Dallas Mavericks superstar Dirk Nowitzki will miss a week’s worth of games due for what head coach Rick 
Carlisle called “conditioning”.
Earl Sneed with Mavs.com broke the news on Twitter Saturday.
“BREAKING: Mavs coach Rick Carlisle says Dirk Nowitzki will be out at least four games to work on his conditioning.”
Sneed later tweeted that Dirk’s absence will be officially listed as a “sore right knee”. Dirk did say before Thursday’s victory in Utah that he was having problems with bending his knees, specifically his right knee. The knee problems date back to last season, when Dirk missed nine games due to a sprained right knee. The big German of course recovered, leading the Mavs to the franchise’s first NBA title last June.
Nowitzki will miss tonight’s game in New Orleans and home games against Phoenix, Minnesota and Utah. He should return for next Sunday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs. After struggling at the start of the season, the Mavs have rallied as of late, winning eight of their 12 games so far in January. Dirk becomes the third key injury in the Southwest Division alone. Spurs guard Manu Ginobili is still recovering from a broken hand and Zach Randolph has set a March 2 return date from a partially torn knee ligament. Dirk’s injury is obviously on a much smaller scale, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on given Dirk’s recent injury history.
