The Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic in part to build what, on paper, looked to be perhaps the most imposing front court in the NBA. Anthony Davis is a 10-time All-Star pick, and in Dallas, he looked primed to return to his preferred position of power forward with Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford in place to man the center position.
When Davis arrived, Lively was already out with a right ankle stress fracture. Despite that, the Mavericks were still plenty deep up front. But then, in his first game in Dallas, Davis suffered an adductor strain that is expected to keep him out for multiple weeks. The longest-tenured Maverick, reserve big man Dwight Powell, has been out for 12 games due to a hip injury.
And then, on Monday against the Sacramento Kings, Gafford seemingly joined his frontcourt partners on the injury list when he went down in what appeared to be a meaningful amount of pain.
The moment came in the second quarter, when Gafford set a screen for Spencer Dinwiddie and collapsed on the contact. He needed to be helped off of the floor, and the Mavericks eventually ruled him out with a right knee sprain.
Depending on the severity of the sprain, Gafford’s injury could leave the Mavericks in a somewhat dire position. They entered play on Monday with a 28-25 record, just 1.5 games ahead of the 11th-seeded Golden State Warriors in the ultra-competitive Western Conference.
They no longer have Doncic around to carry the offense with multiple injured teammates, so they are going to have to win defensively. Doing so with all four of their big men out would be extremely difficult.
Gafford is having a stellar season for Dallas. He is averaging a career-high 12.5 points per game while posting excellent rebounding and shot-blocking numbers across his 22.1 minutes per contest. He and Davis showed immediate chemistry in their first game together on Saturday. Both have suffered injuries since, and now Dallas can only hope that they aren’t as serious as they looked.
