Well, it's not all bad

But it's early. With Dirk in the locker room, the Mavericks have actually played better. After falling behind by six points early, Dallas has now rallied to tie the score at 18-18.

Of course, the Mavericks aren't really interested in finding out how good they are without Dirk, especially since Erick Dampier (ankle), Jerry Stackhouse (hamstring) and Devin Harris (ankle) are not available.

If ever a team was being tested on how it will respond to injuries, the Mavericks are it.

-- Jan Hubbard