Help Wanted: 7'0" German Needed

By Max Berger

Two years ago, this team won the NBA Finals. Now, this team is sitting at 8-10, in fourth place in their division, and missing their star player. 

The Dallas Mavericks are struggling thus far this season, and the value of injured All-Star power forward Dirk Nowitzki to their team, who has been out since the beginning of the season after offseason knee surgery, has never been more evident. Without Dirk, Dallas looks lost on the court, and off to its worst start in years.

AP Photo/ Tony Gutierrez

Last year the Mavs were scoring more points per game on average than they were giving up, scoring 95.6 per game and relinquishing 95.1. Currently, although the Mavs are averaging 98.8 per game, up from last season, they are giving up 100.1 points per game, having a difficult time defensively.

If Dallas doesn’t make up ground, and fast, the rest of the Southwest is going to run away with the division and the Conference. San Antonio and Memphis, division foes of the Mavs, are not only the top two teams in the Southwestern Division, but they are two of the top teams in the West. Also, the Houston Rockets have been surprisingly successful this season, after dealing for Sixth Man of the Year James Harden, and the strong contributions from both small forward Chandler Parsons and rebounding machine center Omer Asik.

As far as bright spots go, first year Mavericks shooting guard O.J. Mayo has been handling much of the scoring burden in Dirk’s absence, averaging a career high 19.7 points per game. Also, NBA veterans Vince Carter and Chris Kaman have been adding to the scoring load and are both top four on the team in player efficiency ratings.

That being said, Dallas desperately needs Dirk back. Having the seven footer back in their lineup will sure improve things defensively in the paint. Also, it should provide a big boost psychologically to the team.  

It may be possible that the rest of the West is just too young, too athletic and too good for the Mavericks to compete this year. The average age of the players on the Mavs is 28.5 years of age, which is fourth highest in the league and higher than all of the teams in the West except for the Los Angeles Clippers.

This seasoned team has won a championship recently and knows how to get it done when it counts most. It would be foolish to count Dallas out before the return of its future Hall of Famer. However, the team better hope that Nowitzki can come back sooner rather than later, and play like the Dirk of the 2011 NBA Finals, or it might be a long season for the Mavs.