According to Mark Cuban, the biggest misconception about the Dallas Mavericks is the belief that Dirk Nowitzki is no longer a superstar. Nowitzki had his streak of 11 consecutive All-Star appearances snapped last season, when he missed 29 games because of arthroscopic knee surgery. But Cuban considers the down season to be an aberration, citing Nowitzki's injury and the Mavs' subpar point guard play. "If there's one missing piece between what everyone is saying and what we're doing, everybody, I think, has dismissed Dirk -- like Dirk is done and he's on the downside and he can't play anymore and he's not the type of contributor that he was," Cuban said during an appearance on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM's Galloway and Company. "If you look at the mess that we had in terms of our guard play and basketball IQ, when Dirk came back and really got into gear, we beat a lot of good teams. I think we were at a 48- or 50-win clip. You put a much better set of players around him, and Dirk is in a situation where he doesn't have to rush back. He's had all summer to prepare his body and get ready." Source: ESPN Dallas/Fort Worth
