No Dirk, No Dice.

By Migs

From 99 to 88 points per game. From red hot, to a 2-4 record. The Dallas Mavericks just aren't the same without former MVP Dirk Nowitzki.

I have been a Mavericks fan for around 11 years now, and as others who have followed the team know, this franchise has seen its share of ups (Nash, Nowitzki, and Finley era) and downs (Roy Tarpley, Dampier, the 2007 Golden State Warriors upset, the 2006 Finals meltdown, etc.). Dirk Nowitzki has missed six straight games due to a knee sprain, and while this looks like a temporary setback, I have an itchy feeling that this might, just might, be something bigger than it actually is.

6 games is the longest stretch of consecutive games that Dirk Nowitzki has missed since 2001-2002. While Dallas' supporting cast is stronger than it has ever been, his physical presence, his perimeter play, and his ability to draw double teams, is something that has gotten the Texans' offense discombobulated. Without French phenom Rodrigue Beaubois, the Mavericks really only have JJ Barea as a consistent slasher. Shawn Marion is not the "Matrix"-type player he once was, despite his ocassional flashes of brilliance. He, too, isn't a pure slasher. Jumpshooters without a double-team magnet are jump shooters maligned.

A recent ESPN article cited the Spurs as the favorite to replace the Lakers as Western Conference Champions. Experience has taught Mavericks afficionados that heightened expectations tend to throw Dallas off, and so, go ahead, critics, laud the Spurs. Put the Mavs in the background. Such an arrangement may actually prove to be better in the long term.

Mark Cuban has mentioned that he sort of sees Dirk like a "son". Fittingly so, considering that a son's duty is to serve his father. Boy, has he served his father well. All the 50 plus win seasons. The MVP award in 2007. The 25 point per game campaigns. Dirk's become the face of the Mavericks. Without him, Dallas falls back down to Earth, and while they aren't the Clippers, they would certainly end up looking more like those afflicted with pollution-related deceases rather than those who sniff at rarefied air.

No Dirk, no dice. Here's to his trainer to help him get back on track. If all else fails, call his coach Holger. That should do the trick.