As long as Vince Carter doesn?t have to miss too many games this year due to school commitments ? we hear North Carolina purposely scheduled its big Sadie Hopkins Sock Hop for a Raptors? night off, and his mom is dropping off his papier-m?ch? volcano project for the Tar Heels? big Science Fair ? Toronto is a contender.
     As long as Carter?s 1998 Draft classmate Dirk Nowitzki (both pictured) is unavailable, as was the case for most of Friday?s 109-92 loss at Toronto, Dallas is not a contender.
     Nowitzki drove toward the left baseline and tried to get a step on defender Antonio Davis ? but instead stepped on Davis? foot, spraining his left ankle. The injury was serious enough to prevent the UberMan from attempting his ensuing free throws, and because NBA rules dictate that once an injured player?s free throws are attempted by someone else, said injured player is done for the night, Nowitzki was finished.
     Not coincidentally, so were the Mavs.
     ?It is not that bad,?? said Nowitzki, now listed day-to-day. ?But it was pretty scary. It is actually pretty good, I can put some weight on it. I just caught his foot under my foot and rolled it.??
     The seriousness of Dirk?s ankle injury? It is hoped that the rule was more of an issue than the sprain. But this much is clear: Dallas isn?t Dallas if Dirk isn?t Dirk.
     Oh, the Mavs fell behind 16-2 to open the game (six of them from Morris Peterson, who finished with (23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds), so Dirk?s presence while going 0-of-2 from the floor wasn?t all that influencial, either.
     But without Nowitzki?s ability to go off for 21 or 20 (his totals in the Mavs? first two games, both wins), Dallas faced an uphill struggle as it fell behind by 25 at halftime and, despite a 10-1 in the third, by 24 in the fourth. (When coach Don Nelson reflected on the loss by saying, ?Even without Dirk going down it would have been tough,?? he wasn?t completely dismissing the possibility.) Michael Finley, naturally, was key to the mini-run, with eight of the points on a pair of 3?s and another jumper. But he finished with just 17, as did Timmy Hardaway. And no one else ? not even Don?s Doghouse denizens Evan Eschmeyer and Donnell Harvey ? had enough to offer.