The Dallas Mavericks have recovered from the initial shock of trading away Luka Doncic, their former franchise cornerstone whom they swapped for Anthony Davis.
They are 4-3 since the shocking trade that rocked the entire NBA landscape, but have won four of their last five games. They could have headed to the All-Star break with a five-game winning streak if not for their late-game collapse in their 129-128 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Feb. 10.
They enter the break with a 30-26 record and currently occupy the eight seed in the strong Western Conference.
While the banged-up Mavericks welcome the much-needed one-week break, there is still no clarity on Davis’ adductor injury and whether he could return this season.
According to Dallas-based NBA insider Marc Stein, the news blackout on Davis’ recovery is “believed” to be “by design as Davis pursues a non-surgical route to recovery.”
Stein added there is “tangible optimism” in Dallas that surgery can be avoided. A surgery could end Davis’ season — which would be a tough blow for the Mavericks, who are already under fire for trading away the 25-year-old Doncic, who has returned for the Los Angeles Lakers from the calf injury he sustained on Dec. 25 while still with the Mavericks.
However, despite the optimism, Stein cautioned that “No one in a position to do so has been able to fully rule out the eventual need for surgery.”
“One source close to the process told the The Stein Line on Wednesday that ‘no timetable’ has been established for Davis’ return to the lineup beyond the mutual determination reached by the Mavericks and the Davis camp that both parties ‘will be cautious’ in bringing him back,” Stein wrote in his Substack newsletter on Friday, Feb. 14.
Mavericks Lose Another Center
The Mavericks’ one-point loss to the Kings that blemished their record over their last five games became more heartbreaking after their erstwhile remaining healthy center Daniel Gafford suffered a right knee injury.
On Thursday, Feb. 13, ESPN reported that Gafford’s injury was determined to be a Grade 3 MCL that will sideline him for at least six weeks.
The Mavericks will only have eight games left in the regular season schedule, six weeks from now. Gafford’s injury is the latest in the string of unfortunate health issues that is threatening to torpedo their first season without Doncic.
Dallas’ young starting center Dereck Lively II, has been out since Jan. 14 with a stress fracture in his ankle. He is not expected to return until the start of the postseason. Their veteran center Dwight Powell is also dealing with a right hip strain that has sidelined him indefinitely.
They signed 7-foot center Kylor Kelley to a two-way contract but the 27-year-old undrafted big man has not been part of the rotation since his double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) performance in a 34-minute spot start in their 144-101 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on the day Doncic was shockingly traded.
Best And Worst Case Scenario For Anthony Davis’ Injury
NBA injury data expert Jeff Stotts of “In Street Clothes” painted the best and worst case scenario for Davis’ injury based on the information that is available to the public.
“A “simple” adductor strain, even a more moderate Grade 2 strain, would likely be a best-case scenario,” Stotts wrote on Feb. 10. “Since the 2005-06 NBA season, in-season Grade 2 adductor strains result in an average time lost of 14.8 games (34.2 days). A more complex injury, especially one warranting surgery, would increase that number and potentially end [Davis’] season.”
Stotts wrote that the worst case scenario for Davis and the Mavericks is if the injury is more than a common adductor strain and instead a sports hernia or core muscle injury (CMI).
“The term sports hernia is a bit misleading and has become a catchall term for any injury to the abdominal and groin area,” Stotts wrote. “Traditionally, a sports hernia occurs when continuous, repetitive forces are placed through the midsection and rerouted into the groin and abdominal muscles where both attach to the pelvic bone. This stress results in micro-tears in one or more muscles in the area. The subsequent damage leaves the abdominal wall and inguinal canal weakened and vulnerable. As a result, an actual abdominal hernia can develop over time, though most sports hernia do not present with a true protrusion.”
If it requires surgery, the average time lost in these cases is 24.5 games (~55 days or 7+ weeks), according to Stotts.
Losing Davis for the remainder of the season would defeat the purpose of trading away Doncic — getting bigger to win a title now and in the next two years.
The Mavericks’ window is so short with Davis turning 32 next month.
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