The Dallas Mavericks exchanged Luka Doncic in part to build what, on paper, it seemed perhaps the most imposing front court in the NBA. Anthony Davis is a selection 10 times All-Star, and in Dallas she seemed prepared to return to her preferred position of power forward with Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford instead to handle the central position.
When Davis arrived, Lively was already out with a right ankle stress fracture. Despite that, the Mavericks were still very deeply in front. But in his first game in Dallas, Davis suffered an adductor tension That is expected to keep it out for several weeks. The oldest maverick, the great reserve man Dwight Powell, has been out of 14 games due to hip injury.
And then, in Monday’s defeat against the Sacramento Kings, Gafford joined his front court members on the injury list when he fell with a knee injury in the second quarter when he established a screen for Spencer Dinwiddie and collapsed In contact.
Gafford needed to receive aid from the floor, and the mavericks quickly He ruled it out With a right knee sprain. Now, according to ESPNGafford will miss at least six weeks with a sprain of grade 3 of the MCL in his right knee. The team said on Tuesday that Gafford would be reasseval in two weeks.
Gafford’s injury leaves the Mavericks in a serious position on the front court that goes to the rupture of the star game. Now with 30-26, after winning on Wednesday and Thursday, they are in the eighth place at the West Ultra competitive conference, but only three games ahead of Phoenix Suns of the 11th place.
They no longer have Doncic to carry the offensive with multiple injured teammates, so they will have to rely on Kyrie Irving and the defense. In the two games after Gafford’s injury, he wins on the Warriors and heat, Dallas started Kessler Edwards 6 -foot 7 inches in the center.
Gafford is having a star season for Dallas. He is averaging a maximum of 12.5 points per game while publishing an excellent rebounds and shooting numbers in its 22.1 minutes per contest. He and Davis showed immediate chemistry in their first game together. Both have suffered injuries since then, and now Dallas can only expect them to return before it is too late.
