Tender Left Ankle

[MavsFanFinley]

This was posted last night. I didn't realize that Dirk rolled his already tender left ankle on Friday. Then he rolled his right one tonight. Thank goodness he's a tough SOB.

Dirk eager to sample Air

Mavs' top scorer was hurt when Jordan came to Dallas in December

03/31/2002

By JODIE VALADE / The Dallas Morning News

WASHINGTON – Of course it would be just Dirk Nowitzki's luck that he would have to go into Sunday hoping.

Hoping that his left ankle isn't tender, that there isn't much swelling and that he can finally, for the first time, face Michael Jordan.

That same tender left ankle that kept Nowitzki from facing his childhood idol, Jordan, in Dallas in December, he rolled again Friday. Nowitzki continued playing against the Boston Celtics after the first-quarter ankle turn, but with both feet dunked in his ritual post-game ice bucket, he admitted he could only hope for the best Sunday after a day of rest.

"I hope it will be fine and I'll be ready to go," he said optimistically.

That's the same ankle that Nowitzki sprained in the third game of the season, and the same one that he tweaked the morning of December's game against Washington when he was putting on his shoe.

This injury is unlikely to stop Nowitzki, who has missed only two games in his career because of injury, from playing. But whether he's hindered is another question. Nowitzki had 18 points and 10 rebounds in the blowout victory over the Celtics, and he said the castlike taping job he has done on his ankles before each game probably prevented a more serious sprain. Nowitzki has been taping his ankles more tightly since the ankle sprain early this season.

Jordan appears to be back to form after missing 12 games because of knee surgery. Jordan will play in his sixth game since returning from knee surgery and has shown signs that he is back to full health; he scored 34 points against Milwaukee on Friday.

"He's been my idol since I was 12 or 13," the 23-year-old Nowitzki said. "He's the best player ever to play the game. It's an honor to go up against him."

Another Maverick who will play against Jordan for the first time will have a more difficult challenge. Greg Buckner is the Mavericks' defensive specialist and probably will have the task of slowing Jordan. Buckner, who was injured in December in the first Mavericks-Wizards meeting, said his focus is less on being in awe of Jordan and more on simply defeating Washington.

"I'm not playing him in his prime," Buckner said of his casual approach to squaring off against Jordan. "It would be different if he was in his prime at the same time I was."

The Mavericks' final game against the Eastern Conference this season not only provides them with their final look at Jordan but also an opportunity for another accomplishment in this season of high achievement: The Mavericks will have defeated every team in the league this season if they top the Wizards in the NBC-televised game. The Wizards are fighting to gain a playoff berth, and the Mavericks hope to retain their one-game lead over San Antonio in the Midwest Division.

"It's going to be a huge game," Nowitzki said.

Briefly...

The Mavericks had a postgame visit from Manute Bol in Boston. Bol played for Mavericks coach Don Nelson with the Golden State Warriors. He provided 7-6 center Shawn Bradley with a rare opportunity – the chance to look up. Bol is 7-7. ... The Mavericks' 50-win season, only the second time the franchise has had back-to-back 50-win seasons, is an accomplishment, Michael Finley said. "It's definitely something to be proud to be a part of," Finley said. "Believe me, I was here when it wasn't as good. But we can't relax. When you raise your standards, your expectations improve. For us, our expectations from last year have improved, and as a result, we have improved."