Anthony Davis could return to the Mavericks’ lineup during Dallas’ upcoming Eastern road trip, which begins Monday, NBA insider Marc Stein reports.
Last week, Davis was assigned to practice with the Mavs’ G League team. He was recalled to the NBA club after one workout.
Dallas begins its four-game trip with back-to-back games with the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks starting Monday. The trip concludes with matchups versus the Orlando Magic on Thursday and Chicago Bulls on Saturday.
Davis, 32, has been sidelined with a left adductor strain since Feb. 8, his first game with the Mavericks after being included in a blockbuster trade package for Luka Dončić. Dallas had discussed shutting Davis down for the rest of the season, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. But the veteran forward has pushed for a return with the team still in the playoff race.
The Mavericks have 11 games remaining on their regular-season schedule and are battling the Phoenix Suns for the 10th seed in the Western Conference, which would get them in the play-in tournament. Dallas is tied with Phoenix at 34-37, but the Suns would win a tiebreaker with a 3-1 record versus the Mavs in their regular-season matchups.
Davis is one of three big men currently out with injuries, but appears to be ready to return ahead of Dereck Lively II (fractured foot) and Daniel Gafford (sprained knee).
The Mavs have not targeted a specific game for Davis to return, but reportedly feel optimistic enough about his progress to believe he’ll rejoin the active roster during the next week after he was able to practice in five-on-five play with the G League Texas Legends, according to Stein. Lively and Gafford have participated in three-on-three activities.
Davis has averaged 25.7 points, 12 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 2.2 blocks this season, but has been limited to 43 games. (Meanwhile, Dončić is scoring 26.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 1.9 steals for the Lakers, fueling Mavericks fans’ anger over the controversial trade.)
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