With only seven games left in the regular season, the Dallas Mavericks are currently the 9th seed in the Western Conference with their 37-38 record. Anthony Davis is back in the lineup, playing 30 minutes in Saturday’s one-point victory over the Chicago Bulls. He’s clearly still limited due to his adductor injury, but Dallas is all about rolling the dice this year, apparently, and there are several other teams jockeying for the play-in. With Kyrie Irving gone for the season, it seems extremely unlikely that the Mavs could potentially make much noise in the playoffs, even with the imminent return of both Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II. Here are three things to watch for as Dallas suits up against the Nets at home on Monday.
When healthy, he’s obviously a terror to be dealt with. But he currently seems very much not healthy. The adductor strain is still an issue. It’s great to see him suit up and try to help the team get a W, but you’ve got to wonder how much of a risk it might be deploying him in critical minutes, both for himself and for the team. Every game counts at this point, but as mentioned above, it’s hard to envision the Mavs making a significant push in the playoffs should the remain at the 9th spot and secure a play-in position. It almost seems like a better strategy on such a huge investment to shelve Davis for the season and ensure that he doesn’t reinjure himself for no good reason. He did put up 18 points last game, but as mentioned after the Bulls game, the offensive seemed to pick up speed when he wasn’t on the court.
Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively
Will either return? Should either return. I feel pretty much the same about them as I do with AD. Why risk anything at this point in the season when you know you’re not going anywhere? I’m certainly not a player and I do understand that they’re likely itching to get back onto the court, but who’s in charge here? Oh, right, the people Patrick Dumont and Nico Harrison. Great.
The X-Factor or a main character
PJ Washington continues to look like the Mav’s alpha player with Luka gone and Kyrie out for the season. He returned from a two-game absence (ankle sprain) on Saturday to help the team eek past the Bulls, notching 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 19 points in 32 minutes of play. His rebounds were always going to increase after Luka left, but with both Gaff and DLive out, PJ is often one of (if not the) tallest Mavs on the court). He continues to get it done on defense, as well. He’s probably happy to be posting such solid numbers, and probably also enjoys feeling like the best player on the team. Being the 9th seed with no real shot at going far in the playoffs? He’s probably not enjoying that as much.
