Nowitzki's injured; Mavs (44-26) could miss playoffs

DALLAS -- Dirk Nowitzki came out of the locker room wearing a blue practice jersey and gray sweat pants, then headed downstairs to the Dallas Mavericks practice court. He slapped hands with Jason Kidd's son and joked with a few other folks nearby.

His light mood changed once he reached the crowd waiting for him.

Nowitzki met with reporters for about 10 minutes Monday to discuss the leg injury he sustained the previous day. He said he feels fortunate it's only a moderate high-ankle sprain and a mildly sprained knee and he hopes to be back in a week or two.

But he also realizes it could be longer and the Mavericks might miss the playoffs without him.

"This is probably the most painful time to miss games," Nowitzki said. "That's very discouraging."

The medical staff can't even set a rehabilitation plan for the reigning MVP until the swelling is gone, which will give them a better feel for the damage.

"We'll take it day-by-day, trust our trainers, trust our doctors, then go from there," Nowitzki said. "Hopefully I can move where I can already go on the underwater treadmill a little bit in the next couple of days so at least I can put some pressure on it and see how it feels."

If there was any good news for the Mavs, it's that the big German moved pretty quickly for a guy with a bulky protective boot on his left leg. And, while Nowitzki was talking, Kidd was putting in extra work on his jump shot. Dallas will need all the scoring it can get without Nowitzki's 23.6 points per game.

The Mavericks (44-26) have lost three straight and are only 9-8 since Kidd arrived in a blockbuster trade that was supposed bolster their championship chances.

Now, with 12 games left, Dallas has some work to do to keep alive a streak of seven straight playoff trips. The Mavericks are a half-game ahead of Golden State and 1½ up on Denver after the Nuggets beat the Grizzlies on Monday.

Three of the Mavs' next five games are against Golden State and Denver.