Rick Carlisle: Chris Kaman questionable for opener
Kaman has been sidelined the last week with a strained right calf. He said Monday that he is “pretty sure” he would be ready for the opener but could not guarantee anything.
“I don’t know how realistic that is,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “We’re going to have to evaluate him each day and just see what’s what.”
Carlisle said Kaman had made some “mild progress,” but he’s not ready to practice even in limited fashion and will not play in Friday’s preseason finale.
Despite Dirk Nowitzki's absence to start the season, the Mavs will err on the side of caution with the only other 7-footer on the roster. Kaman has missed a total of 152 games over the previous five seasons due to a variety of injuries.
“We’ve got to be smart about this,” Carlisle said. “We’ve got to make sure that this thing is addressed and that we can get it resolved. This is 82 games this year. It’s not 66. We’ve got to have him for the long haul.”
Center/forward Brandan Wright also did not practice Thursday after twisting his ankle in the previous night’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. However, Carlisle said Wright’s injury is not serious. Wright is questionable for Friday night.
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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.
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TEAM LEADERS
| POINTS | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Dirk Nowitzki
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| OTHER LEADERS | ||||||||||||
| Rebounds | S. Marion | 7.8 | ||||||||||
| Assists | D. Collison | 5.1 | ||||||||||
| Steals | D. Collison | 1.2 | ||||||||||
| Blocks | E. Brand | 1.3 | ||||||||||
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