Josh Howard Participates In First 'Contact' Practice With Mavs As Shawn Marion Sits Out

    As we reported from Mavs practice today at 1:20 p.m. (see, I told you that dang Twitter would come in handy!) Josh Howard participated in his first “contact’’ practice since undergoing ankle surgery in May.

   “He looked great,’’ teammate Jason Kidd tells DallasBasketball.com. “It was pretty much like he hadn’t missed a beat.’’

   More news from Wednesday’s practice – from what Howard did in the scrimmage to what Shawn Marion didn’t do – coming up! But first, comments from Howard and from coach Rick Carlisle:

   Says Josh: “I was able to get out there and give it a shot. I’ve got to work through the pain. It's the first time I actually did any contact stuff., so I’ll have to keep doing rehab.''

   Says Carlisle: "He went through about half of the stuff and then we iced him down. He wouldn't be out there if his ankle wasn't in a position to be doing stuff. Whenever he's out there, our team gets a little more energized.''

   Still, the team is exercising caution – with Howard and Marion (calf).

   “We're at a point where we just got to make sure we get them healthy,'' Carlisle says. "Shawn's thing isn't a serious situation, but it's something we have to be careful with. We’re not going to take any undue risks.’’