Art Garcia | Mavs.com

Posted: March 6, 2008

Dirk Nowitzki wasn’t surprised by the one-game suspension that followed Monday’s takedown of Andrei Kirilenko. Addressing the league punishment at Thursday’s shootaround, Nowitzki thought the league office decided the issue before even talking to him Wednesday morning.

“That’s why they review stuff and they have the right to do whatever they want,” he said. “To me the guys at the NBA that make the decision, they never played the sport in their lives. They don’t know what it is, they don’t how it feels like to be out there and get caught in the air, so they really don’t know what’s going on in a player’s head.”

Nowitzki wasn’t sure what the deciding factor was in the league’s ruling. He reiterated that he didn’t intentionally try to hurt Kirilenko, even though the collision appeared violent because Nowitzki came down across his neck.

Though he hates to lose the reigning MVP, Avery Johnson did put the suspension in some perspective.

“Definitely wasn’t trying to injure him,” Johnson said. “We’re a much more physical team than what we used to be, but we don’t want to injure anybody. That’s the league decision and I guess if one of our players were in that situation, we probably would want the same thing to happen.”

Nowitzki spoke with a league security official once before practice Wednesday. The league notified assistant general manager Keith Grant of the suspension without talking to Nowitzki again.

“They didn’t feel the need to talk me again, so I figure why even bother calling them in the morning and tell my story if this is going to happen anyway,” Nowitzki said. “I think they already had their mind made up, so it’s really for nothing.”

Nowitzki’s frustration with the “hearing” process was obvious. Unlike other sports, the NBA doesn’t grant appeals after suspensions are announced. He sat out the Rockets game, but will be back when Devin Harris, Gana Diop and the rest of the New Jersey Nets visit Saturday.

As he explained Monday night, Nowitzki wasn’t trying to hurt Kirilenko. He just got caught up in the air after the Russian pump-faked under the basket, and his arm came down across his neck. Kirilenko fell on his right hip and was in obvious pain. He was later taken to the hospital for further tests.

“Just a bad, bad feeling,” Nowitzki said. “First of all, he’s a fellow European. I know him very well. We played against each other growing up, so I have a lot of respect for him. I don’t play ever to hurt people. I think everybody knows that.

“It’s just an unfortunate incident. As soon he got up, I walked over there and wanted to know if he’s OK, but he couldn’t really say much to me. At halftime I went up to their trainer that I know and asked him how he’s doing. I felt bad, but plays like that happen in this league. You have athletes going at each other at 100 mph and everybody is going fast and playing hard, and stuff happens.”

Nowitzki did add: “The unfortunate part was that Kirilenko jumped up, too. If he would have stayed on the ground and then I would have just landed awkward on his back, I would have just grabbed him and everything [would have been] OK.”

Time to make a stand

The Rockets were the start of a critical five-game homestand. The Mavs began the night seventh in the Western Conference.

“We need all those games to make a statement and put us back in position where we want to be in and just try to stay positive throughout this homestretch,” Josh Howard said.

Howard was asked if the situation, in terms of playoff positioning, has sunk in for a team that owned the best record in the league last season.

“The whole Western Conference has sunk in with us, as far as the talent has gotten better, teams have gotten better,” Howard added. “We need to step it up.”

Brandon fills in for Dirk

Brandon Bass made his first Mavs start in place of Dirk Nowitzki. The rugged power forward plays a game that can’t be confused with Nowitzki’s, so Bass wasn’t about to try to be the MVP.

“I’m not thinking about it too much,” Bass said before the game. “I’m just going to go out and play. It’s not going to be Dirk. It’s going to be Brandon Bass in my role, just the same as when I come off the bench. Give us my little spark on defense and offense.”

Johnson didn’t have to give Bass a pep talk before the game. Bass said he didn’t need the extra pressure.

“I definitely feel more comfortable,” Bass said.

Layups

• Tyronn Lue probably won’t make his debut until next week. The new backup point guard is nursing a calf strain and has only been through one practice. Eventually, Avery Johnson wants to get 10-12 minutes per game out of Lue.

• Eddie Jones and Jamaal Magloire were also on the inactive list against Houston. The MRI test performed on Jones this week confirmed left knee tendonitis.