The Mavericks have decided to sit Dirk Nowitzki for four games to hit the reset button on a few of his knee issues that never resolved themselves after playing in the Euro tournament last summer. While Nowitzki isn't technically injured, his performance this season has taken a nosedive. "We just thought it was a good decision for everybody. I'm not happy right now anyways, so the guys are better off when I'm not out there," Nowitzki said. "This gives me time to really do some of the stuff that I couldn't do when my knee was bothering me the last couple weeks. I couldn't lift and run and do the things I needed to do." Dirk isn't just going to be sitting in a comfy chair letting the knee heal. Rick Carlisle describes the injury as something that occurs when a player is out of condition. He said Nowitzki needed "an uninterrupted eight days of work to resolve some physical issues and conditioning issues," adding that Nowitzki had "no choice" in the matter. "He's going to be busting his (behind) this week. We're going to be on him hard," Carlisle added. "He's got a lot of work to do and if things go like we think they'll go, by the end of the week he'll be back and ready to play."
In that time they are going to lean heavily on Lamar Odom who has struggled mightily during his short tenure in a Maverick uniform. This will be a defining moment for Lamar and his future as a Maverick. For the first time the team will have to rely on Lamar Odom to win games for them. Lamar, by everyone's account is dealing with major off the court issues. He came in to the season out of shape and was mentally checked out. However, in the last few games we've definitely seen improvement in the versatile forward's game. The Mavericks reliance on his offensive output in the upcoming games could be what brings Lamar out of his funk. That is something that could be much more valuable than winning the next four games. However, the Mavericks as an organization are focused on getting Nowtizki back in playing shape.
The Mavericks and Dirk believe that the four-game layoff should be exactly what the doctor ordered to clean up his game. "I couldn't go by anybody off the dribble and that's part of my game. Right now I'm basically a pop-up shooter every time I caught it, and if I didn't have (the shot), I had to swing it because I just couldn't make a move, couldn't go by anybody," Nowitzki said. "I didn't feel comfortable. So that's something that I've got to work on this week is putting the ball on the floor and get comfortable and really getting confidence in my leg strength...and I'll be back to my old self." The Mavericks haven't fared too well without the big German in the line-up in recent years but right now it's not about winning or losing. It's about coming together as a team when the season is on the line and you simply cannot put a price on that.
