Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Los Angeles Lakers (29-9) at Dallas Mavericks (25-12)
Dirk Nowitzki will be the first to tell you that he has come a long way since entering the NBA in 1998.
Nowitzki, a player that has seemingly done it all in his career, now sits just 16 points away from becoming the 34th player in NBA history to reach the 20,000-point milestone. It is a distinction the German product didn't see in sight as a rookie, but not many did.
"That's an unbelievable milestone. Looking back 11 years ago, I don't think any of you guys would have thought I would have scored 1,000, probably," Nowitzki told members of the media.
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
While it's euphoric for the 7-footer, he has not loss sight of his ultimate goal, and that's to lead his team to an NBA title. Until he lifts the Larry O'Brien Trophy above his head, No. 41 sees 20,000 points as an accomplishment that he will not fully appreciate until his career comes to an end.
"It's pretty amazing how far I got in 12 years, but my main goal now is to win a championship. All of the individual goals will be nice once my career is over, I can look back -- hey, I scored 20,000 points, I got an MVP...All that is sweet, but it doesn't mean that much to me as of right now. I'm still trying to chase my dreams and that's winning a championship," Nowitzki said.
But while the Mavericks' leader is not in awe of the feat, his teammates are. Point guard Jason Kidd is particularly impressed because of Nowitzki's unique journey to get into the league.
"I think the biggest thing is being able to come from Europe, settle in and get better each year -- adding something to his game each time he took the floor. It just shows how hard he works at the game of basketball and that's why he is one of the best."
If Nowitzki is going to reach the milestone on Wednesday night, it will come against a daunting Los Angeles Lakers team. The Mavericks and Lakers are tied at 1-1 in the season series, but Dallas is looking to erase the memories of a 131-96 road loss on Jan. 3. L.A. comes into Dallas losers of four straight on the road.
But against the defending champions, Mavs coach Rick Carlisle will not be looking to force the issue to get Nowitzki involved early. Instead the coach will stick to the usual game plan, which still includes looking Nowitzki's way within the flow of the offense.
"We're going to play our game, and our game certainly involves getting (Nowitzki) involved a lot early," Carlisle said. "We're not thinking about that milestone...That will happen when it happens. But it certainly is a phenomenal achievement. No question."
The Mavericks may be without starting center Erick Dampier (left knee soreness) and Josh Howard (left thigh contusion) though each made it through the team's morning shootaround and are listed as probable. Tim Thomas is out for Wednesday's game with an Achilles injury, while new addition Eduardo Najera is inactive.
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
Pau Gasol's status for the game is unknown. The Lakers are expected to still have Kobe Bryant, after the superstar left a 105-85 loss in San Antonio with back spasms on Tuesday night.
"Oh, he'll play," Carlisle said with no doubt that Bryant will play in a meeting between the two best teams in the Western Conference.
"We want to see how good we are," Nowitzki said of the matchup. "I always said regular season games don't mean that much, but it's still a fun game. You can still see how good you are and how well you're playing."
The Mavericks-Lakers matchup will air locally on KTXA 21 and KTXA HD at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.
Dallas and the NBA have introduced the official NBA All-Star game ballot, featuring Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, Shawn Marion and Jason Terry. For more on how to vote for your favorite Mavs for the All-Star game, to be held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, visit Mavs.com.
Follow Mavs.com’s Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment