The Mavericks are 14-8 one-third of the way into the 66-game season and they're in first place in the Southwest Division.

"If you would have asked me at Christmas and the day after, I would have said we're in trouble," Dirk Nowitzki said after scoring 10 points in Dallas' blowout victory over Phoenix on Monday night. "But I think we've come a long way since the first couple of weeks of the season.

"I think guys got in better shape. I think guys are learning to play off each other. And I've said this almost feels like last year. We've got a bunch of veterans who want to play and are not selfish, like Vince and Lamar."

"I really like the setup of the team. I think we were really worried coming into the season, losing Tyson. But the way (Brendan) Haywood has been playing is some of the same stuff Tyson was doing for us, protecting the paint, blocking shots."

Jason Kidd will miss five games due to a strained right calf.

Kidd, who missed Sunday's game against the Spurs, suffered the injury on Friday against Utah.

"I feel good," Kidd said during halftime of Sunday's game. "We'll rehab the calf and then we'll see where we stand in a week."

Kidd described the injury as though he had been kicked in the calf.

"They were a little nervous that I had torn an Achilles or something, because that, I guess, is the common theme when you say that you got kicked in the back of the calf," Kidd said. "So I was just happy that it was just a strain."

Dirk Nowitzki said he can do without questions about him coming into the season out of shape, as coach Rick Carlisle and owner Mark Cuban suggested as reasons for his early-season woes and the team's decision to shut him down for a week.

"No, I don't know why coach threw that out there," Nowitzki bristled when asked about his conditioning. "I didn't have any problem with conditioning at all. You can never work hard enough on conditioning, but that wasn't holding me back."

Asked if he was disappointed that Carlisle "threw that out there," Nowitzki said, "No, not at all. I don't really care what the media writes, anyway. You saw on my jump shot I had no lift, shot most of them straight-legged. Had no air time. This week I really focused on getting my legs under my shot again and bending down and getting low and getting the right base."

Rick Carlisle said Dirk Nowitzki is working harder in his weeklong rehab assignment than he would be if he were playing games.

Carlisle also said the boot camp could last longer.

"To be clear, again, he had two workouts today and there are going to be multiple workouts on most days,'' said Carlisle, who also mentioned that strategic physical recovery periods will be utilized. "We'll see what's what after four games and if he's not ready after four games, then we may extend this thing.''

Lamar Odom has started the season slowly, as he adjusts to playing with the Mavericks and moving to the small forward position.

“I didn't play any small forward with the Lakers,'' Odom said. “It was either me and [Pau] Gasol [on the floor at the same time] or me and [Andrew] Bynum in at the same time.

“The last time I played small forward I was with the Clippers [during the 2002-'03 season].''

The Mavericks also play at a faster pace than the Lakers.

“It's a challenge because he's basically been playing in a trot the last seven years with the Lakers,'' Rick Carlisle said. “They play medium to slow tempo and we're trying to play at up tempo, so there's a big difference.

“He'll get there. It doesn't happen overnight and we've got to stay at it.''

The Mavericks have recalled Dominique Jones from the Texas Legends due to a foot injury to Vince Carter.

Carter injured his left foot on Jan. 16th.

In three games with the Texas Legends, Jones averaged 13.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 21.7 minutes per games.

Dirk Nowitzki said that in hindisight, playing for the German national team last summer was a bad idea and that he should have taken time away from basketball.

"Playing in the Euros, looking back now was obviously not the right decision, but it was a decision I made for my country," Nowitzki said. "But it definitely didn't help me get ready for the season. So I started working out basically late November, then I had a good three weeks or a month for five, six games a week, so it wasn't cutting it. I consider this week here, for me, as another week of training camp where I can use it and get better. Got a little fire back; a lot of guys say I'm done. I obviously read the stuff. Hopefully, I'll be back soon."

Nowitzki acknowledged Wednesday night that the knee, the same one he sprained last season and forced him to miss nine games, has caused him problems with movement, although he said it felt better now than it did three weeks ago.

"You saw it. I couldn't go by anybody off the dribble and that's part of my game," Nowitzki said. "Right now is just basically a pop-up shooter every time I caught it, and if I didn't have it [a shot] I had to swing it because I just couldn't make a move, couldn't go by anybody and just didn't feel comfortable."

Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki will miss the next four games to improve his conditioning and rest his sore right knee.

"We're going to shut Dirk down for four games, from game activity,'' coach Rick Carlisle said. "At this point, we feel he needs an uninterrupted eight days of work to resolve some physical issues and some conditioning issues. This is the decision of (athletic trainer) Casey Smith and me."

Nowitzki is averaging 17.5 points per game, five below his career average.

"If it were up to Dirk, he would play," Carlisle said. "But right now, we feel the right thing is to take this time, get some things resolved and hopefully by next Sunday, he'll be feeling a lot better and ready to go.''

Deron Williams' would prefer to remain with the Nets, but that appears to be predicated on the team's ability to acquire Dwight Howard, say sources.

Williams will sign a new deal with the Nets if Howard ends up joining him in Brooklyn.

The Mavericks, the Knicks and the Lakers would be his preferred options if he leaves the Nets, according to sources close to the situation.

If Howard is traded to another team that he plans on re-signing with, the Nets will begin to explore a trade of Williams, according to a source.

Darrell Armstrong, assistant coach of the Mavericks, was arrested on Wednesday on an outstanding warrant for non-sufficient funds in Las Vegas.

Armstrong was stopped Tuesday morning by a deputy for a traffic violation near Washington Boulevard and Via Marina Way, the department said.

No additional details regarding the Nevada case were immediately available.