Getty Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd.
After more than a week-long hiatus, the Dallas Mavericks will be back in action Thursday night when they host the San Antonio Spurs.
Ahead of the matchup with the Spurs, head coach Jason Kidd spoke with reporters, discussing his team’s return to the floor. Kidd provided updates on the Mavs’ injured pair of forwards, Davis Bertans and Maxi Kleber, ruling both out of the February 23 game against San Antonio.
“Maxi got some run, did a really good job,” Kidd said after Dallas’ February 22 practice. “But Maxi and Davis will be out tomorrow, and we’ll just see how Max feels after a day of practice.”
Kleber has been sidelined since tearing his hamstring back on December 12 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The 31-year-old forward had appeared in 22 games for the Mavs before going down with the injury. Kleber was averaging 6.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1 assist in 25.6 minutes per game.
Mavs’ Luka Doncic, Reggie Bullock Discuss Maxi Kleber’s Importance
Prior to the All-Star break, Mavericks star Luka Doncic shared his thoughts on Kleber. Doncic called the German Dallas’ “best defender.”
“A lot of people forget our best defender has been out for like (33) games now,” Doncic said of Kleber via Dwain Price of Mavs.com. “But I think when we’re fully healthy we have a dangerous team.”
He wasn’t the only member of the Mavs to shine light on Kleber’s importance to the team. Sharpshooting forward Reggie Bullock also discussed the impact Kleber has on Dallas, as well as Bertans, Kyrie Irving, and Tim Hardaway Jr.
“All of them are four great players,” forward Reggie Bullock said. “We definitely need them with the schedule coming up. We need Maxi on the defensive end, Davis shooting the ball, Kyrie obviously doing what he does, and Tim being another spacer. And they’re all vets, so we need to have those guys come in and give us that leadership. It’ll be good to have those guys back.”
Justin Holiday Excited to Join Mavs, Kyrie Irving, and Luka Doncic
While Mavs fans wait for Kleber’s return to action, they should be treated to Justin Holiday‘s debut, barring any unexpected hiccups.
Dallas signed Holiday earlier this month, after he was bought out by the Houston Rockets, who acquired him from the Atlanta Hawks.
The 33-year-old told the media that he was excited to join the Mavs, citing Irving and Doncic as part of the reason why.
“Obviously, I know what to do from being on other teams,” Holiday told Grant Afseth of Sports Illustrated. “But once I get to play with them and see what they like, I’ll just do the little things to try to help those two guys [Doncic and Irving] out. But then again, this team is very, very exciting. I know I’m going to see a lot of amazing things with these two guys on this team… The two-headed snake that we have. It’s going to be really tough for teams to beat us.”
Prior to the trade, Holiday appeared in 28 games with the Hawks this season. He averaged 4.5 points and 14.7 minutes per game. His shooting has been below his career average, as he’s only knocked down 34.5% of his attempts from beyond the arc.
Despite the down shooting season, Holiday sounds ready to give the Mavs all he’s got on the defensive end.
“I’m a vet, so I know coverages, I know what other teams are going to do, I know what players are going to do,” he explained. “So I just think I can come in and help the team as much as I can, because this team is an amazing team.”