Josh Howard was asked before tonight's game if he's had his left foot and ankle sufficiently poked and probed.
"Their still looking at it,'' he said.
Howard went through a battery of tests Friday and the next step is to see an ankle and foot specialist. The Mavericks said they will know more about Howard's status on Monday before they leave for Phoenix and a four-game western road swing.
Since I never got my medical degree, it's probably not fair to speculate about Howard's health. All we know for sure is he's out tonight.
But if you go by the signals being sent out, it sounds like this could be a lingering problem for a few more games. Hey, that's not bad news, as long as rest fixes Howard's pain.
Coach Rick Carlisle had this to say about Howard's injury:
"He had a lot of tests yesterday and is seeing a specialist on Monday. Then we'll know more. Look, we haven't had Stackhouse all year, and he's one of our top five guys. People forget about that one.
"I'm hoping for the best. But it's Mother Nature at work again. We got great doctors, but if he's in pain and it's affecting him, he can't play. So we got to get him better. Whatever amount of time that takes, it's going to take. So we'll see.''
--Eddie Sefko
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