Dirk slams 'never-seen-anything-like it' schedule before long break

The Dallas Mavericks played their 54th game Tuesday night and Dirk Nowitzki's 37-year-old legs feel it. He's ready to head into the NBA's new extended All-Star break that won't put the Mavs back on the floor until Feb. 19.

He's feeling the effects of having "paid for it," meaning the long break with 18 games in January and a stretch that included 19 games in 32 days.

The league listened to players such as LeBron James, who had complained that the All-Star break wasn't long enough for players involved in All-Star weekend. Players keep busy schedules throughout the three days with league events and their own promotional events. So the league opted to play the final games before the All-Star break on Wednesday and not start up again until the following Thursday.

The long All-Star break might help players gear up for the second half, but at some point in the schedule teams are going to be put into a schedule crunch to make for it. For Dallas, it came before the break. For other teams, it will come on the other side.

The league says it has reduced the number of back-to-back games and stretches with four games in five nights this season in attempt to lessen the wear and tear on players' bodies.

Dallas, which also played a road-heavy schedule with 29 road games among its first 54 games, has already played 11 back-to-backs. However, the schedule gets much more favorable after the All-Star break with just three more back-to-backs and none until March 6-7.

Maybe the lighter stretch ahead for Dallas will allow Nowitzki to see the benefit in a longer All-Star break. At the moment, he doesn't seem quite sure it's worth the cost.