[dude1394]

Nice one on how quickly things can change in SPORTS!... And the guy is right on, in that the dirkster takes much more of a pounding than the guys simmons talked about in an earlier column. And he posts up WAY, WAY more these days than folks give him credit for.

http://riceofpassage.blogspot.com/20...fe-can-be.html

When Dirk Nowitzki awkwardly stood on the baseline right in front of the Mavericks bench, holding his right wrist, my stomach was in my shoes. Anything could have happened, especially with the way he was favoring it and not trying to shake it off. Was it broken? Did he sprain it? Could it be something with his hand? OH GOD THUMB SURGERY (the worst words I can imagine for a basketball player besides "microfacture surgery.") If you don't think thumb surgery is brutal go look up Miller, Mike in the basketball encyclopedia. He's just now getting over the injury he suffered in late October and appearing somewhat back to Mike Miller normalcy.

It was learned it was nothing more than a jammed wrist. Slap some tape on it and Dirk was back on the court, although very hesitant to do anything more than he had to. It's understandable as the right wrist of Dirk is his bread and butter. But my constant night long heart attack had to continue because the Mavericks almost dropped a game to the D-League All-Stars and word was Dirk was getting an x-ray. I was eventually calmed by the negative results, but it got me thinking that the injury-free karma train the Mavericks have been riding has almost undoubtedly kicked them off. Roddy Beaubois, Caron Butler, Tyson Chandler (if only for a game or two) and Dirk have all missed time. Considering the clean injury history this franchise has had since Dirk arrived, I guess you could say we were due.

I just can't help but think how lucky Dirk's jammed wrist was. If you saw the play, you know what I mean -- his wrist was pulled back awkwardly as Ian Mahinmi squished it on accident going for a rebound. There are hundreds of bones in the hand and wrist, anything could be cracked. I should know as I rather embarrassingly fell and broke the tiniest bone in my wrist that kept me from any basketball activities for six weeks. Perhaps the Dallas Mavericks injury luck was shining right there. But this season has forced me to have an average of six heart attacks anytime a player doesn't immediately bounce back off the court. It just worries me that much. And it makes my head spin that if Dirk's wrist had bent at a slightly different angle or maybe a centimeter farther back, the Mavericks season would be put into the toilet.

On the subject of injuries, health and luck, I have to point out a slight disagreement I have with Bill Simmons assessment of Dirk Nowitzki's ability to continue to define the 30-year-old line NBA players face. He labels Dirk in with perimeter players which is a slight discount to Dirk's durability. Simmons is right in every way about how NBA players are getting stronger and how remarkable these players are in their later years, but while Dirk's skill sets scream perimeter player, it isn't the exact truth. Dirk battles in the post far more than any of the players he listed and posts up more often (despite Kobe's newfound approach to the post.) Even if we disagree on Dirk's post play with his offensive game, there's no denying Dirk takes much more punishment on the defensive end, having to help in the paint, rebound and endure the hardships that are wrestling for a basketball. To this end, it makes Dirk's iron-man abilities even more astounding and makes me wish I never have to see Dirk looked dazed, confused and awkward on the baseline at the end of a quarter ever again.