SAN ANTONIO — It has been more than a week since Dallas Mavericks forward Shawn Marion suffered a left calf contusion in a home game against the Houston Rockets.
That’s the last time Marion played in a game. And the Mavs and Marion are concerned that the injury has lingered to the point where it could be something more serious.Marion, who has missed the last four games, is slated to visit with team physician Dr. T.O. Souryal on Friday to see why his injury has reached Day 10 without any resolution.“It’s real frustrating, but everybody’s been very supportive and I’m just trying to get myself right,” Marion said. “Our training staff makes sure we monitor everything correctly, and we gauge everything on a daily basis and try to go from there. One day I thought it was feeling OK, and I said I should have just sat my [butt] down. But it is what it is. Right now I’m just trying to get better every day.”Wright’s arrivalCoach Rick Carlisle said Chris Wright, the Mavs’ newest point guard, cleared a big hurdle when Dallas signed Wright to a 10-day contract.“He just got here [Wednesday],” Carlisle said. “That’s the biggest challenge.”Indeed it is a big challenge for Wright, who, on Wednesday, became the first player with multiple sclerosis to be on an NBA roster. And what perfect timing for Wright — it’s MS Awareness Week.Wright agreed with Carlisle that making the team was his biggest challenge thus far.“I’m just trying to make the team and get on the team,” Wright said. “I’m honored to be here and be in front of Dirk Nowitzki and guys like that.”Wright averaged 15.5 points and seven assists in 38 games this season for the Iowa Energy of the D-League. Carlisle likes what he’s seen thus far from Wright.“You can tell he’s got dynamic athletic capability and his skill is really good,” Carlisle said. “He picked up our stuff pretty well [Wednesday] in a first-time work-through.”Carlisle said he’s “not qualified” to answer any questions about MS. But, “he’s been playing at a high level in the D-League and now he’s on an NBA roster, so he’s fine.”No comment on KobeCoach Rick Carlisle wouldn’t take the bait when asked if he was surprised that Atlanta Hawks forward Dahntay Jones received so much flak on a play in which Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant was injured.On Wednesday, Bryant went up for a jumper, and his left foot came down on Jones’ foot. The end result: Bryant sprained his left ankle and is out indefinitely.“I didn’t see the play, and I’m not going to get involved in anything having to do with saying anything about anything happening to Kobe Bryant,” Carlisle said. “I think our owner showed what can happen with that about 10 days ago.”On Feb. 22, two days before the Mavs hosted the Lakers, owner Mark Cuban went on a national radio show and hypothetically said the Lakers should slap the amnesty clause on Bryant.The Lakers won the game 103-99 behind 38 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists from Bryant. After the game, Bryant took to Twitter and tweeted, “Amnesty THAT.”Dwain Price, 817-390-7760 Twitter: @dwainprice
