Rick Carlisle wanted to make it clear that the Mavericks are not playing it coy with Dirk Nowitzki's strained right Achilles.
They simply are doing the right things to make sure Nowitzki has the best chance of playing as much as possible this season without any lingering problems.
Carlisle said "indefinitely" is the best term to describe how long Nowitzki will be out. He's already missed 12 games with the injury, including Saturday's visit by Chicago to American Airlines Center.
"I talked to Casey (Smith, athletic trainer) about it (on Friday) and I think he's going to be out for a while," Carlisle said. "I think indefinitely is an accurate word until we tell you something. We're not trying to hide anything here. But taking daily questions about it gets exhausting for him. If it's not going to happen real soon, then what's the point. Progress has been made, it's just not there yet."
Carlisle added that Seth Curry (right knee sprain) is also out Saturday against the Bulls, as is J.J. Barea (left calf).
