Finley will wait on hamstring

[Ummmmm Ok]

Finley will wait on hamstring

Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports: Michael Finley is going to wait until he is 100 percent healed before he returns to the Dallas Mavericks.

Finley, who has not played since March 18th against Cleveland and has missed the team's last four games, won't come back from his strained left hamstring until it is 100 percent healed.

Yesterday, Finley went through a brief, full-court practice and he didn't feel like he was 100 percent.

"It was just to the point where I personally didn't have 100 percent confidence, like I thought I would," Finley said of the workout, his most vigorous since straining his left hamstring March 18. "They said that's what to expect my first time out full court. The pain was more or less because of the fatigue. That's the most I've done. I felt the pain in a different spot in my leg because of the fatigue. As far as the original hamstring pain, it was very limited."

Because of this, Finley is likely to miss tonight's game at Portland.

He is officially listed as a game-time decision.

Finley's main reasons for sitting out the past few games are because of his experience with his hamstring last year and the Mav's success without him.

Last year, Finley missed two games with that same hamstring, came back and played two, and then missed the next 11 games because it flared up again.

"I don't want to go into a game and have that same feeling that I had last year when I came back [too soon]," he said. "I want to wait until I'm definitely beyond that in the recovery process. I want to have 100 percent confidence in it.

"If I hadn't experienced this last year, I probably would have played two games ago, not knowing the severity that it could be. Last year, I came back and wasn't quite 100 percent. And as the intensity of the game picked up and my leg got tired, I tried to do some things out of instinct and my mind was saying yes, but my leg was saying no.

"And it ended up flaring up again. If that happens, I'll be missing a lot longer than I am now."

While he is not ruling out playing tonight, he wants to come back when he can definitely contribute.

"I don't want to come in 50 percent," he said. "I want to come in when I definitely can contribute. If I wake up, get a nice workout in and it feels great, I might give it a shot. I don't know. It's a weird injury. Some days I feel great. Some days I don't.

"If this was Game 7, I'd be dressing. But it's not. So I have the option of resting it some more."

[MavsFanFinley]

I'm happy that he's admitting that he's not 100 percent. And that he's not wanting to rush back before he's healthy. I mean, I'm not happy that he's not 100% yet, but that he is being cautious.

Here's another take, same stuff, but from the FWST.

I'm also not happy to hear Najera is feeling pain in his knee after playing 37 minutes against the Clippers. And that Raja Bell injured his left hand late in the same game. Read that in the FWST too, but it didn't mention either would miss any time.

Mavericks Notes

Finley is hamstrung by injury

By Dwain Price
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

PORTLAND - Mavericks guard Michael Finley probably won't play in tonight's game against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Finley said he was fatigued and felt some pain in his hamstring Thursday after going through his first full-scale workout at the Blazers' practice facility. He hasn't played since March 18, when he suffered a strained left hamstring against Cleveland.

"It was just to the point where I personally didn't have 100 percent confidence like I thought I would have once I was out there," Finley said. "I don't want to come in at 50 percent and have that affect the team and affect me in the playoffs. I want to come in when I can definitely contribute. Right now, it's not at the point where I want it to be from a physical standpoint."

Finley, officially listed as day-to-day, will likely miss his fifth consecutive game tonight when the Mavericks meet the Blazers at 9:30 in the Rose Garden.

"If this was Game 7 [of a playoff series], I'd be dressing [tonight]," Finley said. "But it's not. That's why it gives me the option to either sit it out or play."

Finley plans to test the hamstring again this morning before ruling himself out of tonight's game.

"It's an injury that you wait on," coach Don Nelson said. "I wouldn't say it's a setback until we start losing some games we should win, and this team has done a great job of finding a way to win. But I'm not going to put him in there until he's ready to go."

The Mavericks are 3-1 since Finley's injury.

Last season, Finley strained the same hamstring, came back two games later, then re-injured the hamstring again and had to sit out 11 more games.

"I don't want to come back and, in a game situation, it comes back on me like it did last year," Finley said. "Because if that does happen, then I'll definitely miss a lot longer than I'm missing now."