WASHINGTON – Jason Kidd was analyzing the benefits Shawn Marion will bring to the Mavericks and besides the rebounding, steals, blocks and natural feel for the game, there is something else.

"He'll help Dirk [Nowitzki] a lot," Kidd said. "Watch how much things open up for Dirk when Shawn is in there."

If their first pairing, a 123-115 exhibition win against Washington on Friday night, is any indicator, Kidd has this tag-team pegged. Marion and Nowitzki fed off each other all night at Verizon Center and teamed for 40 points in 54 combined minutes, making 16-of-24 shots.

It doesn't get much more efficient than that, as long as you don't look at their defense. They gave up 38 points in the 51 minutes Washington forwards Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison had.

But why split hairs after one game? Besides, Marion and Nowitzki combined for five steals.

Nowitzki came away with a big smile regarding his new running mate at small forward.

"He's pretty amazing, I got to admit," Nowitzki said. "Playing against him all these years, you don't really know all the little things he does. I really like playing with him. He doesn't demand the ball, he just gets his points on the go."

And he also sees the big picture. Marion's do-it-all game should make life simpler for Nowitzki.

"I really think, especially on the break, that's going to open up my shots on transition," he said. "And we can get some baskets where we don't have to work extra, extra hard."

On Friday, Marion's constant movement on offense meant the Wizards could not dedicate two defenders to Nowitzki. He's become a crafty enough passer to find Marion (and Josh Howard later, when he's healthy) when they slice through open lanes. And when Washington tried to guard Nowitzki with one guy near the top of the key, he consistently made face-up jumpers.

It won't always work that well. This was merely one preseason game. But it's already clear that this pairing has a chance to be very potent.

No timetable for Howard: Coach Rick Carlisle's estimate on when Josh Howard might return from left ankle and left wrist surgeries wasn't necessarily grim, but it was vague.

While the thinking is that Howard will be cleared to scrimmage in the next 10 days, Carlisle said nothing is set yet.

"Josh is going to be a while," Carlisle said. "He's making steady progress, but we're not sure when he's going to play. ...

"I'll probably announce it the day he's going to play, whenever that is – whether it's two weeks, a month or a month and a half."

A month and a half?

"It could be," he said. "The guy had two significant surgical procedures, so he'll be ready when he's ready and we'll go from there."

Briefly: In the strange-but-true world of the NBA, Washington's Mike Miller has hair like Nowitzki and named his son Maverick. Yes, Maverick Miller. "Maybe he's trying to tell us something," owner Mark Cuban said ... About 2,000 tickets are available for the Mavericks' season opener against the Wizards on Oct. 27 at American Airlines Center, more left than for the preseason games against Cleveland (LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal on Oct. 17) and Memphis (Allen Iverson) on Sunday.