Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki, recovering from a strained right Achilles, told ESPN.com on Thursday that he has begun to resume on-court work as he moves toward a return to the lineup.
But Nowitzki stressed that, as much as he wants to play in Dallas' two-game swing on the East Coast next week, he'll need to get through a full-speed practice or two this weekend with no setbacks before he's cleared to play.
"It's definitely better, but I really haven't done much yet," Nowitzki told ESPN.com. "Today was good, but we didn't go anything close to full speed.