The Dallas Mavericks have hit another roadblock in their season as injuries are starting to play a role in their current slide.
The Dallas Mavericks are in a tough spot. Whether it’s seven losses in eight games or just a general lack of competitive edge, the team is currently in trouble, as their ride down the standings in the Western Conference could lead to them falling out of playoff contention.
Even with so many problems, things can always get worse. Now, the Mavs have reached the point in their season where they are having to deal with a number of minor injuries at one time.
The first, and most impactful one, comes in the form of a right hamstring injury for Chandler Parsons. It happened on March 18 against the Golden State Warriors and could cause him miss a few games.
Parsons has been one of the Mavs’ best players in the month of March, despite a lack of wins, because of his averages of 16.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. Losing him for any time at all will be a big hit to the offense and overall playmaking of the team.
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Next, Deron Williams suffered a right calf injury in the same March 18 game against the Warriors. This was yet another minor injury for Williams, as he has had problems with his calves and left hamstring while also missing a couple of games in February due to a hip contusion.
He isn’t expected to miss any time right now, but as we’ve seen in the past, his injuries can sometimes linger, and give him extra problems.
Also against the Warriors, Wesley Matthews had a very scary moment. While driving to the lane, his knee buckled, causing him to fall to the ground in pain for a few minutes before getting up and walking back to the bench. He was amazingly able to return to the game.
Matthews’ ability to tolerate pain has earned him the nickname “Iron Man” and he backed that up yet again when it certainly looked like he could’ve suffered from a nasty knee injury.
Fortunately for the Mavs, Matthews likely won’t miss any time, but you never know when his knee could flare back up again from such a wicked movement.
Another injury that went almost unnoticed was Jeremy Evans‘ torn labrum, which now has him sidelined for the rest of the year. He played in 27 games this season, mostly getting minutes during garbage time, and averaged 2.4 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.
Per @MavsPR, Jeremy Evans will be out the rest of the season after arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder.
— Earl K. Sneed (@EarlKSneed) March 17, 2016
To sum everything up, besides Evans’ injury, the Mavs were fortunate to avoid any major injuries. However, the players that did get shaken up are all valuable parts of the starting lineup. Though Parsons is most likely the only one that will miss time, players like Williams and Matthews will probably not be at full strength for a few games.
This couldn’t come at a worse time for the Mavs as they have some big games coming up, including contests against elite teams, like the Warriors, and teams in the fight for playoff positioning, like the Portland Trail Blazers.
Despite a tough task ahead, Williams offered some advice as to how the team can battle against adversity (via SportsDay):
"“You’ve got to be mentally tough to stay with what we’re doing. We know what we do works when we do it well. We’ve just got to get back to that.”"
At this point in the season, it’s all about staying positive for the Mavs and being thankful that they have managed to avoid any major season-ending injuries.
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This is the time of year where many players start to wear down and become more vulnerable to tweaks or minor problems. The Dallas Mavericks have gotten a taste of that lately and they will be looking to climb out of their recent slump, even if they do have another burden to deal with.