Dallas Mavericks star Anthony Davis continues to be plagued by injuries. His calf, which has kept him out for most of November, has been the biggest concern for him this season. Ailments to that calf have reared their ugly head again, but coach Jason Kidd sounded optimistic when talking about it.
Jason Kidd Sounds Off on Anthony Davis’ Latest Setback
Just before Monday night’s game between the Mavericks and the Utah Jazz, Davis was ruled out due to a left calf contusion. He was initially listed as questionable and had reportedly participated in a shootaround before being downgraded to out.
Despite this, Kidd remained optimistic that the All-Star big man won’t miss significant time.
“We’ll see. Hopefully he feels better tomorrow and we’ll see how it goes during the week,” Kidd said.
Davis’ left calf had been causing him issues through the early part of the season. In fact, it was the cause of his 14-game absence from November 1 to 24. Kidd’s optimism is understandable considering that he managed to participate in a shootaround. His latest absence is likely a cautious decision by the coaching staff.
Ahead of this setback, things looked like they were starting to click for Davis and the Mavs. They’ve won five of their last seven contests dating back to Nov. 28, which is their best stretch of the season so far.
Of those seven games, Davis played in six. He was a significant factor in most of them, except against the loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Dec. 5. In that game, Davis was held to a season-low two points on an abysmal 1-for-9 shooting clip. Amidst this forgettable outing, the Mavs fell 111-132.
That performance was an exception and was sandwiched between impressive outings. On Dec. 1 against the Denver Nuggets, he grabbed 13 rebounds while scoring a season-high 32 points. He followed that up with a 17-point, 17-rebound double-double against the Miami Heat on Dec. 3. The Mavs won both these games.
He redeemed himself on Dec. 6, the night after the Thunder game, by dropping 29 points against the Houston Rockets. Then, on Dec. 12, the Mavs’ last game before Monday’s matchup against the Jazz, he registered a 24-point, 14-rebound double-double.
When he’s healthy, Davis has been an exceptional contributor, demonstrating why he has been named to 10 All-Star teams throughout his 14-year career. However, his constant injuries and the trade rumors surrounding him this season leave many questions regarding the 32-year-old star.
Meanwhile, without Davis and Kyrie Irving, who is also out due to injury, the Mavs are leaning heavily on rookie Cooper Flagg, who scored 24 points in the first half to keep Dallas competitive against Utah on Monday night. Flagg’s historic performance, surpassing Tracy McGrady for the third-most points before age 19, helped the Mavericks build a late third-quarter lead and grind out their third consecutive victory. As of this writing, the Mavs are trailing 127-126 in the 4th quarter.
