On Saturday night, the injury bug hit the Dallas Mavericks once again.
Dallas entered the 2024-25 season relatively healthy outside of Dante Exum being out because of a wrist injury, but this quickly changed during the second game of the season as Maxi Kleber went down with a right hamstring strain in the second half of the game against the Phoenix Suns.
Kleber missed the rest of the game against Phoenix, and he was ruled out for Dallas' third game of the season against the Utah Jazz at the American Airlines Center on Monday night.
There isn't "long-term" concern for Kleber but history says otherwise
One of the main talking points of Jason Kidd's pregame press conference was Kleber's injury. And despite Kidd saying there is no long-term concern, his explanation of how they are handling this hamstring injury could say otherwise.
Kidd said that Kleber won't travel with the team for their game against the Minnesota Timberwolves tomorrow and they will provide a timeline over the next couple of days after seeing how things go.
The fact that Kleber is already ruled out for tomorrow's game shows that this isn't just a super minor hamstring strain, and Kleber's injury history doesn't do him any favors when speculating a potential timeline.
Kleber's right hamstring is the same one that he tore in the 2022-23 season and had to get surgery on, and he truly can't catch a break when it comes to injuries. He only played 80 games combined in the last two seasons (before this season), and a handful of different injuries caused him to miss time.
Kleber's dominant run in the early stages of the 2023 NBA Playoffs was cut short due to a shoulder injury, and although he returned before the NBA Finals, he was never the same. It always takes him a decent amount of time to get going after returning from an injury and he was not effective once he returned.
This summer gave Kleber the chance to fully recover from his shoulder injury from last season, and now fans will have to wait to see him take the floor for some time as he has now injured his hamstring.
Kidd saying that there is no long-term concern is a decent sign, but hamstring injuries aren't something to play with. Especially with a player like Kleber who has struggled to stay healthy over the last few years. There isn't much clarity yet about how long "long-term" actually is, but it wouldn't be shocking for him to miss Thursday's game against the Houston Rockets or even Sunday's game against the Orlando Magic.
We'll know more in a couple of days when and if the Mavs decide to provide an update on the injury along with a timeline, but it can be assumed that they will be cautious. Kleber remains crucial to how they play regardless of how many injuries he has sustained over the last few seasons, and they'll need his versatility all season long.
No one can play small-ball five as effectively as Kleber, and his ability to stretch the floor as a center helps give the Mavs' offense a different feel when he is in the game. Dallas is at their best when Kleber is playing at a high level, and everyone around him will have to step up during his absence.
