DALLAS – In injury news Dallas Coach Rick Carlisle characterized as not a setback, longtime franchise player Dirk Nowitzki will miss Sunday's game vs. New Orleans, due to a right Achilles strain. Nowitzki had played Wednesday and Friday in the Mavs' two most recent games, after sitting out all eight contests from Nov. 6-21.
While Dallas will miss the constant threat and defensive-drawing ability of Nowitzki whenever the future Hall of Famer is sidelined, the Mavericks managed to win in New Orleans last season sans Nowitzki, as well as a few other key players. That experience may come in handy Sunday, because Dallas (2-13) is again without several major contributors, such as guards J.J. Barea and Devin Harris. For once, the injury list for New Orleans (6-11) is not significantly longer than that of its opposition. …
Alvin Gentry on Nowitzki's absence: “Let's face it, the guy is one of the all-time great players in this league, arguably the best foreign player ever. He just gives them stability. Even at this age, just his presence on the floor means a lot to any team. He's one of the all-time great shooters and the size he has, all of those things are factors.” …
Gentry on bringing Cheick Diallo back to the roster from the D-League: “We're going to send him down and bring him back. For him, the big important thing is just playing and being out on the floor, having minutes. I thought he did a really good job down there.”
