The bad news keeps on coming for the wounded Dallas Mavericks.
After Kyrie Irving was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL in his left knee, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Anthony Davis could follow suit.
“Anthony Davis has been out since his first game [with the Mavericks]. I think [Davis] and his representative are going to huddle. I think they’re gonna have some very hard conversations,” Charania said on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday, March 4. “It’s not out of the realm of possibility that one game was the last time we’ve seen Anthony Davis this season.”
Davis is scheduled to be re-evaluated later this week, which the Mavericks announced on Feb. 20 that the All-Defensive center was making good progress in his recovery from a left adductor strain he suffered during his team debut on Feb. 8.
The Irving injury dramatically changed the trajectory of the Mavericks this season, which could impact their looming decision on Davis. They have lost four of their last five games to slip to 10th in the Western Conference with a 32-30 win-loss record. The only silver lining is they have a 3.5-game cushion over the Phoenix Suns, who have the toughest remaining schedule left, per Tankathon.
Irving sustained the injury late in the first quarter of their 122-98 blowout loss to the Sacramento Kings on Monday, March 3.
Maverick ‘Running Out of Bodies’
Backup backup guard Jaden Hardy also suffered a right ankle sprain in the third quarter. Irving and Hardy join the growing list of Mavericks injuries.
Aside from the trio of Davis, Irving and Hardy, the Mavericks are also without their young starting center Dereck Lively II, who 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. His backup center Daniel Gafford has been out since Feb. 10 with a right knee injury. Forward PJ Washington Jr. is also out with a right ankle sprain.
The Mavericks finished the blowout loss with only nine players in uniform.
“It seems every time we get close to getting somebody back, someone goes down,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd told reporters after losing to the Kings. “Tonight, both Hardy and Kai go down. So, we’re running out of bodies here.”
Will the Mavericks tank after these series of unfortunate injuries?
Their pick in this year’s NBA draft is currently projected at No. 13 by Tankathon.
‘Just Unlucky’
Kidd and the Mavericks are in such a tough spot this season.
With their fan base still grieving over the shocking trade of their former franchise star Luka Dončić, they have lost Irving, who was carrying the team on his back before the devastating injury.
“Just unlucky,” Kidd told reporters right after the game. “I hope that he’s healthy, that it’s not serious.”
It turned out to be serious that has eroded any confidence left for the Mavericks to salvage this season after their magical run to the NBA Finals last year.
Irving, though, left a lasting image for the Mavericks fans to hold on to this lost season.
After he suffered the brutal injury, Irving courageously made the free throws, a scene that was eerily similar when his childhood hero, the late Kobe Bryant, made two foul shots after suffering an ACL tear in 2013 that signaled the decline of his career.
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