Rookie Shane Larkin Sets Goal For Returning

Rookie Shane Larkin has had a disappointing couple of weeks.
The new Mavericks player was hoping to play victoriously through two cities he's called home most of his life. 
But a broken ankle kept him from doing so on Friday in Miami and yesterday in Orlando. Larkin said Wednesday that he is not far from making his NBA debut. 
When asked if there was a target date for his NBA debut, Larkin said, "Um, my target date and their [the Mavericks'] target are probably different. We got a couple practices next week. I would like to play the 20th against Houston. That's when I'd like to play."
Larkin has only been through a couple of practices since getting the clearance to play again on his surgically

repaired right ankle, but he's already caught the attention of Dirk Nowitzki. 
Nowitzki said he can already see signs of why the Mavericks chose Larkin in the June draft, 18th overall. 
"It is only going to get better when we get Shane back," said Nowitzki. "His speed is fun to watch in practice. He's so quick off the dribble, pushing the ball. I think he's going to help us tremendously in the backcourt."
Larkin, the son of Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin, grew up in Orlando and went to college at Miami, making this most recent trip a special one for him. He's had a long back since he broke his ankle in practice before summer league in July. 
He joked that he would get "a lot" of ticket requests when he was in Orlando. "It'll be cool to go home and see everybody," Larkin said. "It's not how I wanted it to be, but it'll be nice to go home."
Larkin has been pleased with how his surgically repaired ankle has held up in practice. He felt he gave it a good workout on Wednesday, too.
"I was out there guarding Monta [Ellis], so I guess it's getting better. It feels good. After the first day it was a little sore. But I just got to get used to using it again. It feels a lot better now," the rookie said.
The Mavericks' backcourt is stretched thin right now with Larkin's ankle and Devin Harris, who has been out since foot surgery. When both return, it will take pressure off the backcourt.
Reference: Dallas News
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