Dirk scrimmages Mavs rookies, wasn't impressed

Dirk Nowitzki returned to the practice court for the first time this season on Wednesday, although there's still no word on when he'll be able to play in a game.

It wasn't a full practice for him, so he stayed afterwards for a game of 2-on-2 with some of the Mavs reserves:

Dirk & Roddy vs. Bernard James and Jae Crowder. Dirk: "The quality of the games wasn't high, to be honest."

— Earl K. Sneed (@EKS_MavsNBA) December 19, 2012

While Dirk was probably just being self-deprecating, it doesn't exactly ring out as an endorsement of some of the young players Dallas has managed to scrape together.

Like many, I once had high hopes for Rodrigue Beaubois, but he's regressed significantly as a player in his fourth season in the NBA and he'll likely be a non-roster invitee to training camp next season if he keeps it up.

Bernard James and Jae Crowder have shown flashes, but there's a reason they were second round picks last season.

Dirk needs to go on and get healthy so he can play people at his level.