Ten things I like and don't like, including Dirk, forever

Here we go into the second half of the season:

1. A Dirkassaince

Dirk Nowitzki is back, and he's a big reason the frisky Mavs are 12-13 over their past 25 games. No player has ever been this impactful while having such a hard time, like, running and walking. Seriously, zero in on Dirk during his first stint of each half, and you'll catch him sneaking in a deep knee bend -- some old-man calisthenics -- when he's away from the action.

Since Dallas fell into that 3-15 ditch, Nowitzki is averaging 14 points per game on very close to 50/40/90 shooting. Again, he can barely move. Teams still scrap their base pick-and-roll defense to account for his jumper. They'll switch little guys onto him, or…