Mavs weathering storm of injuries as best they can

The Mavericks are experiencing life without Dirk Nowitzki and Caron Butler right now and, as one would expect being down two former All-Stars, it isn't much fun.

Dallas is mired in downturn that hasn't seen them lose much ground in the standings, but has put a screeching halt to the momentum built up through the first two months of the season. Nowitzki is supposed to come back soon, perhaps sometime this week. The news isn't so promising for Butler, who's had surgery on a ruptured patella tendon and is out for the rest of the season.

"It's tough," Mavericks center Tyson Chandler said. "When it's this time of the year and we've got injuries the way we do, you've just got to fight it out."

Fighting through injuries is a common refrain for every team in every season. It's often the difference between playoff and lottery squads, playoff seedings, postseason success and ultimately who's got their arms around the Larry O'Brien Trophy in late June.

Coaches always want to be playing well, especially going into the playoffs, but health is at the top of their wish list when it comes right down to it. Considering how tight the races are and how most teams are evenly matched, a key injury in any series could be enough to tip the scales.

"So many teams have health issues," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "You look at Houston and Portland, for instance, it's ridiculous what those two teams have gone through over the past few years. Years. Not the last two months or something like that, but years.

"Teams get healthy and players get back, again the positioning as far as 1-7 or 1-8 doesn't mean a whole lot. No. 1 will still be scared to play No. 8 and 2 will be scared to death to play 7, and so on and so forth. Assuming everybody is healthy on those teams," Popovich said.

Popovich and the Spurs are quick to mention health as one of the significant reasons for their franchise-record start. Not only is San Antonio executing at a high level at both ends, the Three Amigos are in excellent shape as the season nears the halfway point.

Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker have each been slowed by injuries in recent years, but they didn't participate in international competition this past summer, instead using the time off to rest and prepare for the nine-month grind. And while the pull of their respective countries is great, particularly for Ginobili (Argentina) and Parker (France), the Spurs are reaping the dividends of their personal sacrifice.

"Those guys have to make their own decisions," Popovich said. "We don't have any power over that. Them being healthy and strong for the season is really important for our team to be as good as it can be."

The Spurs' good fortune in the physical fitness category is rare, even among the elite. Boston is without Kevin Garnett for a spell and just got Rajon Rondo back. Miami may have their SuperFriends intact, but Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller have missed most of the season. The same goes for the Lakers' Andrew Bynum. Chicago went from missing Carlos Boozer to Joakim Noah. Utah is trying to ease Mehmet Okur back into the mix.

Again, it's about fighting through it.

"There's no doubt that health is a big part of a lot of team's success, but you can't worry about it," Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. "You have to practice and practice hard and you play a lot of games. That's why you have a team where there is going to be sometimes during the season where guys have to step up and play extra minutes or more minutes that they see prior to an injury.

"We've had good fortune and hopefully that continues. We've had some injuries this year, but it's something that I don't talk about with our guys because when you worry about it that when it happens."

The Mavericks lost Saturday for the fifth time in seven games without Nowitzki. Dallas remains second to San Antonio in the Western Conference, but the strain of not having its MVP candidate and Butler is beginning to show.

"We need them guys, I wish they were here," Mavs forward Shawn Marion said, "but at the same time we've got to go out there and do what we're capable of doing."

That's what Dallas coach Rick Carlisle is shooting for, adding that those who can suit up every night need to pick up the slack individually and as a group.

"I've been in situations like this before several times in coaching," Carlisle said. "And when you lose key players, everybody's got to raise their level. The collective spirit and unity has got to get even stronger, and you've got to find a way to battle through it. It's not easy."

Art Garcia has covered the NBA since 1999. You can e-mail him here and follow him on twitter.

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