Dirk Nowitzki has a cold; Vince Carter going home
Vince Carter is already out of action and is headed back to Dallas today to have his sprained left foot examined Thursday by team doctor T.O. Souryal. That takes Carter out for Thursday's game at Utah and Saturday's at the New Orleans Hornets.
If Nowitzki plays tonight, he'll have a difficult assignment guarding Clippers power forward Blake Griffin, who is coming off a 10-point outing in Tuesday's blowout loss at Utah, is averaging 21.9 points on 52.9 percent shooting -- and has improved his mid-range jumper -- and 11.4 rebounds.
Carlisle said it takes a village, or something close to it, to take on Griffin.
"We've got to have a whole posse of guys ready to play him and a lot of different defensive schemes depending on who plays him," Carlisle said. "He's made great strides as a player and now he's playing with better guys and that's elevated his game even moreso. Defending him in their basic stuff is challenging enough and then the stuff where he's running and flying to the rim, that's the stuff where we've got to, as a team, be back, get bodies on him and all those kind of things."
Jeff Caplan
ESPNDallas.com
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Jeff Caplan
Jeff Caplan joined ESPNDallas.com in December 2009. Jeff covers the Mavericks, Rangers and colleges. He has a wealth of experience in the area, covering multiple beats in his 11-plus years with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Tim MacMahon
Tim MacMahon joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. Tim covers the Cowboys and Mavericks. He has covered the local sports scene from high schools to colleges to pros during his six-year tenure at The Dallas Morning News. MacMahon is a graduate of UNT.
Marc Stein
Marc Stein began writing for ESPN.com in 2000 and signed on full-time in 2002 as Senior NBA Writer. He also makes regular appearances on "SportsCenter," "NBA Shootaround," "NBA Fastbreak," "NBA Coast To Coast," ESPNEWS, ESPN "First Take" and ESPN Radio.
Jeff "Skin" Wade
Jeff Wade joined ESPNDallas.com in November 2009. He is one half of "The Ben & Skin Show," heard weekdays from 9a-12p on 103.3 FM ESPN, and also works as sideline analyst for the TV broadcast of all Maverick home games.
103.3 FM ESPN PODCASTS
Play Podcast ESPN's Stephen A. Smith chimes in on the Dallas Mavericks' season, their free agency plans and more.
Play Podcast Mike and Mike join Ben and Skin to discuss Jerry Jones' window and the Mavs future. They don't see Dirk Nowitzki leaving even if the Mavs miss out on the dream of Deron Williams or Dwight Howard.
Play Podcast Mavs F Dirk Nowitzki says he's too old to stay with a rebuilding franchise but couldn't imagine himself leaving the city of Dallas.
Play Podcast Is the Dwight Howard to the Mavs dream alive? Dwight still wants out of Orlando and it could open the door for the Mavs to put a proposal together.
Play Podcast Mavs guard Delonte West dishes on his desire to return to the Mavs, his relationship with Lebron James and how he ended up hanging out with Dez Bryant over the weekend.
Play Podcast Ben and Skin discuss the three most important figures for the Rangers, Mavs, and Cowboys. Who is the most vital to the ultimate success of each organization?
TEAM LEADERS
| POINTS | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Dirk Nowitzki
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| OTHER LEADERS | ||||||||||||
| Rebounds | S. Marion | 7.4 | ||||||||||
| Assists | J. Kidd | 5.5 | ||||||||||
| Steals | J. Kidd | 1.7 | ||||||||||
| Blocks | B. Wright | 1.3 | ||||||||||
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