DALLAS, Texas — We knew that the quick turnaround to start the 2020-2021 season would carry uncertainties. One of those uncertainties I pointed out in a previous article was overall player health and rehabilitation for players who sustained injuries during the odd postseason that took place in the Orlando bubble.
Kristaps Porzingis, the second half of the young dynamic duo for the Mavericks, suffered a meniscus injury in the first round of the NBA Bubble Playoffs against the Clippers which sidelined the star forward for the final two games of the series.
Yesterday it was confirmed Porzingis will miss the beginning of the season and will be sidelined until January 1st to ensure he is 100% healthy before the Mavericks get into the thick of their season as he continues to recover from meniscus surgery.
“We’re going to make sure that that’s 100% before we put him out there,” said Mavs President of Basketball Operations Donnie Nelson during a Monday morning radio hit on 105.3 FM The Fan.
Porzingis missing the start of the season isn’t great news for the Mavericks, but the team itself should be able to maintain for the first two weeks of the season without him in the lineup. The Mavericks record without Porzingis in 2019-2020 was 8-6.
The Mavericks have players like Dorian Finney-Smith, Maxi Kleber, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Dwight Powell who suffered a ruptured achilles in mid January and is expected to return at least at limited capacity, to fill the void.
With time still remaining for trades and offseason acquisitions, the Mavericks can decide to act by adding more depth to their front court, or they can simply allow the timeline of Porzingis to work itself out.
Either way, the NBA regular season isn’t about the short game, it’s about the long game. With Porzingis potentially returning to the starting lineup by January it can contribute to the long game that Dallas has hopes of winning.
