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The Mavericks have had it easy so far. Six games, 14 days? That’s practically a vacation by NBA standards.
It’s about to change. Starting with Houston’s visit to American Airlines Center tonight, the Mavericks play five games in seven nights and nine in the next 16.Four of those nine starts are against Houston or San Antonio, bitter Southwest Division rivals.Based on last season, the Mavericks had better pay close attention to this stretch. Their record against divisional foes was 7-9, including what was supposed to be the Southwest’s punching bag, Memphis.So is this the NBA’s toughest division?"It’s pretty brutal," Dirk Nowitzki said. "The Texas triangle has always been really, really tough. New Orleans was really good the last couple years. As tough as it gets? I guess I’d have to sit down and look at all the divisions, but I think it’s about as tough as it gets in the league."Already this season, they are 0-1 against the Southwest after the horrible finish at New Orleans last week.There was a time when the Mavericks ruled the division in more ways than one.From 2004-05 to 2006-07, they were a combined 38-10 against divisional foes. They slipped to 10-6 in 2007-08 before last season’s losing mark.The result, whether coincidental or not, is that their total win-loss record has slipped radically over the last two seasons.In the Western Conference, the Southwest and Northwest are the toughest divisions by far. In the Pacific, the Lakers have three whipping posts to visit regularly — Sacramento, Golden State and the Clippers.In the East, it’s hard to make an argument for the strength of any division, although the Southeast has potential to develop into a nightly brawl.Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle knows how tough the Southwest is."This has been, the last two or three years, probably the most competitive division in all of sports, and I still see it that way," Carlisle says. "Every win you can get is huge for overall record, for tiebreakers down the road and everything else. They’re all going to be [gut-wrenching] games."Which is why the Mavericks can’t afford to take a breath, especially with the games coming so quickly. The Spurs will be waiting for them Wednesday in San Antonio.Howard solid in debutJosh Howard showed no ill effects from his first game action of the season."He looked great to me," Dirk Nowitzki said. "He moved well. When somebody comes back from injury, you don’t look at how he’s shooting. You look at how he’s moving and attacking. And to me he did both of those things and looked pretty good."Expect Howard in his usual spot in the lineup tonight."He’s one of our best players and one of our best athletes and one of our high-energy guys, so getting him back is big," Carlisle said.BrieflyDirk Nowitzki on the 4-2 start: "Looking at the two losses we had, those hurt. But we definitely got some good wins. So, 4-2, I’ll take that over 2-7 any day." That would be the Mavericks’ record after nine games last season. The Mavericks will unveil the All-Star ballot today at AAC, with Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, Jason Terry and Shawn Marion casting the first votes. Those would be the five Mavericks who are on the ballot. The game is Feb. 14 at Cowboys Stadium.ONLINE: star-telegram.com/mavs
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