Mavericks big man Dirk Nowitzki suffered a setback in his recovery from left ankle surgery during the week before training camp opened, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. After he felt soreness in his Achilles while playing pickup games at Dallas’ practice facility, Nowitzki’s on-court work has been limited and his availability to start the regular season is up in the air.
“This is weeks, not days, as far as getting on the court for live action,” Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said of Nowitzki’s timetable, per MacMahon. “He is making gradual progress, but we’re not just at a point where we can talk about a hard timeline or anything like that.”
Nowitzki, who re-signed with the Mavericks in July after turning 40 in June, averaged 12.0 PPG and 5.7 RPG in 77 games (24.7 MPG) last season, with a very respectable shooting line of .456/.409/.898. The longtime Mav has indicated that he’d like to keep playing as long as he remains healthy and productive, as he was last season. It appears this season is off to a more ominous start in terms of his health, however.
As MacMahon details, Nowitzki has yet to practice with Dallas this preseason and won’t do so during the club’s week-long trip in China. Carlisle suggests that the 40-year-old likely won’t need “a lot of full, live workouts” before getting into a game, but he’ll need to be able to go all-out and feel good afterwards.
“He’s making gradual progress,” Carlisle said. “We need to have him make some real significant progress, get him on the court, and then we can talk about it.”
A lot of achilles injuries lately. Gay, Cousins, that kid from New Mexico Lyle. I wonder if there is a reason. A lot of these guys train together and share training regimens
These guys are into Hot yoga. Too much fluid lost and not enough water retention. Our body is 50 to 70% water something like that. You dehydrate to lose weight or whatever reason these guys do it to stay chiseled, and your muscles and tendons or whatever don’t have the water necessary. Just a thought.
You set out a sequence of events stemming from a player’s desire to look as cut as possible…
So I believe it.
Hot yoga (and the like), is something low-energy that can be done after muscle-building activities that for a tall mirror user, provides visual rewards for the work invested. But it does deplete liquids.