The Dallas Mavericks continue to suffer from bad luck on the injury front as two more stars get hurt.
The Dallas Mavericks just can't seem to catch a break. During their 125-116 loss to the Phoenix Suns, the already-depleted Mavericks lost two more stars, as Kessler Edwards and Dwight Powell collided with each other pretty hard and had to be taken out of the game. The Mavericks now have just seven players left healthy, with Naji Marshall being the only player above 6"6' available to play.
There is no word yet on the status of Dwight Powell. While Kessler Edwards did return to the game with a bandaged eye, Brandon Williams ended up leaving the game with a hamstring injury, bringing the Mavericks right back down to seven players available. And there isn't any information on Edwards potentially missing time with his eye injury.
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd spoke after the game, noting that he has never seen a situation where he has no players available to rest some of the stars playing big minutes on the team. Given the position he is in, it is hard not to sympathize with Kidd, as he has such a limited squad.
“I’ve never seen this… Where you can’t take someone out to rest them because we had no one to put in.”
The Mavericks' injury crisis began with Anthony Davis, whom they recently traded for by sending Luka Doncic to the Lakers, who got injured in his first game for the team. After which, Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II, and P.J. Washington got hurt. But the biggest loss, without a doubt, was Kyrie Irving, who went down with a season-ending ACL tear last week.
Irving was playing heavy minutes after the Doncic trade, and it felt like the Mavericks were playing him very heavy minutes. Kidd responded furiously to the speculation and conjecture on this matter, noting that the team prioritizes the health of their players over anything else. Even Kyrie Irving has come forward in defense of the Mavericks over this matter.
Things might get better soon. Anthony Davis might be making his return soon, despite some calls for the Mavericks to shut him down for the season, as Kyrie Irving will not return, thus giving them almost no chance to compete for an NBA championship this season. Some other stars, like Lively and Gafford, could also be back before the season is over.
However, will they be returning to a team that has a playoff spot? The Mavericks are currently sitting 10th in the Western Conference with a 32-33 record. The Suns getting a win over them tonight was huge, as they sit 11th in the West and could realistically usurp them over the next few weeks if their injury woes continue.
If the Mavericks miss the playoffs this year, it will mark the second time in three seasons that this has happened. Jason Kidd, over the last few years, has either coached the team to a deep playoff run or not made the post-season at all. Keep an eye on the Mavericks in the final stretch of the season.
