Nowitzki in a good place

You might remember Avery Johnson saying on the last road trip, in suburban Detroit actually, that Dirk Nowitzki was having his best season ever. Johnson expounded on that topic somewhat today.

Here are a few telling quotes:

“He’s in a good place right now mentally. He’s stronger physically, he’s the strongest mentally I’ve ever seen him and its great to see him this way. He’s really getting geared up.”

“He’s setting himself up for a great finish this year.”

“His leadership has been tremendous this year. He doesn’t let as many little things bother him as in the past. He’s been very, very positive with his teammates. I can see him, even when JJ [Barea] makes a mistake, he’s really doing a job of picking him up. He’s been doing it with Devin [Harris]. I had to play judge-and-jury one preseason game with him and Devin. He’s been really good with his mental state of mind right now, physically he’s lifted weights harder than he ever has and we’re seeing the benefits of it.”