It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the Mavericks will have five players on the NBA All-Star ballot.
They'll be the five at Tuesday's news conference and they will be the first voters in the fan balloting that will select the starters for the game Valentine's Day at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.
Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion and Josh Howard will be on the ballot. Erick Dampier was left off, according to folks with knowledge of the ballot.
Still, the Mavericks have a nice representation. It'll be interesting to find out if more than Nowitzki makes the final Western Conference squad. As always, it'll boil down to wins. The best teams in the first half of the season usually get the most players named.
--Eddie Sefko