DALLAS -- Because forward Dirk Nowitzki still hasn't completely recovered from the arthroscopic surgery he underwent Oct. 19 on his right knee, the Dallas Mavericks believe his omission from the All-Star Game for the first time in 12 years could be a blessing in disguise.
Instead of Nowitzki making several appearances, doing interviews and playing about 10 minutes in a meaningless game, the Mavs believe their 11-time All-Star will be better served staying at home and trying to get more physically fit."I feel like the break is coming at a good time for him, to get maybe off his feet a little bit on the one hand, but I know he's going to continue to work," coach Rick Carlisle said."It's hard to go through a surgery in a season and then come back and get back to the level that you're used to, especially if you're a player of his magnitude."When they open up your leg and stick instruments into it and flood it with water and suck things out, that's a lot... going on," Carlisle said. "For each minute that the instruments are in your body it's several days of recovery, from what I heard."In 23 games this season, Nowitzki is averaging 15.1 points and 5.7 rebounds in 30.1 minutes per game. He also is shooting 42.2 percent from the field, including 38.8 percent from 3-point range."He's struggling," owner Mark Cuban said. "If you talk to him about it I think he'll tell you he's not where he wants to be."Nobody wants it more than Dirk."Playoff streak at riskThe Mavericks' 12-year streak of reaching the playoffs is a source of pride for Mark Cuban.Dallas (23-29) has advanced to the playoffs every full season since Cuban has owned the franchise, but the streak is in jeopardy.Since Cuban bought the Mavs from Ross Perot Jr. on Jan. 4, 2000, every NBA team has missed the playoffs at least once in his 12 full seasons except the Mavs and San Antonio Spurs.The Spurs have been to the playoffs 13 consecutive years, the longest active streak in the league."I was telling my wife it was just a matter of time -- but hopefully it won't be my time yet," Cuban said.Wait and see modeMark Cuban, who declined to re-sign Mavericks free agents such as Tyson Chandler, J.J. Barea and Jason Terry over the past two summers, said other teams have "already started having a rude awakening" in terms of committing long-term contracts to their own free agents.Cuban said a few teams are even copying the Mavs' wait-and-see model."Other teams are doing now what we did this summer -- the last two summers," Cuban said. "We started to see it this year, but we'll see what happens this summer."There's no reason for me to go into it anymore. I'm already an idiot in Dallas."As far as making any deals by the Feb. 21 trading deadline, Cuban said: "If you read about something involving us, that means it's not true, because you never hear about our trades until we announce them."Dwain Price, 817-390-7760Twitter: @DwainPrice
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