Dirk Nowitzki Gets All-Star Starting Nod

A very easy call for George Karl to make: “Denver Nuggets coach George Karl has informed league officials that he plans to start Dirk Nowitzki for the West in place of the injured Kobe Bryant in Sunday’s All-Star Game, sources told ESPN.com. Sources close to the situation confirmed that Karl — who is not scheduled to arrive in Dallas until Friday with the Nuggets playing host Thursday night to the Spurs — will move Nowitzki from the hometown Mavericks into the starting lineup even though he’s obviously not a guard. Nowitzki narrowly missed winning a starting spot in fan balloting for the first time when San Antonio’s Tim Duncan made a late surge in the final round of ballot returns to pass the German.”