It's fortunate that Alonzo Mourning has broad shoulders.

On Monday, a reflective Mourning admitted that he's not only "shouldering the load" for his team's 2-4 start, but that he's still feeling the physical and mental effects from last week's bout with food poisoning.

"You get a little discouraged," Mourning said after practice at AmericanAirlines Arena. "You know you've been through a whole training camp of positive production, seeing progress each and every day, then you reach a point you feel you're making strides and boom, you hit this wall and you take not just one step back, you take about five steps back. You just got to collect yourself."

Mourning missed two games and four practices, and he dropped seven pounds while warding off a 102-degree fever. Because he was unable to keep food down, Mourning briefly was hospitalized and couldn't take his daily kidney medication for the first time since being diagnosed with focal glomerulosclerosis.