Look around the West and all nine teams vying for playoff position have run into serious health issues.

All but one of those teams - Denver - are still banged up. Carmelo Anthony returned recently after missing three weeks.

The remaining teams in the hunt are missing either a starter or, in the Mavericks' case, their valuable sixth man.

"It's going to be a dogfight, we know that," Dirk Nowitzki said. "With [Amare] Stoudemire out in Phoenix, you know they're going to scratch and claw and do whatever it takes. Utah's going to get [Carlos] Boozer back next week. They'll start winning more on the road. So it's going to be a beast. But you've got to love it. That's fun.

"You don't want to only look down. You want to look up, too. San Antonio has Manu Ginobili hurt. We feel like the homecourt advantage is possible."

Indeed, the only team out of reach for the Mavericks is the Los Angeles Lakers, who will play without center Andrew Bynum for the foreseeable future. Beyond that, one good streak could run down everybody else, even the San Antonio Spurs , whom the Mavericks visit Tuesday.

"Injuries have been a factor, without question," coach Rick Carlisle said. "But everybody's gone through it. It's not like one team is getting off scot-free. The hope is you have enough guys with the ability to step up, and we feel we do."

It's not just the West that has been impacted by injuries. In the Eastern Conference, Boston's Kevin Garnett is out for at least two more weeks with a knee injury and Orlando's Jameer Nelson is out for the season.

But in the West, it's more far-reaching. The Mavericks have to figure out how to stay in the thick of things while second-leading scorer Jason Terry is out. It's still not known when he'll return, although he's already started catching a Basketball with his surgically repaired left hand.

"We can talk about how tough it is without him," Carlisle says. "But it's not going to change the fact that he's not available. We just [have] to get it done with the guys we have. We're plenty capable."

At least one Maverick doesn't want to hear talk about simply surviving. Jerry Stackhouse's career is winding down, and he's in no mood to accept aiming for anything other than the highest goal.

"We're here in the present dealing with trying to get in the top four of the Western Conference," Stackhouse said. "That's my only focus, to be a contributor in helping us achieve our goals, and that's winning a championship.

"For this team, getting in the playoffs and having a good showing is not an option. The only option is getting on a roll and having a run like we did in '06, and being able to finish it off."

Josh Howard seconded that opinion. He doesn't want to spend the last two months sweating out the playoff race.

"I don't want it to be like that," Howard said. "We've made the playoffs each year since I've been here. We're going to be a playoff-bound team again. We'll be there in the end."

Playing a man down

How the Mavericks have fared against Western Conference teams missing one of their star players this season:

Date Opp. Injured Result

Nov. 4 SA M. Ginobili W, 98-81

Dec. 26 UT C. Boozer L, 97-88

Jan. 13 DEN C. Anthony L, 99-97

Jan. 17 UT C. Boozer W, 115-108

Feb. 5 UT C. Boozer L, 115-87

Feb. 20 HOU T. McGrady L, 93-86

Pain, pain go away

A look at serious injuries of playoff contenders in the West:

Team Player Injury Comment

LA Lakers Andrew Bynum knee April return possible

San Antonio Manu Ginobili ankle Spurs struggle without him

Denver Carmelo Anthony hand 7-3 record since his return

Portland Greg Oden knee Doesn't look right when he plays

Houston Tracy McGrady knee Is chemistry better without him?

Mavericks Jason Terry hand Late-game scoring is missed

New Orleans Tyson Chandler ankle Could return today

Utah Carlos Boozer knee Jazz stayed afloat without him

Phoenix Amare Stoudemire eye Could return if Suns in playoffs