To say the least, the Dallas Mavericks have had their run-in’s with injuries this season, and you might have to add Dirk Nowitzki to that ever growing list. The good thing going for Dallas right now is that they have started out very strong against the 3rd seed Oklahoma City Thunder in the 1st round of the NBA Playoffs, unexpectedly tying the series at 1-1, heading into Dallas on Thursday.
According to the Associated Press & Coach Rick Carlisle, Nowitzki suffered the injury after falling early in the game 2 win for the Mavericks. “We hope this is not something that’s [causing] him to miss any time,” Carlisle told the Press on Tuesday. Nowitzki is currently listed as Day-to-day right now, but you have to wonder how much that will change come game time on Thursday.
A bruised knee at the age of 37, can’t be good for the one-time league MVP, as he is trying to lead the Mavericks to an upset victory over the Thunder. With Nowitzki out, that dream is basically impossible (sorry Mavericks fans). They are already potentially going to miss Deron Williams, J.J Barea and David Lee in game 3, all with respective injuries. Not to mention, Chandler Parsons, who was declared out for the season back in mid-March.
Despite the Mavericks being a mess right now in terms of injuries they should be looking at the positives in this situation. Instead of getting swept, they’ll at least have one win on their belts in the NBA Playoffs this year, and that says a lot for a team that was supposed to be lottery bound after the DeAndre Jordan saga. They’ll be able to develop some good young talent in Justin Anderson and Salah Mejri (who had 12 points and 3 rebounds in game 2), and the revival of Raymond Felton. The Mavericks have made this a competitive series for now, tying it at 1-1, heading into Dallas, can they keep it competitive without their heart & soul in Dirk Nowitzki?
