Nowitzki: Mavericks have 'legit shot' to make playoffs
The Dallas Mavericks are down, but not out.
Despite a horrendous start to the season that saw them lose 13 of their first 15 games, the postseason is miraculously still within reach for the 10-24 Mavs. After winning seven games last month, Dallas remains in last place in the West, but only 4.5 games back of the eighth seed.
Dirk Nowitzki expressed some optimism in that regard.
"We obviously know we still have a legit shot," he told reporters Monday.
"We gotta put a little string together, we gotta play better, gotta find ways in games that we're there to close some of those out, and not always come out on the losing end. But I feel like the last, whatever, couple weeks, I think we're playing like .500 ball, which is OK, which is a lot better than when we started off."
The 38-year-old German, who's missed the majority of the campaign due to various ailments, also pointed to all the injuries the Mavs have dealt with. They're fifth in the league with 87 man games missed due to injury, but have welcomed back all but one player (J.J. Barea) from the IR list.
That's one of the reasons Nowtizki echoed team owner Mark Cuban's sentiment in shutting down the notion the club ought to roll over and tank.
"And now hopefully we are more healthy and can take it another step, and just let it all rip," the 13-time All-Star continued. "We're all competitors and coach (Rick Carlisle) obviously is pushing us every day. I don't think we're really playing for draft position. We're playing to win every night."
Dallas is facing an uphill battle, as it would have to win enough games to leapfrog six teams in the standings, but it certainly has a chance with more than half the season still to be played. If the Mavericks aren't able to turn things around, however, it'd mark just the second playoff-less campaign in 17 years.
Nowitkzi inked a two-year, $50-million deal over the summer, but admitted he could retire after this season if his body can't hold up. That, coupled with the team's struggles since winning its first title in 2011, could make for a sad ending to the future Hall of Famer's career.