The idea of losing the best player for the Mavericks to an injury that occurred in the midst of a game that means absolutely nothing to the team would be heartbreaking.  Can you imagine the outburst of Lakers fans if Kobe Bryant blew out a knee in the Summer Olympics?  Or how about Orlando Magic fans if Dwight Howard broke his ankle in a pick-up game?  They would be furious to say the least!  As Dallas Mavericks fans we must recognize that Cuban is looking out for the best interest of his team.  That means keeping Dirk as healthy as possible.

Dirk has shown in the past that his ankles are a tad bit fragile.  It doesn’t take much to turn, sprain or even break an ankle in basketball as the whole art of jumping and landing can be quite dangerous to the lower extremeties!  If Dirk landed on some guy named Gunther’s size 12 Pro Wing and broke his ankle it would be traumatic!  The whole city of Dallas might declare war on Germany and something tells me that wouldn’t work out well for Dallas… no matter how many shotgun wielding, rednecks might inhabit the city!  I can just see it now, a pick-up truck full of Jeds, Jethros & Billy Bobs vs a tank full of Wolfgangs, Adolphs & Boris.  Ok, I am done being rather stereotypical as most people in Dallas aren’t cowboys, rednecks, or jethros and most Germans… well they don’t drive tanks I suppose.  Nonetheless it’s a rather good thing that Dirk isn’t playing this summer for Germany.  Kudos to Mark Cuban for making it so.

Here is the second stretch of games for the Dallas Mavericks -

20-Dec Cle (Loss)
22-Dec Port (Win)
26-Dec Mem (Win)
27-Dec @Den (Loss)
31-Dec @Hou (Win)
2-Jan @Sac (Win)
3-Jan @LAL (Loss)
5-Jan Det (Win)
8-Jan @SA (Loss)
9-Jan Utah (Loss)
13-Jan LAL(Loss)
15-Jan OKC (Win)
17-Jan @Tor (Win)
18-Jan @Bos (Loss)
20-Jan @Wash (Win)
22-Jan @Phi (Win)
24-Jan @NY (Win)
26-Jan Mil (Win)
28-Jan @Pho (Win)
30-Jan Port (Loss)
1-Feb @Utah (Loss)
3-Feb GS (Win)
5-Feb Min (Win)
8-Feb @GS (Loss)
9-Feb @Den (Loss)
16-Feb @OKC (Loss)
17-Feb Pho (Win)

As you can see, this is a much tougher portion of the season as compared to the early quarter. I am predicting the Mavericks to go 15-12 but can easily see them going at or just below .500 through this stretch. Multiple dates against the Lakers, Nuggets, Trailblazers & Jazz will be tough for just about any team. Though after 2/3 of the season a record of 35-19 would be spectacular. Something tells me I overestimating the Mavericks talent though as I do not think they finish with anywhere near 70 victories. Perhaps the 3rd part of the season is a tough stretch as well? I guess we will just have to wait and see!