Jason Kidd and the Mavericks have been presented with several hurdles and tests already this season. Each time, they’ve come through stronger and more united as a group. The latest hurdle might be the largest they’ll face all year, and they’re doing just fine so far.

Dallas is currently without All-Star forward Dirk Nowitzki, who has been given a week away from game-action to improve the conditioning on a knee injury that has plagued him early in the season.

But through two games without Dirk so far, the Mavs have adjusted well and kept rolling.

"We’ve got to go out and win games," Jason said in regard to how the team will play in Nowitzki’s absence. "We’re not trying to hold anything. We’re trying to get better as a team and when he gets back, it’ll just make us that much stronger."

The Mavs held serve early this week, defeating the New Orleans Hornets on the road Saturday night, 83-81, and then the Phoenix Suns at home, 93-87, on Monday. They have now held teams under 100 points in 15 straight games, a team record.

With one of Dallas’ key big men absent, Jason stepped up to play strong on the boards in each game, totaling 14 rebounds, including nine in Saturday’s win over the Hornets.

He also added five assists in each game to put his team in a position to win without Nowitzki.

On the receiving end of several of those assists was Shawn Marion, who scored 14 points to best the Hornets and then poured in a season-high 29 to beat his former team, the Suns.

"He’s playing the best out of anybody on this team right now," J-Kidd said. "He’s been carrying us. The more touches, the more you get in a rhythm, the better off you’ll be. Especially when you’re a scorer, and that’s what he is."

That scoring touch from another forward has been huge for the Mavs, who often rely on Nowitzki to pack the largest scoring punch. But playing without Dirk is not completely unfamiliar territory for No. 2 and his mates.

"We’ve gone through this last year when we lost him for nine games," Jason said. "We felt like we have a lot of talent here, and we feel like our depth is one of our keys. Everybody just has to step up."

The next chance for Dallas to step up to the challenge will be on Wednesday night at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

RING’S THE THING
Wednesday is a big night for J-Kidd and the Mavs who will be receive their NBA championship rings before their game against the Timberwolves.


Dirk, Jason and the rest of the Mavs will add rings to their championship ensemble on Wednesday (Getty Images).

The rings, which will cost Mavs owner Mark Cuban a reported $1.4 million total, will be handed out to each player individually prior to tip-off. Dallas picked Wednesday for the ceremony so that former teammate JJ Barea, who now plays for Minnesota, can participate and pick up his hard-earned ring.

The Mavericks have offered an exclusive look at the ring making process through a promotional video that you can watch below:

The ring ceremony will be particularly special for Jason as he will receive his first ring after 17 years in the league. But No. 2 is trying not to dwell on the ceremony and hopes the Mavs can see beyond it to play well. Their performance under similar circumstances, after the banner raising ceremony on opening night against Miami left much to be desired.

"Hopefully we learned the first time around on how to do that," he said.

The ring ceremony is scheduled to start at 7 P.M., with the action on the court set to begin a half-hour later.

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