbye.

The Countdown ticks down to No. 7...

RODRIGUE BEAUBOIS
Pos.: G
Ht./Wt.: 6-foot-2, 180
Experience: 3 years
Age: 24 (Feb. 24, 1988)
2011-12 stats: 8.9 ppg (42.2 FG, 28.8 3FG, 2.9 apg)
Contract status: Signed through 2012-13
2011-12 salary: $1.2 million
2012-13 salary: $2.2 million

His story: The second surgery ruined another summer of work and development with the lockout adding another layer of frustration because it prevented Beaubois from working, or even visiting, with Rick Carlisle and the coaching staff. Once again, Beaubois' role this season is in total limbo because that's also where the Mavs' roster is. Will they sign Deron Williams and re-sign Jason Kidd to back him up at point guard? Will Delonte West and/or Jason Terry return along with Vince Carter to fortify the shooting guard position? And then there's the whole issue of whether he's a point guard -- which he mostly played to varying degrees of success this season -- or a shooting guard, or does it even matter? Or will that be determined simply by where there is room for him?

His outlook: Any number of backcourt variables that emerge after July 1 could open up playing time for Beaubois or again leave him buried behind a veteran crew. Or, in yet another scenario, Beaubois could get caught up in a trade to create additional cap space. Beaubois was essentially out of the rotation in the playoffs, leaving him with still virtually no postseason experience in three trips. Will the 2012-13 season be something of a rebirth for Beaubois in Dallas or the beginning of the end?

No. 15 Lamar Odom
No. 14 Brian Cardinal
No. 13 Yi Jianlian
No. 12 Dominique Jones
No. 11 Brendan Haywood
No. 10 Kelenna Azubuike
No. 9 Ian Mahinmi
No. 8 Vince Carter
No. 7 Rodrigue Beaubois
No. 6 Coming Friday

Eighth in a 15-part series ranking the Mavericks' 2011-12 roster in importance of bringing back next season.

Bringing in Vince Carter last season, even at a buyer-friendly price, felt like a reach for a team with an already aging roster. Anyone who'd seen him play the previous two seasons with Orlando and Phoenix could only surmise that Carter was postponing the inevitable.

And then he got to town and Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle almost instantly, and rather shrewdly, started talking up the eight-time All-Star and former slam dunk champ as a sure-fire Hall of Famer whose basketball IQ soared as high as his dunks used to.

"Guys who are eight-time All-Stars are Hall of Famers. And there's a reason," Carlisle said shortly after the delayed start to the season in late December. "He's been a great player and he knows how to play. He's going to fit in great with what we're doing just because he's a hell of a basketball player."

It's hard to say that Carlisle wasn't right, to an extent.

Carter got off to a strong start, burying 3-pointers at a team-best clip, flashing a nice post-up game and scrapping on defense all the while giving the Mavs the versatility to play him at shooting guard or small forward. But after the All-Star break Carter started to slow down, and other than a brief hot streak, the swoon carried into the playoffs where he shot just 29.3 percent from the floor and 30.0 percent from beyond the arc.

All-in-all, Carter started 40 of the 61 games he played, when at this point in his career he's probably most effective as a scorer off the bench where he can take advantage of smaller and less talented reserves.

Carter will turn 36 in January, and the odds are that he will celebrate his birthday in a Mavs uniform.

The Countdown rolls on at No. 8 ...

VINCE CARTER
Pos.: SG/SF
Ht./Wt.: 6-foot-6, 220
Experience: 14 years
Age: 35 (Jan. 26, 1977)
2011-12 stats: 5.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 18.7 mpg
Contract status: Signed through 2013-14
2011-12 salary: $3 million
2012-13 salary: $3.1 million (partially guaranteed)

His story: Billed as half-man, half-amazing, Carter proved to be half-mortal in his first season with the Mavs. It can certainly be argued that injuries, particularly the broken finger that sidelined Delonte West for six weeks, played a part in Carter's decline. Carter was at his most effective when limited to about 25 minutes or less, but Carlisle had no choice but to keep him on the floor more through West's injury. Plus, Jason Kidd missed 18 games, mostly due to three separate injuries. Through the first 25 games, Carter logged 25 minutes or fewer 14 times, compared to 15 times in the final 36 games. Perhaps a better comparison though is the fact that he played 30 minutes or more just twice in those first 25 games, and 10 times in the final 36. It makes it difficult to argue that wear-and-tear didn't play a role in Carter's downturn or that playing fewer minutes consistently next season could serve him and the Mavs well.

His outlook: Carter is signed for the next two seasons at little more than $3 million for each, however his contract is not fully guaranteed. It is guaranteed enough for next season that, barring a major trade that would sweep him up, the odds are high that Carter will stick around here for at least one more season. One has to wonder though if the Mavs wouldn't be better off allotting Carter's minutes to younger players such as Rodrigue Beaubois (assuming he remains on the team), who the Mavs must get a full, healthy season out of to evaluate in what is essentially the final year of his deal, or to a player like Kelenna Azubuike. At this point, Carter would seem to be more of a last-piece-to-the-puzzle type that could bolster a contender's bench. But hey, who knows, depending on what transpires in free agency, the Mavs might or might not become such a squad.

No. 15 Lamar Odom
No. 14 Brian Cardinal
No. 13 Yi Jianlian
No. 12 Dominique Jones
No. 11 Brendan Haywood
No. 10 Kelenna Azubuike
No. 9 Ian Mahinmi
No. 8 Vince Carter
No. 7 Coming Thursday

If Dwight Howard is dead set on leaving the Magic's small (market) world ASAP, as reports suggest, and Orlando grants his wish, it's hard to find the happily-ever-after ending for the Dallas Mavericks.

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That's the picture Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi painted Tuesday morning during an appearance on ESPN Radio's "Mike & Mike in the Morning." If you thought D12 got what he wanted with Monday's news of coach Stan Van Gundy's firing and the franchise parting with general manager Otis Smith, it might come as a surprise then that Bianchi suggested that Howard could be traded before the June 28 draft.

Bianchi believes the Magic will first ask Howard for a long-term commitment. If the game's top (and seemingly profoundly confused) center says no thanks, then Bianchi thinks the Magic will act quickly to move him out to spare the club and its fan base another derailing, drama-filled season.

If Orlando again begins to solicit trade offers for its statuesque big man coming off back surgery just a month ago -- while also likely looking to unload the egregious Hedo Turkoglu contract (two years, $23.6 million) -- what's the Mavs' best offer?

Think the Magic jump at Brendan Haywood, Lamar Odom's partially guaranteed contract, Shawn Marion, Brandan Wright, Rodrigue Beaubois and whoever else the Mavs might want to throw in?

Not likely (and it's here where speculation can run wild that re-signing Tyson Chandler might have made the Mavs a more prominent player in a potential deal).

Howard has been adamant that he wants to play for the Brooklyn Nets. That's presumably because of his desire (or is it adidas' desire?) to play in a large market where his superstardom can really shine, and his arrival would almost certainly convince All-Star point guard and free-agent-to-be Deron Williams to sign long-term in the borough. If the Nets get a top-three pick in the draft lottery May 30, they'll keep their protected pick from the Gerald Wallace deadline deal, a golden nugget to toss into a package to Orlando.

The Nets, with restricted free-agent center Brook Lopez, and the Los Angeles Lakers, with center Andrew Bynum or power forward Pau Gasol as prime bait, are the top contenders to deal for Dwight now.

The Mavs simply are not.

Dallas' best hope would be that the Magic are desperate to trade Howard out of the Eastern Conference and can't work out a deal with the Lakers. The worst-case scenario, obviously, would be for Orlando to deal him to Brooklyn, effectively (presumably) taking the Mavs out of the running for D-Will and leaving Mark Cuban and Dirk Nowitzki staring into an uneasy future.

Sixth in a 15-part series ranking the Mavericks' 2011-12 roster in importance of bringing back next season.

The curious case of Kelenna Azubuike as a member of the Dallas Mavericks started March 22 when the club released athletic big man Sean Williams, who had spent most of the season with the D-League Texas Legends.

A week earlier, the San Antonio Spurs had traded for Stephen Jackson and were closing in on signing Boris Diaw to bolster their roster for a deep playoff run. What were the defending champion Mavericks up to in releasing Williams and opening a spot on the 15-man roster? Who was on their radar that could provide an immediate jolt one month from the true start of their title defense?

Last year, Dalllas signed veteran sharpshooter Peja Stojakovic and the move paid off handsomely. At this point in the season, they could use someone like him. Three-point shooting -- heck, shooting in general --- had taken a significant dip throughout the truncated schedule and the Mavs would need firepower down the stretch and into the playoffs.

Could 3-point specialist Jason Kapono, recently released by the Lakers, be on his way? Maybe the 6-foot-7 Andres Nocioni? Sure, he was down on his luck, but still he was a 37.3 percent 3-point shooter throughout his career.

Turns out Kapono wasn't coming and neither was Nociono.

Who'd the Mavs have up their sleeve?

Azubuike, an intriguing shooting guard, oh, about three seasons ago before a torn patellar tendon put his career on indefinite hold.

And the Countdown ticks down to No. 10 ...

KELENNA AZUBUIKE
Pos: SG
Ht/Wt: 6-5, 215
Experience: 5 years
Age: 28 (Dec. 16, 1983)
2011-12 stats: Played total of 18 minutes in three games
Contract status: Team option for next season
2011-12 salary: $280,192
2012-13 salary: $992,680

His story: The Mavs signed the 6-foot-5 London native March 23. This was not a shot-in-the-arm acquisition like the S-Jax trade or the Diaw signing the Spurs pulled off (and are now reaping the benefits). Azubuike was starting to make a name for himself in 2008-09 with the Golden State Warriors when the formerly undrafted free agent averaged 14.4 points and 5.0 rebounds and knocked down 3-pointers at a 44.8-percent clip. He was a heck of an athlete built for an up-and-down game. Then came the devastating patellar tendon injury nine games into the 2009-10 season. The impatient Warriors traded him to the New York Knicks, who waived him Feb. 28, 2011. On March 23, 2012, Azubuike got another chance in the NBA, thanks to the Mavs, who knew he wouldn't be helping them to defend the title. So what were the Mavs' hopes in signing him? An inexpensive option with hopeful upside at shooting guard and/or small forward for next season? Perhaps. After all, Jason Terry will likely be moving on and so could be Shawn Marion, maybe even Rodrigue Beaubois and Vince Carter, too, depending on various factors in Dallas' venture into free agency. Interestingly, Azubuike, after playing just three regular-season games with Dallas, was on the active roster in the first round against Oklahoma City, taking the spot of second-year guard and 2010 first-round draft pick Dominique Jones.

His outlook: The Mavs believe they have the best head athletic trainer in the game today in Casey Smith and an elite orthopedic crew headed by team doc T.O. Souryal. Azubuike will be three years removed from the horrific knee injury that put his burgeoning career in jeopardy and one that remains terribly difficult to watch on YouTube. But here's the hope for Azubuike: A second surgery in March 2011 was performed to fix the first surgery that wasn't done properly. Azubuike confirmed that fact on Twitter in March 2011, saying: "The 1st surgery in '09 wasn’t done right. Gettin it done right this time!” The Mavs' medical and training staffs have a track record with patellar tendon injuries after Caron Butler's awful injury on Jan. 1, 2011, in Milwaukee, which happens to be where Azubuike also blew up his knee. There's no guarantee that the the former Kentucky Wildcat will ever regain his explosiveness, but watching Butler this season with the Los Angeles Clippers has to be encouraging that he can at least be a productive player. At less than $1 million next season, Azubuike is low-risk and if he turns out to be high-reward, the Mavs will have made a shrewd move at a time when many were scratching their heads at the timing of the signing.

No. 15 Lamar Odom
No. 14 Brian Cardinal
No. 13 Yi Jianlian
No. 12 Dominique Jones
No. 11 Brendan Haywood
No. 10 Kelenna Azubuike
No. 9 Coming Tuesday

DALLAS -- Rodrigue Beaubois' first order of business is going home to Guadeloupe and spending time with his mother and family after the untimely death of his father in February.

Then this summer becomes all about one thing for the young guard who is coming upon the final year of his contract with the Dallas Mavericks: getting better.

"I know one thing is this summer is going to be real important for me," Beaubois said. "I will start planning my summer and make sure that I do everything I can to come back ready. It is going to be the first summer that I will be able to work out so I am going to do everything I can to be back healthy, in shape and ready to go."

Two summers ago, Beaubois fractured his left foot working out with the French national team in preparation for the 2010 World Championships. He missed two-thirds of the 2010-11 season and then re-injured the foot in the season finale and missed the entire playoffs. A second surgery last summer prevented him from returning to the basketball court until training camp opened last December.

His contributions on the court this season were again minimal, spiced by the occasional flashes that had the team believing he was a superstar-in-the-making after his rookie season. Both player and team will now settle for him being a consistent contributor.

"Right now, shoot, he's our starting point guard," president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said during a Monday appearance on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM's Ben & Skin Show. "We're still excited about Roddy. He's one of the fastest young point guards in the NBA and he's still developing, so there's real good upside there."

Take that starting point guard thing in the proper context, of course. Jason Kidd, Delonte West and Jason Terry are all free agents. And of course, the Mavs will looking to snare big fish Deron Williams in free agency come July.

But the fact remains that Beaubois, unless he's scooped into a cap-space-clearing trade, remains a great, young hope for a franchise that selected him 25th overall in the 2009 draft (acquired in a trade with Oklahoma City). Beaubois played the majority of his time this season at point guard, particularly when West was out for six weeks, which has to be viewed as some progress in that difficult transition.

He averaged career highs in points (8.9), assists (2.9) and minutes (21.7).

"I cannot tell you what is going to happen, but obviously I know that this summer is going to be big for me," Beaubois said. "I have to work out a lot and make sure that I am ready because if there if they give me space I will have to be ready for that."

DALLAS -- Mavericks forward Shawn Marion knows he could fall victim to the amnesty clause this summer and be forced to resume his career somewhere else next season.

"I'm a Dallas Maverick right now," Marion said Sunday during the team's exit interviews. "That's all that matters."

Few speak the truth like Marion, even if it's sometimes in his own specialized Matrix language. Still, if you want to know what's up, Marion is the man to talk to. After Games 1 and 2 at Oklahoma City, Marion was fuming that the Mavs put themselves in position to lose both games late, which they did.

He was exasperated that Kevin Durant's Game 1 game-winner totally overshadowed his 10-of-27 shooting performance with Marion locking him down, and he had some choice words about that bucket. On Sunday, as players cleaned out their lockers one day after the Thunder's monstrous fourth-quarter comeback to sweep the series, Marion told it like he sees it.

"You know, to recover from this, we've just got to regroup, refocus and really dig deep inside and decide if you want to go out there and try to win another one. That's the biggest thing," he said. "It's frustrating to be sitting here talking about it, saying how we just got beat in the first round of the playoffs. To go out like that, I'm very disappointed, especially because I really love competing and I try to go out there and lay it on the line every night and just came up short.

"They was a better team. They did everything right and everything bounced their way, and it's frustrating when you're sitting here thinking about, contemplating what's the scenario, this or that. But at the end of the day, we have a lot of free agents on this team and we're going to see what's going to happen for the summer and go from there."

Marion, easily the player who came to training camp in December in the best shape and turned in the most consistent season of anyone on the team, is on the short list of players under contract for next season. The list includes Dirk Nowitzki, Vince Carter, Brendan Haywood, Brandan Wright (team option), Kalenna Abuzuike, Rodrigue Beaubois and Dominique Jones.

Is that concerning for the 13-year vet?

"I don't know. This is a business, it's a business first. I look at it like that, that's what it is," Marion said. "I know that, I've adjusted to that throughout my career. That's what you have got to take it as first, everything else comes second. It's a business first. It means you've got to have that mindset going into, you know that, that's what you've got to take it as."

DALLAS -- Last week Charles Barkley joined ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM's Galloway & Co. and said adding Deron Williams alone to complement Dirk Nowitzki won't be enough to return the Dallas Mavericks among the Western Conference contenders.

Barkley said Nowitzki needs a big man in the middle.

After the Mavs went from championship to swept Saturday at the hands of the young Oklahoma City Thunder, Jason Terry, who might not be back with the team after eight seasons, said Nowitzki has plenty left in the tank, but that the Mavs must get him interior help.

"Dirk's so wonderfully amazing with his ability to play the game at high level night in and night out with the defenses that he faces," Terry said. "But, again, for Dirk to be successful and go to where we went to last year he has to have an active big to play alongside him. He has to. And he knows it. So, if he's involved in any kind of decisions I know that's what he's going to be looking for."

The comments by Barkley and Terry certainly sound like indictments of Mavs starting center Brendan Haywood, who had a miserable series and still has three guaranteed years and some $28 million remaining on his contract.

Haywood played a series-high 25 minutes, most of which came after Thunder center Kendrick Perkins left in the first quarter with a right hip strain. Yet, the 7-foot Haywood could only muster four points and four rebounds. He played a total of 36 minutes in the first three games and was benched to start the second half in Games 2 and 3.

In Game 4, the Mavs' interior defense was laughable, particularly in the fourth quarter when the Thunder scored 20 of their 35 points in the paint with the majority coming from James Harden. He drove past Dallas' guards at will and met little resistance as he attacked the lane and then the rim for 15 fourth-quarter points. He scored one fewer point in the quarter than the entire Mavs team.

Haywood played just the first 4:33 of the fourth quarter, long enough for Harden to put in six points and to be whistled for an offensive foul away from the ball. Ian Mahinmi finished out the game with little effectiveness on the defensive end to slow Harden. Mahinmi, who will become a free agent, did have 10 points and five rebounds in 14 minutes.

Because of his uninspired play during this brief series, the man who backed up Tyson Chandler last season and played just 25 minutes in the NBA Finals because of a hip injury sustained in Game 2 could fall victim to the amnesty clause this summer. It would allow the Mavs to rid their books of Haywood's remaining contract heading into next season. Shawn Marion is also a candidate for the amnesty clause, but the forward's value, particularly on the defensive end this season, can not be understated.

Although Carlisle twice went to Mahinmi to start the second half, the coach kept Haywood in the starting lineup all four games. It's uncertain at the moment if Haywood will be back in the starting lineup next season -- or back at all.

Here's three more things to consider as the Mavs head into a long offseason:

1. Half man, half awful: Vince Carter certainly had some moments this season and he even delivered a vintage jam in Game 4. But all in all, the Carter experiment didn't pan out. He had an abysmal series shooting the basketball. He made 3-of-10 shots in Game 4 and for the series he made 12-of-41 shots (29.3 percent). Carter did make 2-of-3 buckets from beyond the arc on Saturday, but he was 3-of-10 for the series. Carter is likely one of the few players that will return next season. He's under contract for the next two seasons.

2. Quiet Delonte West: He certainly provided Mavs fans with some entertaining play and antics, both on and off the court, this season, but his playoff series didn't leave much of a mark. West came off the bench for the first time in the series in Game 4 and had just two points and three assists in 18 minutes. West endured the unfortunate dislocation and fracture of his right ring finger in February and missed six weeks. As a free-agent-to-be, West said he hopes he's proven to the league that he's trustworthy of signing a multi-year deal. If that is the case, he will likely be signing somewhere other than Dallas.

3. What's next for Roddy B?: Rodrigue Beaubois played a grand total of 12 minutes in the four-game sweep. He got into Game 2 as something of an emergency sub when the Mavs fell behind by 16 points in the second quarter. It's been another rough season for third-year guard after coming back from a second foot surgery last summer. He said he can't be sure he'll be back with the Mavs -- he could be trade bait to create cap room if needed -- but Beaubois is excited to be healthy for the first time in three summers and capable of working out and working on his game. With the possibility that Terry, Jason Kidd and West won't be back, there could be real opportunity for Beaubois if the Mavs still believe he can be a contributor to the future of the franchise.

DALLAS – Oklahoma City’s four best players are all younger than Rodrigue Beaubois.

That fact puts into perspective just how much room the Thunder have to grow if the core of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka sticks together. And it indicates just how unlikely it is that Roddy B. ever develops into the star the Mavs once expected him to be.

At this point, it’s probably time to stop talking about Beaubois’ potential.

“Roddy’s made a lot of improvement this year,” coach Rick Carlisle said, “so I’m not sure what you’re suggesting.”

I’m suggesting that, in his third season, Beaubois is a player who has stepped foot on the court for a grand total of five minutes so far this series. If the Mavs aren’t ready to rely on him now, why believe he’ll ever be anything better than a role player?

Carlisle countered by saying that Beaubois “did OK when he was in there,” adding that the Mavs cut into the Thunder’s lead with Beaubois on the floor. Sorry, but it’s a stretch to believe that had much to do with the missed field goal and foul that were the only stats he registered while Dirk Nowitzki was dominating in that second-quarter stretch.

Beaubois, touted on billboards put up by the team last year as a superstar in the making, shouldn’t be considered a kid who needs to be coddled. He’s seven months older than Durant, a three-time NBA scoring champion. He’s 10 months older than Westbrook, a two-time All-Star who has been the best player in this series. He’s 18 months older than Harden, an easy selection for Sixth Man of the Year. And he’s 19 months older than Ibaka, who finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting.

Meanwhile, Beaubois averaged 8.9 points, 2.9 assists and 2.8 rebounds while bouncing in and out of the rotation. There were brief flashes of brilliance, usually against lottery-bound teams, but never enough sustained success to provide any realistic hope that he can be a future foundation piece.

“I don’t look at the situation quite the same way you do,” Carlisle said. “I like the progress that Roddy’s made, and when he has opportunities in this series, he’s got to give us what he can give us in terms of his quickness, his energy off the bench. His length is something that’s a positive factor for us. We want him to be aggressive and play his game.”

Beaubois has to get off the bench first, and that only happened once in the first two games of the series. That’s a far cry from what the Mavs expected when Mark Cuban declared a couple of years ago that the kid was close to untradeable.

And his age isn’t an excuse, as evidenced by the young bucks beating the Mavs.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - The Dallas Mavericks can’t win in the playoffs on nights when their bench gets outplayed.

Feel free to use Monday night’s 102-99 loss in Game 2 of the Mavs’ Western Conference quarterfinal against Oklahoma City as evidence.

The Mavs expect James Harden to score 15 points with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. They don’t expect Derek Fisher to score 11 first-half points on five of six shooting and help the Thunder build a 16-point lead.

Contrast that to Jason Terry, who scored 13 points, but was a non-factor most of the night and Vince Carter, who kept taking jumpers instead of attacking the basket.

Terry made five of 12 shots, but the Mavs were outscored by 17 points, when he was on the court. Carter was-2 of-9 from the field and the Mavs were outscored by 12 points when he was on the court.

Ridiculous.

Terry and Carter are supposed to be two of the Mavs’ assets, players who relieve some of the offensive burden from Dirk Nowitzki.

Ian Mahinmi gave the Mavs a strong effort off the bench with nine points and five rebounds, but it was offset by his five fouls, which limited his playing time, and Brendan Haywood’s ineffective performance.

Haywood, benched to start the second half, had two points and no rebounds in 10 minutes.

The bench must improve. The series won’t last much longer if it doesn’t

Here are three more areas of interest heading into Tuesday's day of rest:

1. Catastrophic turnovers: You could say the Mavs lost this game during a seven-minute stretch spanning the end of the first quarter and the start of the second quarter, when Oklahoma City turned a 24-23 deficit into a 46-30 lead. They did it by converting a plethora of Mavs’ turnovers into transition baskets. Oklahoma City turned 16 turnovers into 21 points. No way the Mavs can win like that because Oklahoma City is a younger, faster and quicker team. Letting them score in transition, especially considering the haphazard nature of their half-court offense is disastrous.

2. Containing Kevin Durant: Shawn Marion has done a phenomenal job guarding Durant by contesting every shot he takes and making it tough for him to get to his sweet spots on the court. Durant was only 5-of-17 in Game 2 but still scored 26 points because he made 14 of 16 free throws. Durant, the NBA’s leading scorer, has made only 15 of 44 shots in the series. It’s a testament to his skill level that he’s still getting his points, but imagine what trouble the Mavs will have on the night he goes off -- and he will have at least one good shooting night in this series.

3. X-Factors are no factors: Based on the regular season, there was plenty of reason to believe Brandan Wright or Rodrigue Beaubois could have an impact on the Mavs’ series with Oklahoma City. Well, it hasn’t happened and there’s no indication it will. They played a combined 10 minutes -- five each -- and totaled one point and one rebound.

The Dallas Mavericks lost their third consecutive road game in Thursday’s regular-season finale at the Atlanta Hawks. The team that won 28 games on enemy turf a season ago, won 13 of 30 this season.

After Thursday’s 106-89 pummeling at the hand of the Atlanta Hawks, who needed the win to ensure home-court advantage and in which Jason Kidd did not play, the Mavs notched their 20th road loss. That striking total is more than any other Western Conference playoff team outside of the the eighth-seeded Utah Jazz with 22.

By comparison, the No. 1-seeded San Antonio Spurs went 22-11 on the road and the No. 2-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, the team Dallas will play in the first round, went 21-12. That means the Thunder are 26-7 at Chesapeake Arena, where they open the first-round series against the Mavs at 8:30 p.m. Saturday.

Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki , entering his 12^th consecutive postseason, said he’s not worried about the team’s road futility.

"For this last decade or whatever, we've always been a good road team," Nowitzki said. "We're not scared to go on the road. We got a lot of experience, so I think we're ready."

A year ago, the Mavs transferred their road superiority in the regular season right into the playoffs. After dropping their first two road games at Portland, they reeled off five consecutive road wins and seven of their last nine on their way to the NBA title.

Offering hope at this point of the season is the fact that Dallas is healthy and the light schedule in the final week has afforded their key veterans such as Jason Kidd to take games off and for others such as Nowitzki to play limited minutes.

"That was our dress rehearsal," Kidd said of the regular season. "Now the goal is to fine a way to win on the road and see if we can better that record."

It would seem a prerequisite to advance to the second round.

Here's three more things to ponder as the Mavs prepare for Saturday's postseason opener at OKC:

1. Can Jason Kidd raise his game?: If ever there was a team to make Kidd feel his full 39 years, it is the baby-faced Thunder. Kidd enters the postseason with career low averages of 6.2 points and 5.5 assists. Kidd is the key to the Mavs' flow offense and he is an asset beyond the arc when he is making his 3-point shot, but that has also been in short supply this season.

2. Mind over athleticism?: No matter how you slice it, the Thunder's athleticism is superior to that of the Mavs' at just about every position. Turn the ball over and watch OKC run down the floor for slam dunks. Don't box out and watch the Thunder score second-chance points. Don't rotate quickly and help on defense and watch the Thunder go to the free throw line -- only the Nuggets averaged more per game. Dallas will bank on its experience and savvy to win out over athleticism, particularly in crunch time.

3. What's next for Rodrigue Beaubois?: So Roddy B had another pretty good Thursday at Atlanta with 13 points, six assists and five rebounds while playing with the dislocated left ring finger. He's received extended playing time the last two games with Jason Kidd sitting out. Now attention turns to how coach Rick Carlisle will use him against the Thunder. Could Roddy be valuable as another defender on Russell Westbrook? Could he make Westbrook expend energy on defense? Is Roddy a true X-factor or will he spend another playoffs mostly watching the action go by?

ATLANTA -- How it happened: The Atlanta Hawks, needing a win to guarantee home-court advantage in their first-round series against the Boston Celtics, bombed their way to a 31-11 lead and the fat lady was singing late in the first quarter.

The Hawks' 106-89 victory in front of sparse crowd locks the Mavs into the No. 7 seed and sets up an intriguing first-round series with the No. 2-seed Oklahoma City Thunder. Dallas, of course, eliminated OKC in five games in last year's Western Conference finals. The series starts Saturday at the rocking Chesapeake Energy Arena. The NBA will announce game times and dates for the remainder of the series shortly.

The Thunder won three of four meetings against the Mavs this season, but all three of Dallas' losses were tight games, including the first one on Dec. 29, won on a Kevin Durant buzzer-beater from behind the arc. The Mavs were 0-2 at OKC this season and they'll need to win at least one up there if they are going to move on to the second round.

The Mavs talked a good game coming into this one, suggesting it was important, yada, yada, yada. Jason Kidd was in slacks and a sport coat and defense was optional. If this was a tuneup for the playoffs, the Mavs had a funny way of showing it. The Hawks led 60-44 at halftime and shot 56.5 percent.

The Mavs delivered a shot of competitive energy to start the second quarter, nibbling the deficit to 60-49, but the tide quickly turned the other way and the Hawks blew it back open, 67-49. Atlanta had six players in double figures and shot well over 50 percent for the game.

Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavs with 22 points 0n 7-of-12 shooting and played 26 minutes, all in the first three quarters. Rodrigue Beaubois had 13 points, six assists and five rebounds. Jason Terry had 11 points on 3-of-9 shooting.

What it means: The Mavs finish the regular season with consecutive losses and a 36-30 record. Their high-water mark for the season was nine games over .500 at 20-11 on Feb. 17 and 21-12 on Feb. 20.

Bold Play of the game: In the second quarter, Nowitzki drove to the basket, collided with the defender impeding his progress and crashed to the court on his left wrist. He sat on the floor holding the wrist and bending his arm for a moment. In a meaningless game that was already a blowout in the Hawks' favor, it was a certainly a hold-your-breath moment, if only briefly. Nowitzki made both free throws and played in the second half.

Stat of the game: The Mavs' 30 losses in this 66-game schedule equals their total losses during the 2010-11 82-game regular season and the 21-game postseason.

ATLANTA -- Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle continued to say that this is an important game for his team. Is it really?

Jason Kidd won't play, and how long Carlisle sticks with his high-minute guys will be somewhat interesting to see against a Hawks team that will be playing for something.

The Mavs maintain that they don't care if they face the Thunder or the Lakers in the first round. Simply put, if Dallas loses tonight, it will open the playoffs Saturday at Oklahoma City. If Dallas wins and the Nuggets lose tonight at Minnesota, the Mavs will head to Los Angeles and begin a series with the Lakers on Sunday.

Atlanta, meanwhile, needs the win (or a Celtics loss) to secure home-court advantage for their first-round series against Boston.

So, what's so important for the Mavs?

Well, let's take a look at one player who can really help himself with a solid game -- Rodrigue Beaubois. He's coming off Saturday's impressive showing at Chicago when he returned after dislocating the ring finger on his left hand. Beaubois finished with 16 points, five assists and six rebounds and he was roundly praised by Carlisle and teammates for showing guts by returning.

He will continue to play with his ring finger and middle finger wrapped together, which isn't entirely comfortable for a ball-handler. But if he can put forth another aggressive effort in which he attacks the basket and is active defensively, it could go a long way toward ramping up his confidence for the playoffs.

Because the facts remain that the lithe, 6-foot-2 guard can be something of an X-factor for the Mavs. And frankly, they need him to be just that.

"He’s had three really good days," Carlisle said after the team's Wednesday practice. "Monday was a day the low-minute guys had a hard workout and the vets kind of had an optional thing. He’s had three terrific days so it’s a good sign."

Records: Mavs (36-29); Hawks (39-26)

When: 7 p.m.

Where: Phillips Arena

TV: FSSW

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

What to watch: Don't expect the Mavs' starters to play many minutes beyond 20. This is a good chance for some of the more less frequently used bench players like Yi Jianlian, Brian Cardinal and even Kalenna Azubuike and Dominique Jones to get some action. You never when an emergency hits in the playoffs and someone might be needed.

Key matchup: Joe Johnson vs. Shawn Marion
The one-time teammates will square and it should provide Marion with a bit of a tune-up as he prepares to do battle in the first round with Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook or the Lakers' Kobe Bryant.

Injuries: Mavs – G Jason Kidd (rest) is out. Hawks -- F Zaza Pachulia (sprained left foot) is out; C Al Horford (left pectoral surgery) is out.

Up next: Mavs at Oklahoma City Thunder (Sat.) or at Los Angeles Lakers (Sun.)

So Mark Cuban railed on the Olympics once again. What else is new? For years the Mavericks' owner has ranted against the process that allows NBA players to compete for their countries in international play, including the Olympics.

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Mavs owner Mark Cuban says the idea of NBA players participating in the Olympics is "stupid." Listen

Cuban believes the Olympics is a corporate, money-grubbing machine and he hates that he must release the players he and other NBA owners pay millions to play internationally -- essentially loaning NBA employees to work elsewhere for free while lining corporate pockets. If a player is injured during international competition, it's the NBA team, its fan base and the owner's pocketbook that pays the price.

Whatever your take is on the Olympics -- and I'm a fan although I'm not quite sure why winning a gold medal in basketball took on at-all-cost importance -- Cuban is justified in his consistent pulpit-pounding on the subject.

Cuban has seen the health of his own players compromised in international competition. Who knows what kind of player Rodrigue Beaubois would be today if he had not broken his foot practicing with the French national team in preparation for the 2010 World Championships? Beaubois missed the first 54 games last season and was never fully healthy when he returned. The injury required a second surgery last summer and Beaubois' development this season has been an up-and-down venture.

"I think he’s still hesitant from the injury," Cuban said Saturday before Beaubois dislocated his left ring finger only to return to put up 16 points, five assists and six rebounds against the Bulls. "But I think as he gets more aggressive and just gets a killer, aggressive mindset, then he’s unstoppable."

The problem is, Beaubois hasn't shown that type of mindset since the bone in his foot snapped in the summer of 2010.

Dirk Nowitzki blamed his subpar physical condition (by his standards) entering this season on playing in the European Olympic qualifier tournament in the offseason, an attempt to lead Germany back to the Games. He said the tourney combined with the extended lockout messed up his training regimen and led to the swelling and stiffness issues he had with his right knee.

He missed four games in January to work on strengthening the knee after getting off to his slowest start since his rookie season. All the while, Cuban was thinking his superstar wouldn't be in this predicament without the international commitment.

"I was going nuts, trust me," Cuban said. "I said, 'Are you kidding me?' But, I don't have the right to stop him [from playing]."

And that's Cuban's main beef. Other owners don't step up because they don't want to appear unpatriotic. But the facts are that NBA owners have no say in the process. Cuban gets nothing out of allowing his players to join their national teams in the offseason, be it Team USA or any other.

Yet if his player gets hurt, Cuban and his fellow owners stand to lose a whole lot.

CHICAGO -- Rodrigue Beaubois squirmed on the United Center floor, grasped his left hand with the crooked ring finger and wailed. Thoughts raced that the third-year guard's luck had once again run out on the cusp of the postseason.

Or worse.

"Oh man, he was yelling," Dirk Nowitzki said, barely cracking a smile. "I thought we were going to have to put him down, he was yelling so loud. But he was all right. I looked over and his finger was just a little sidewise."

The initial sight of his unnaturally bent finger unnerved Beaubois. Could it be as bad as the right ring finger that Delonte West dislocated and broke in mid-February that made him miss the next 21 games?

"That's why I was kind of scared when I saw that," said Beaubois, a victim of his first dislocated finger. "Finally, it wasn't that bad. At first I didn't know."

n a span of four minutes of the second quarter, Beaubois went from snapping his finger in the jersey of Chicago Bulls guard Ronnie Brewer to writhing in pain, a second empty postseason flashing before his eyes. He walked to the locker room, his left arm pinned to his side, his fingers outstretched and as stiff as a No. 2 pencil.

And before anyone had even noticed, Beaubois -- his ring finger popped back into place and squeezed next to his middle finger with white tape -- was back on the bench.

Moments later he was back on the floor. The 6-foot-2 guard, who got an important start with Jason Kidd and Jason Terry taking the night off, put on a show against the Eastern Conference's best team and last season's MVP.

Beaubois' 16 points -- 10 in the fourth quarter -- five assists and six rebounds in a team-high 38 minutes didn't lead the Mavs to a victory. Dallas lost 93-83 in a game that was closer than the score indicated, but Beaubois went mano-a-mano with Derrick Rose for large chunks of time, turning in an overall effort that his teammates needed to see.

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CHICAGO -- The Mavericks set a franchise low with eight points in Saturday's first quarter against the Bulls. And when it was 25-10 barely two minutes into the second quarter, Dallas' previous claim of playing to win it didn't quite seem so sincere.

With Jason Kidd and Jason Terry sitting out on the same night that the Bulls welcomed back Derrick Rose in an important seeding game for them, it seemed it just wouldn't be the Mavs' night, and oh well. For the Mavs, the only consequence was falling behind Denver and into the seventh seed by percentage points.

"They are a tough team to get shots against. They're tough to get the ball in the basket against," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "However, that didn't deter our enthusiasm. We got it going in the second quarter. We even got a lead late in the third or fourth quarter. I like the way we battled back from that adversity. We knew with Kidd and Terry out, others would have to step up."

The Mavs got some interesting performances from several players starting with Rodrigue Beaubois coming back from a dislocated left ring finger in the second quarter to finish with 16 points, five assists and six rebounds. He scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, when the Mavs got as close as 78-76 on his nifty layup with 4:30 to go.

Seldom-used Dominique Jones was impressive handling the ball and driving to the hoop. He logged more than 25 minutes, his first serious action since Kidd sat out at Golden State on March 10. Jones finished with eight points, four assists, three boards, three steals and a block.

"I thought Dominique Jones was terrific both defensively and offensively for us," Carlisle said.

In the end, the Mavs lost for the 29th time in 65 games with one more to play. That's four more losses than the Mavs had last season in 82 games. Dallas had lost 29 or more games just twice in the last seven seasons and six times in Dirk Nowitzki's previous 13 seasons, with half of those coming in his first three seasons.

The best Dallas can finish this season is eight games above .500 (37-29) with a win at Atlanta in the season finale. If they win it and finish with a .560 winning percentage, it would be the lowest since the 1999-2000 season when Dallas finished 40-42.

Three more thoughts as the Mavs begin a four-day layoff:

1. Is Roddy B still a rookie? Apparently Brendan Haywood thinks so. Beaubois was obviously the man of the hour in the Mavs' postgame locker room after he came back from a dislocated finger and put together one of his more impressive games of the season. While Beaubois was surrounded at his locker by a handful of reporters, Haywood ducked his head in and dropped off a duffel bag by Beaubois' chair. Haywood asked him if he was going to the bus. Beaubois said yes. Haywood told the third-year guard who dislocated the ring finger on his left hand and still managed to play 38 minutes to carry his bag. Haywood should have had plenty of energy after amassing a line of three rebounds in 14 minutes. In fact, it was Haywood's third consecutive game of 15 minutes or less.

2. Board work: The Mavs held their own on the boards against the NBA's No. 1 rebounding team. The Bulls, No. 1 in offensive rebounding and second-chance points as well, outrebounded Dallas 46-43, but it was the Mavs with more offensive rebounds, 10-8. Now the Mavs just have to turn more of those offensive rebounds into second-chance points. The Bulls held a 12-7 edge in second-chance points.

3. Fewer 3s: The Mavs shot 60 3-pointers in the previous two games, but that number shrunk to a near-season-low 15 attempts from 3-point territory. That's what happens when Jason Kidd and Jason Terry both sit out. Those two average 10.4 shots from long range a game. Kidd's 223 3-point attempts this season account for more than 81 percent of his total shot attempts.