Why Dallas Mavericks Must Be Terrified of a Serious Knee Injury to Dirk Nowitzki

Few words can be scarier to the Dallas Mavericks than "Dirk Nowitzki" and "injured." Few players have ever, in the history of the game, carried their teams to an NBA Championship in the way that Nowitzki did last year. 

Therefore, when ESPN Dallas reports that Nowitzki said this, it has to strike fear into the Dallas faithful. 

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"I'm having trouble bending my knees," said Nowitzki, who has been wearing a protective sleeve over the knee, the same one he sprained last season and caused him to miss nine games. "I've just got to get my legs stronger, get my base back. I've got to use my legs in my shot and hopefully they'll come back soon."

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Last year, the Mavs were 55-18 and the NBA champions with Nowitzki in the lineup. In the nine games he missed, they were a woeful 2-7. 

Without J.J. Barea or Tyson Chandler, Nowitzki is now even more important than he was last year. 

In fact, without Nowitzki, the Dallas Mavericks are essentially the Phoenix Suns two years from now. That is, one 39-year-old Hall of Fame point guard and a bunch of other guys. 

All of that with the exception that Jason Kidd isn't nearly the scorer that Steve Nash is. 

Nowitzki isn't just the MVP of the Mavericks, he's basally the OVP, the only valuable player. He alone separates Dallas from contender to lottery. 

If this is serious, the Mavericks' season is done.