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Speaking with reporters today, Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said that Dirk Nowitzki is weeks away from a return.
Dirk has not done any significant court work and could be given an update in 10 days or so. Rick Carlisle says it will be at least 2 weeks before he’s ready to play.
— Brice Paterik (@80GradeWhitt) October 12, 2018
Barnes is improving and Rick said he might be able to give us an update on Monday.
When we pair this news with the previous reporting on October 3rd, it’s a reasonable assumption to make that Dirk Nowitzki will not see the court this month. The Mavericks manage to play eight games in October, despite the season not starting until October 17th.
These missed games for Dirk can become a problem for Dallas quickly when considering their playoff aspirations. The Mavericks started each of the last two seasons in truly atrocious fashion, winning just two of their first fifteen games each season.
The Harrison Barnes information is also newsworthy. Getting Barnes back, even in limited fashion, would be a big boost for a team looking to incorporate a host of new pieces. Anything that would ease the acclimation of Luka Doncic, DeAndre Jordan, Jalen Bruson, and Ryan Broekhoff should be good for the chances of Dallas getting off to a better start than they have in recent years.
Above all else, we’ll simply have to be patient. Perhaps there will be good news on the status of Harrison Barnes on Monday.