Dirk Nowitzki: ‘My Knees Feel Fine … I Am Ready To Go’


The ’11-12 season was a bit of a rough one for Dirk Nowitzki—filled with knee injuries that held him back for much of the year—but the German big man is reportedly entirely healthy at the moment, and ready to give it another go. More via the Dallas Morning News: “Dirk Nowitzki has some encouraging words for Mavericks fans who might be, at best, unenthusiastic about the team going into the season and, at worst, downright jaded. First, he’s not the least bit disheartened by the moves — or lack of marquee moves — the Mavericks made this summer. In fact, he’s encouraged about the possibilities with training camp opening this week. Second, and more important, Nowitzki feels wonderful physically. His right knee that gave him such trouble during the first half of the shortened season in 2011-12 no longer is a concern to him. That’s huge. ‘I tried to keep in shape all summer long so that it would not be hard to pick up my usual training routine,’ Nowitzki said in an email interview. ‘I feel great. My knees feel fine, and that’s important. I am ready to go.’ Nowitzki has been working out extensively in Germany with his friend and mentor, Holger Geschwindner. Nowitzki, 34, had an eventful off-season. He got married in July and while the honeymoon is still going, it hasn’t stopped the 11-time all-star from making sure that a repeat of last season doesn’t happen. That’s when he started terribly because the lockout canceled the first eight weeks of the season. When it finally started on Christmas, Nowitzki was not in game shape and his knees let him know it. He needed a midseason boot camp to get back in gear and finished the season strongly. He averaged 21.6 points and 6.8 rebounds, the lowest numbers since his first two seasons in the league.”