Getty Kristaps Porzingis, Mavericks, right
There should be a sigh of relief for the Mavericks, at least so it seems now. Big man Kristaps Porzingis, having missed two games with a knee contusion, could very well be ready to play on Tuesday. At least, he thinks so and the team seems to agree—he is listed as probable for the game against Brooklyn, one of the top teams in the NBA.
“I’m hoping to get some more treatment today, it was feeling pretty good. Hoping tomorrow will be even better and I’ll be good to go,” Porzingis said after participating in practice on Monday.
Porzingis explained that he suffered the injury in the Mavs’ win over the Pelicans on December 1, a 32-point blowout in which KP played 28 minutes and notched 20 points and 10 rebounds. With Porzingis out two days later, the Pels got revenge, winning by 16 in Dallas. The Mavs then lost to Memphis without Porzingis to fall to .500.
“I bumped knees with (Jonas) Valanciunas,” Porzingis said. “In the post play, he was going toward the middle and I cut him off and we just bumped knees. He was OK I guess, but my knee just blew up.”
The Mavs are now 3-4 without Porzingis and have averaged 97.7 points on 40.3% shooting when he does not play. They average 107.7 on 46.0% shooting when he does play.
Porzingis’ Injury History Looms Over Mavs
Porzingis said he was never worried that the injury would develop into a long-term issue, but he did go through some major swelling.
“I knew it wasn’t anything,” he said. “I kept playing. I felt OK. I kind of limped a couple of times when I did some movements. But I went to sleep that night and I woke up a couple times in the middle of the night and my knee was pulsing, like, swollen and hurting like crazy. I’m like, something happened. The next morning, my knee was just really swollen so we just started working on the swelling and doing whatever we can. And now it is, what is it, four or five days and good now.”
Still, the injury was enough to make folks around the Mavs nervous—Porzingis has had a series of injuries in his two-plus seasons in Dallas, which traded for him while he was recovering from ACL surgery. In his career, Porzingis has played in 301 out of a possible 503 games, meaning he has missed a little more than 40% of his games.
Doncic, Porzingis Yet to Establish Rhythm
That’s been especially tough this year, as the Mavericks try to determine whether Porzingis is a long-term answer as the No. 2 option alongside star guard Luka Doncic, who is also dealing with injury. Doncic missed three games in November with an ankle problem, and missed Saturday’s loss to Memphis with a recurrence of the ankle issue.
Doncic did practice on Monday, but his status is up in the air for Tuesday. He is listed as questionable on the Mavs’ injury report.
Luka Dončić (left ankle soreness, left thumb sprain) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (right knee contusion) are questionable for tomorrow night’s game against Brooklyn.
Kristaps Porzingis (left knee contusion) is probable.
Willie-Cauley Stein (personal reasons) will remain out.
“It’s a new year for us and we haven’t really gotten that good rhythm, not yet,” Porzingis said of the chemistry between him and Doncic. “And also before the season, I kind of knew we were going to need some time, with some of the changes we’ve had. I was thinking around Christmastime, after Christmas is really when we are going to start to take off. You can see, we’ve had some injuries, we’ve been a little bit up and down. Kind of looked good in some moments, not so good in others. Once we have that consistency in our play, become more solid as a team, I think that is when we are gonna start to take it to the next level.”