Jason Kidd will become the oldest guard to start a game in an NBA finals when the Dallas Mavericks face the Miami Heat on Tuesday night.

While Dirk Nowitzki calls him a "fossil," and Shawn Marion described him as being "almost 50," Kidd is a few months past 38. That's two years older than Ron Harper was when he started for the Lakers in 2000.

Since 1985, in order to cut-down on cross-country travel for the hundreds of staff and media working the championship series, the NBA has used the 2-3-2 format for The Finals, with the team with the better regular-season record hosting Games 1, 2, 6 and 7.

Since then, the team which hosts Games 3, 4 and 5 has won just six of the 26 Finals (23 percent). In comparison, the "lower seed" in the conference finals has won 33 percent (18 of 54), using the 2-2-1-1-1 format, since 1985.

In order to win any series, the lower seed -- in The Finals, that would be the team with the middle three games at home -- needs to win at least one game in its opponent's arena. But in the 2-3-2 format, it likely has to do better than that.

Caron Butler not only hopes that he can play in the NBA Finals, but he’s confident he could pick up where he left off before rupturing his right patellar tendon on New Year’s Day.

“I’d be myself,” Butler said. “I’d be myself out there – a guy that can create, do some things on the low post, obviously just make other guys better.”

Unfortunately, the Mavs’ medical staff doesn’t share Butler’s optimism.

Butler still hasn’t been cleared for contact. Coach Rick Carlisle continues to say that it’s “unlikely” that Butler will play in the Finals, although Carlisle adds that he wouldn’t bet against the small forward.

How much does J.J. Barea concern the Heat? They're actually putting him in the same sentences as the league’s Most Valuable Player. With a straight face.

“If you don’t treat him with the same type of respect as we did with Derrick Rose he can really come in and have an impact on the game,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I’m sure there will be some possessions where LeBron will be on him."

OK, so James will also be guarding Nowitzki, likely in the fourth quarters. And Barea plays only about 18 minutes a game.

While there is so much attention being paid to who can put a dent in the Nowitzki Express, there’s a reason why Barea is getting a prominent position in Miami’s scouting report. It isn’t just what he does, but what happens to the Mavericks’ offense when he’s in the game. One of coach Rick Carlisle’s most effective weapons during the playoffs has been his shooting/spread offense with Barea playing the equivalent role of Chris Paul.

Jason Terry's tattoo of the Larry O'Brien Trophy could be temporary.

If his Dallas Mavericks don't beat the Miami Heatin the NBA Finals, Terry said he would have the tattoo removed from the inside of his right biceps.

"I definitely know that it will hurt worse if I have to take this thing off than it did putting it on," Terry said Sunday after the Mavericks wrapped up their final practice before boarding their flight to Miami.

If the Mavs fail to win their first NBA championship, Terry said it would mean his tattoo was bad luck.

"I'm very superstitious," he said.

Dirk Nowitzki's now famous fading jumper on one leg that helped the Mavs beat the Thunder impressed the Heat.

"That is something new. He has always made some awkward shots for a big guy, but that one-legged shot that is pretty much un-guardable," said Heat forward Udonis Haslem, who had success guarding Nowitzki in 2006 when the Heat beat the Mavericks to win the title.

"Probably the most unstoppable shot ever is the sky hook. I guess you put Dirk second," James said. "You have a seven-footer fading away off one leg. There is no one that can block that shot."

Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks are back in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2006 when they lost to Wade and the Miami Heat after winning the first two games of the series.

After the Mavs captured the Western Conference title on Wednesday, Nowitzki raised the trophy before retreating to the locker room while the rest of his teammates were still on the court.

"Obviously Dirk is very driven by that," Wade said. "I noticed watching the game he didn't even celebrate very long. He was the first one off to the locker room. He's very focused.

"He has a goal in mind and he wants to reach it. The Miami Heat are always going to come up. He knows it. And that's why he says he needs to get back there and try to erase that."

The Mavs are 29-12 in regular-season games decided by three points or fewer under coach Rick Carlisle.

Dallas is just getting it done in the playoffs this year, a welcome change from their recent run of postseason disappointments. And they're closing at a completely different level of efficiency.

In the final five minutes when the score is within five points in these playoffs, the Mavs have been more than twice as good as their opponents. Per 100 possessions, Dallas averaged 148.5 points and allowed only 71.7 in such situations.

That success starts with Nowitzki. He has averaged an NBA-best 9.7 points during fourth quarters this postseason.

Minutes after Kevin Durant’s season ended with another closing-time loss to the Dallas Mavericks, ESPN’s Mark Schwarz seemed to be asking him if seeing Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki return to the NBA Finals offered any consolation. The implication: Be happy for Dirk because he’s suffered more disappointment.

"Um, not happy at all (chuckles, followed by a wide smile and laughter in the room)," said Durant.

"I’m a competitor, man. You know, I really didn’t care about what he went through the last four years. I know it’s been tough for him, you know. He lost three of the .. four years in the first round. I’m sure he’s happy now he’s going back to the Finals, but I’m not happy for him at all because I wanted to be there. But it happens like that.”

With a 100-96 victory at American Airlines Center in Game 5, the Dallas Mavericks advanced to the NBA Finals for the second time in franchise history.

Shawn Marion had 26 points and eight rebounds, while Dirk Nowitzki also scored 26.

When Nowitzki was handed the Western Conference trophy, he didn't seem keen on holding it for very long.

“We talked about it, obviously, after the game that this is a great moment and we can enjoy it for a day,’’ Nowitzki said. “But we’ve got one of those trophies already and it didn’t mean anything at the end.’’