Dirk Nowitzki returns to form as Mavericks gear up for second-half run

Just about three weeks ago, Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki looked about as bad as he has at any point in his 14-year Hall of Fame NBA career. He showed up after the lockout in less-than-perfect shape, having followed up on Dallas’ championship run by trying (and failing) to lead Germany in the Eurobasket tournament to a spot in the Olympic tournament. He was worn down, missing 10 days with an injured knee, and the fatigue showed through his numbers—through 19 games, Nowitzki averaged 16.2 points, 43.0 percent shooting, 17.8 percent shooting on 3-pointers and just 5.9 rebounds.

The bottoming-out came on Feb. 1, in familiar surroundings—playing a big game in Dallas against the Thunder, the team that Nowitzki almost singlehandedly knocked out of the playoffs with his late-game heroics in last year’s Western Conference finals. In a game Dallas trailed by double digits but nearly came back and won, Nowitzki just could not locate the magic that had defined his 2011 postseason. He went 2-for-15 from the field, and the Mavericks lost.

Back when the league announced its All-Stars reserves, many—including Nowitzki himself—were surprised to see he earned a spot. Western Conference coaches voted him in, apparently showing deference to last year’s performance more than this year’s deflating reality.

Now, though, he has declared himself worthy again, and no doubt, he has been. After the Mavericks beat the Celtics on Monday, Nowitzki said, “I think everybody knows if I would’ve been healthy all year, (his All-Star selection) would have been a lock. I wasn’t. If you judge it by first third of the season, whatever they judged it on, I still say there were some guys that deserved it over me, but it is what it is. The coaches showed me a lot

With Nowitzki returning to form, it is time to reconsider the Mavericks’ chances for defending their title. They’re still chasing Oklahoma City and San Antonio in the West, but point guard Jason Kidd is healthy, and Dallas’ three-man center rotation of Brendan Haywood, Brandan Wright and Ian Mahinmi has been playing well. When they get Delonte West back from a finger injury—and if they ever get consistency out of Lamar Odom—Dallas will have one of the best benches in the league.

“That’s what we’re focused on, coming together at the right time,” guard Jason Terry said. “We just want to get into the playoffs, start clicking on all cylinders and go from there. We feel like we can get there, but we’re an older team so it has just taken us a little longer.”

Nowitzki will be busy during the upcoming All-Star festivities, but he will also get plenty of downtime to continue to get healthy. The Mavericks play the Lakers on Wednesday, then have off until next Tuesday.