Mavs' Nowitzki starts running, still weeks away

Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki resumed basketball activity Wednesday but remains weeks away from making his season debut.

Nowitzki said in a courtside interview during ESPN's telecast of the Mavericks-Los Angeles Clippers game he ran on the court and got some shots up Wednesday for the first time since undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Oct. 19.

"The swelling is gone, so now I think we can push it more and more from week to week," Nowitzki said. "I did a lot of cardio last week. Now, I'm actually trying to run the court, get some shots up. Maybe next week, start running more, start cutting and reintroduce more week by week. Hopefully, in a couple of weeks, I'll get back out there."

Moments later, the 11-time All-Star added, "I'm hoping in a few weeks. It's kind of hard to say."

The 34-year-old Nowitzki, who never had missed more than nine games in any of his 14 NBA seasons, originally hoped to resume basketball activity within a few weeks of his operation. The typical recovery timetable from arthroscopic knee surgery is three to six weeks, and Nowitzki has acknowledged he was frustrated that his knee didn't respond as well as he hoped and anticipated.

About a month after the surgery, Nowitzki adjusted his goal to be ready to play by mid-December. However, he consistently has been adamant that he won't rush back before his knee and body are ready for game action, saying he plans to play at least another three seasons.

"We'll just have to play it week by week," Nowitzki said. "I'm looking forward to being out there. This is the longest I've ever been out. Watching is not my favorite thing to do. Hopefully, I'll be out there soon."