It’s becoming dangerous to be a big man in the NBA’s Western Conference. The Rockets’ Yao Ming is out for the rest of the season. The Lakers’ Pau Gasol has been benched the past couple of days with an ankle sprain.

And now the Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki has fallen with some leg issues of his own. The Mavs’ official site announced that an MRI on the reigning MVP revealed a “moderate” left high ankle sprain and “mild” left knee sprain. So, how long will Dirk be riding pine?

The Mavs say Nowitzki will be out “for at least the next week, and possibly longer, though no official timetable has been set for his return.” Maybe he might decide to sit out longer to help Germany’s chances at the Olympics this summer.

Meanwhile, the Lake Show could be getting back their center performer very soon. Mike Bresnahan of the LOS ANGELES TIMES reports that Gasol will not be traveling with the team for tonight’s game against the Warriors, but could be back in uniform by Wednesday against the Bobcats.

As for Nowitzki, we’re not sure that any knee injury would feel mild, but Dirk feels fortunate that nothing worse happened:

“My leg kind of got caught in the wrong place, so it’s just a little disappointing now, but the good thing is it could have been a lot worse. I was really lucky. Something more could have happened to my knee or my leg could have been broken, so I think this is the best-case scenario.”

And what makes it an even better scenario for Dirk?

Nowitzki is on pain killers and anti-inflammatory medication.

Woo! He gets to pop pills for the next week or so. Lucky guy.