Dirk Nowitzki returns after missing over 2 months with knee injury

The Mavericks (12-16) trailed 64-52 at the half before falling to pieces offensively in the second half. With the Mavericks putting just 14 points on the board in the third quarter, the Spurs built a sizable lead by adding 36 of their own in the frame. The Spurs (21-8) shot 56 percent from the floor in the 38-point win, as Dallas was powerless to stop a suddenly-hot San Antonio team.

While he isn’t expected to start, getting Nowitzki back in the lineup would be a huge boost for the Mavericks (12-15), who are in fourth place in the Southwest Division and 12th place in the Western Conference.

Nowitzki, an 11-time All-Star, had the precautionary surgery to take care of swelling and soreness in his right knee. He was expected to miss six weeks, but Nowitzki has been out for seven weeks. He practiced for the first time this season on Wednesday, Dec. 19.

The 11-time All-Star has missed the first two months of the NBA season after undergoing precautionary knee surgery in training camp due to swelling and soreness in his right knee. He was originally expected to miss only six weeks, but the Mavs have been very cautious with his rehabilitation process.

There’s still no timetable as to when he can actually begin playing, but he’s not expected to be back in the line-up until at least after New Year’s.

Nowitzki, who has been sidelined since undergoing surgery in mid-October, was limited to dribbling and running without full-speed running or cutting in his workout on Wednesday. Swelling in the knee pushed the 34-year-old’s rehabilitation schedule back a bit further than he had hoped, and as a result, the speed of his recovery has slowed.

The 11-time All-Star has been pleased with his recovery, but admitted that the slow road back has been frustrating.

Nowitzki, bothered by soreness and swelling in the knee for most of the preseason, underwent surgery on Friday with the team announcing a timetable for his return to be around six weeks. MacMahon reports, however, that the team is optimistic after the surgery for a much quicker return.

The star forward had to take four games off last season due to soreness in the knee and conditioning concerns, and had to have the knee drained twice this preseason before opting for surgery.

But the Mavs have no reason to panic. While they are expecting Nowitzki to be out for six weeks, the procedure usually requires four to six weeks of recovery time, so there is the possibility of an earlier return. Also, even if he does miss six weeks, he will only miss 16 games. That leaves him 66 games to play, which is a fair number for a 34-year-old.

Even without Nowitzki, those are some very winnable games for the Mavs. If they can just manage to get through Nowitzki’s injury, which looks doable considering the schedule, they should be in fine shape to make yet another run at the playoffs.

If Nowitzki misses the full six weeks, he would return on December 1 and be out of action for 16 games. The Mavericks have a relatively soft early schedule -- they have eight games against playoff teams from a year ago, but only three are against teams that advanced past the first round -- so they could tread water until Nowitzki returns.

But none of those names are efficient offensive options, especially when creating their own shots. Who will the Mavericks go to now when they need a score? Collison? Mayo? Kaman? Collison is too erratic, Mayo is too much of a jump-shooter and Kaman, while able to soak up a volume of possessions, is not nearly efficient enough. The Mavericks have absolutely nobody who can get anything easy, so without some magical offensive sets by Carlisle, they are going to have a ton of trouble scoring. This was a team that was 22nd in offensive efficiency with Nowitzki last year. How will they score without him?

Instead of playing, Nowitzki has been doing cardio workouts alongside Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who said his All-Star franchise centerpiece will “be just fine” in a report by Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com on Wednesday.

While surgery on Nowitzki’s sore knee remains a possibility in the coming weeks if it isn’t healing properly, Cuban is leaving the decision in the hands of the forward and the team’s experts, saying in the report, “I trust our medical staff. Whatever is going to happen, we’re going to be fine.”

Nowitzki sat out Tuesday’s exhibition in Spain against FC Barcelona Regal. Nowitzki played through similar pain last season, and it hampered him so much that he had his worst statistical season since 1999-2000. He also needed four games off to improve his conditioning and get treatment on the knee.