Dirk Nowitzki sprained his knee against the Oklahoma City Thunder just two days after Christmas, and he will not be back on the court for the rematch Thursday night, making it six games he has missed with the injury.
He did not take part in the team’s shootaround Thursday and according to reports just rode the stationary bike while the team went through plans for the evening game.
We don’t know much about the severity of the injury — the Mavericks and Nowitzki himself have said it’s just a sprain, and that he is day-to-day. But the days are piling up. Dallas is 2-3 without Nowitzki and tonight’s game against the Thunder would be tough if they had a full roster. Dallas will likely stick with Shawn Marion at the four with DeShawn Stevenson and Jason Terry also starting.
The Mavericks play again Saturday night, after that they have three days off. Don’t be shocked it Nowitzki is not back until after that break. Then again, who knows? He is just day-to-day.