Problem is, it's not just nagging questions these days. TNT's lively and influential Inside The NBA crew anointed Nowitzki the playoff MVP of the first round. Sports Illustrated made Nowitzki the first Maverick ever on its hallowed cover. Plus, to make things really uncomfortable, folks everywhere suddenly insist on calling him ? heavens no ? a full-fledged superstar.

So, yeah. You might say the 7-Footer Formerly Known As Irk, dubbed so because he played no D as a rookie, is somewhat irked as a Round 2 showdown with the Sacramento Kings approaches. Pleasing as it was to sweep the Minnesota Timberwolves, on the back of Nowitzki's 33.3 points and 15.7 boards, the brooming created a five-day window with no games to dissect.

Which has spawned five days of adulation and inquiry.

"He's a reluctant superstar at this point," said chuckling teammate Steve Nash, Nowitzki's best friend and the first to delight in his pal's so-called suffering. "But it doesn't really matter.