The injury-riddled Dallas Mavericks are looking to gain momentum as they approach the All-Star break when they face the struggling Washington Wizards on Monday.
Dallas has been without their star player, Luka Doncic, since late December due to a calf strain. Now, Maxi Kleber has been added to the injury list after suffering a foot fracture in Saturday’s 122-107 loss to the Boston Celtics, a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals.
“It’s tough, but we’ve got to keep going, one step at a time,” said Daniel Gafford after the loss. “Rough to see (Kleber) go down like that. I don’t know what’s going on with it, but next-man-up mentality, honestly.”
With injuries piling up, the Mavericks have had to rely on that mentality. Dereck Lively II, who averages 9.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game, has missed the last six games due to a right ankle stress fracture.
There is no clear timetable for Lively’s return, but Dallas could get Doncic back before the All-Star break, according to Marc Stein.
Without their star guard, the Mavericks are trying to stay competitive in the packed Western Conference. Dallas has a 5-11 record since Doncic’s injury on Christmas Day and is in ninth place in the West.
Meanwhile, Washington sits at the bottom of the Eastern Conference with the worst record in the NBA. The Wizards are wrapping up a six-game road trip on Monday and are on a 13-game losing streak, their second-longest of the season.
In Saturday’s 119-109 loss to Phoenix, Washington dropped its fourth straight game by double digits. Out of the 13 losses during this stretch, 10 have been by at least 10 points.
However, there were some positives for Washington in the Phoenix game. After falling behind by 15 points in the first half, the Wizards won every quarter in the second half.
Wizards coach Brian Keefe spoke about the improvements after the game.
“We got tighter with our defense, turned them over, cleaned up some of the rebounding issues, and that led to us getting transition baskets and playing the way we want,” Keefe said. “We’re starting to learn what we can do and what we’re capable of.”
Kyle Kuzma ended a three-game scoring slump with 30 points on Saturday, and his 11 rebounds gave him his first double-double since October 28.
At 14.6 points per game, Kuzma is Washington’s second-leading scorer behind Jordan Poole, who averages 21.4 points per game. The Wizards have struggled to find consistent scoring, ranking fourth-lowest in the league with an average of 107.8 points per game.
However, Washington’s biggest problem has been their defense. They allow the most points per game in the NBA, giving up 122.1 points. This is an area Dallas will look to take advantage of.
The Mavericks average 115.1 points per game, but they’ve fallen short of that mark in 11 of their last 17 games. Kyrie Irving leads the team with an average of 24.4 points per game, but without Doncic (28.1 ppg), Dallas lacks another consistent scorer, with only P.J. Washington (13.8 ppg) and Gafford (12.3 ppg) contributing solid points.
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