Dirk Nowitzki wishes this was November, or at worst December, but instead it's March and only recently has his 40-year-old body cooperated the way he hoped it would in this, his record-tying 21st year in the NBA.
"Those seven weeks I missed with the inflamed [left ankle] tendon just really messed up the entire season for me," he said. "But you can't cry about it."
Twenty-one games remain in the Mavericks' season and, perhaps, in Nowitzki's illustrious career. It's probably too late for trade-gutted Dallas to make a legitimate push for a playoff berth, but not too late for Nowitzki to salvage something of the season.