The Dallas Mavericks announced Sunday afternoon that Anthony Davis will remained sidelined for at least the next 7-10 days. Davis has missed the last eight games with a calf strain, and despite making “good progress” per the Mavericks’ press release, his re-evaluation suggested that he should remain out for the next week and a half.
This is a surprising turn of events, only because there was consideration for Davis to return for the Mavericks’ Nov. 8 loss to the Washington Wizards. Davis reportedly wanted to return for that game, but the Mavericks have continued to hold him out as he continues to rehab from the calf strain he sustained in Dallas’ win against the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 29th.
The push for Davis, 32, to return during that game against the Wizards also came from former Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison, who was fired on Nov. 11. Harrison reportedly “urged” Davis to return, per The Athletic. However, the team’s medical staff “forbade” it, as there was concern Davis could tear his Achilles. The day after Harrison was dismissed, it was reported that Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont requested medical data indicating Davis wasn’t at risk to worsen his his calf strain before the team allows him to return.
With Harrison no longer in charge, it seems as though the Mavericks plan to take the cautious approach with Davis, which is the smartest path forward. Given Davis’ injury history, its best not to rush this, especially a calf strain. We just saw in the playoffs last season how a calf strain can go from bad to worse, as Tyrese Haliburton’s turned into a torn Achilles that will force him to miss this entire season.
Such an injury would spell disaster for the Mavericks if that were to happen to Davis, primarily because with Harrison out of the picture, the path forward may be to trade Davis and fully rebuild around rookie Cooper Flagg. If Davis were to worsen his injury, that would tank his trade value and put the Mavericks in an even more precarious situation.
For Davis, as much as he may want to play right now, it makes the most sense for him to heal completely before returning to the lineup. It’s better to miss a handful of games and return fully healthy, then come back too soon and re-aggravate the injury or make it worse.
While it’s the smart path forward, it’s certainly not a great situation for anyone involved. Davis has played in just 14 games for the Mavericks since being traded to Dallas in February as part of the deal that sent Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers. On top of Davis having to deal with living in the doom and gloom of Mavericks’ fans wishing they still had Dončić, he also hasn’t been healthy, which makes matters worse. Meanwhile, Dončić has the Lakers out to a 10-4 start, while averaging 34.4 points, nine assists and nine rebounds.
We’ll see if Davis manages to return after this new timeline the Mavericks have announced. If he doesn’t, then it will suggest that this calf strain was far more serious than Dallas, Davis and Harrison had initially believed it to be.