MASSIVE Mavericks Injury Update...

We have a massive Mavericks injury update surrounding Anthony Davis and Derek Lively. And as we all know, last Thursday on March 6th, we were supposed to get this huge update surrounding Anthony Davis, Derek Lively, and Daniel Gafford on their injury updates and when they would return. And as we all know, March 6th came and went. We got absolutely nothing. Radio silence from the Mavericks organization until the very next day where we finally got an update on the 7th. Which is really just a nothing burger, just saying that they're all trending in the right direction, they'll be re-evaluated in a few weeks. Which really is no surprise to Mavericks fans. However, yesterday we got a big update surrounding Anthony Davis and Derek Lively, and it seems like they could actually return a lot sooner than we think. So, in this video, we're going to take a look at what are the reports surrounding Anthony Davis, Derek Lively, when can we see them return, and whether or not that's a smart move for the Mavericks. How's it going everybody? My name is Marcel Martin. This is Mavericks Digest bringing you the latest news on everything Mavericks related. And before you start with today's video, make sure you check us out over there on Spotify. If you don't want to see this beautiful face and this very tight do-rag every single day on YouTube, but you still want to get your Mavericks news, you can check me out on Spotify. The link is in the description below and you can listen to us. New episodes get posted every single day. Make sure you check us out. But the Dallas Mavericks, as we all know, we've been dealing with a lot of injuries, notably to our big men, where Kessler Edwards has been our residential big man over the last several weeks. He's only about 6'7", 6'8", but he has been playing that small ball five pretty effectively to the point where last night he got a double-double against the San Antonio Spurs. Now, the Spurs didn't have Victor Wembanyama, so I get it. They really had no real center. But neither did we. So Kessler Edwards has been doing a pretty good job for the most part. With all things considered, this small ball, I guess forcibly small ball lineup that we have no choice but to run has gotten us some wins here or there. But the Dallas Mavericks are missing out on their size. Not only is our three bigs of Anthony Davis, Derek Lively, and Daniel Gafford have all been out, but also P.J. But we do have somewhat of an update. But if I take you back to last week on March 6th when we were supposed to get our update, the update went a little bit like this. It said Anthony Davis, with his left adductor strain, is improving and has been doing more on-court movements, per the Mavericks. Derek Lively II, with the right ankle stress fracture, is progressing in rehabilitation. Both will be re-evaluated weekly, and like I said in the intro, we really shouldn't be surprised at this point. The Dallas Mavericks organization doesn't really do a very good job of being transparent with the fans, especially when it comes to injuries. I remember earlier in the season, there was a time where we had no Dwight Powell, and someone asked Jason Kidd, Hey, do we have an update on Dwight Powell? And the answer was, there is no update. No update on Dwight Powell the GOAT? We gotta know when Dwight Powell's gonna come back, at least. He's gonna be our main piece when everything's just, we're just hitting the fan. When we got nobody, we always got Dwight Powell. But all jokes aside, we all know that the Dallas Mavericks organization really keep their cards close to their chest when it comes to injury updates. However, we did finally get an update, and it does look a little bit more positive than all the updates we've been getting. If we take a look right here. Shams, I'm sorry, before we get to the update, Shams did say that it's still up in the air on whether or not Anthony Davis will return this season, and there's been a lot of talk surrounding Anthony Davis and his representatives, and the conversations that need to be had on whether or not Anthony Davis should return, as he's only played not even a full game, only about three-fourths of a full game with the Dallas Mavericks since being traded to the team. But with this update, that may just change. Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively II are indeed both progressing toward an in-season return. Whether those reactivations actually happen, of course, remain to be seen from the Stein line. Davis played two on two this past weekend and will almost certainly reach the point before season's end that playing in an NBA game is feasible. So that's actually a pretty big update. That's actually a good update. I know that I've said how we've got nothing but bad news over the last several weeks and it feels like good news doesn't just exist in Dallas, but it is good to know that Anthony Davis as well as Derek Lively are trending in the right direction, but more specifically that they could return, especially Anthony Davis. Could return before the end of the season. I'll throw the report back up there so you can see it. And that would mean a lot for the Dallas Mavericks. Although I am part of Team Tank, I'm totally fine with just these next 16 games don't really matter. We've got too many injuries. Why risk further injury when we can just take it easy, go into the offseason as the 11th seed or worse, try to get a good pick on draft night, and just try again next season. However, there's a lot of fans out there that really do want to see this team compete. Even though right now we only have about seven, maybe eight available players, a lot of fans want to see this team, see how far we can go, come back healthy on the very last day of the season, and try to make a deep push. And you got admired, especially with how far this team went last year. It's kind of hard to see us go from the NBA Finals to the NBA Lottery in the span of 12 months. So I totally get it. But if Anthony Davis were to return, that could definitely help us out. Now, obviously, we're not moving anywhere in the standings. If we could go lower, that's possible. But the Phoenix Suns and the San Antonio Spurs as well really have this whole tanking thing on lock. They really know how to lose games. We're the Dallas Mavericks in a game where we definitely need to lose. Somehow we find ways to win, but if we bring back Anthony Davis, we can at least hold our position as the 10th seed, maybe even move up to the 9th seed if it's possible, if we can win enough games, and just try to get a better spot in that play-in. I don't see us moving out of the play-in territory. We will be a play-in team at best, but with Anthony Davis, that'd definitely give us a better shot at it, and with the play-in format, how it works is if you're the 9th or 10th seed, you gotta win two games. If you're the 7th or 8th seed, you really only gotta win one. Unless you lose, then you got to win. Well, yeah, you play two games if you lose. But anyway, the Dallas Mavericks will have to play two exhibition games to even get into the playoffs. And if we have Anthony Davis, if we have P.J. Washington, maybe we get back Gafford. Things definitely do change for the Dallas Mavericks. Everything will change if we get our guys back healthy. If we take a look right here. The Dallas Mavericks, like I said, we are the 10th seed. Doesn't really look too pretty for us, but we're not too far back behind from the Kings, and the Clippers are only about three and a half games, actually three games exactly ahead of us, and they've been losing games as well, although Kawhi did hit a game winner the other day. Regardless, if the Clippers and Kings continue to lose, and if by some miracle the Mavericks can find a few wins before the end of the season, if we can finish as that eighth, maybe even that seventh seed, Things don't look too bad. We only got to get one game to get into the playoffs, and then we go from there. And like I said, a lot of fans want to see how far this team can go. I understand that this team, fully healthy, is very good. We do not have a skill issue. This team is not a talentless, talentless team. We have a lot of great players. Our biggest issue has been health and availability, as everybody seems to get hurt or everybody's getting sick. But if you can get enough guys back, And I'll take the fans' words for it. Because I've seen it all over my comment section on Twitter, on Reddit. If the Dallas Mavericks can come back relatively healthy by the end of the season, a deep playoff push seems possible. And depending on who we get in the first round. And I'll put the picture right back up. If we were to finish as the eighth seed, we'd see the Thunder in the first round. I know a lot of people think we can take on the Thunder in the first round. I'd feel a lot better if we had everybody, including Kyrie Irving, but if you give me everybody except for Kyrie, I guess we got a puncher's chance, especially with P.J. Washington, Derek Lively, Daniel Gafford, we would just outsize them completely. Then after that, you'd see either the Lakers or the Grizzlies, maybe even the Rockets or the Warriors, depending on how we have to match up and how far we actually go. But the Dallas Mavericks, if we can make the WC, that would be nice. Me, I'm also cool with getting a lottery pick. But another thing I'm going to show you guys right here is the last 10 games of the season go as follows. We play the New York Knicks. We play the Orlando Magic. The Bulls, the Nets, the Hawks, the Clippers, the Clippers again, the Lakers, the Raptors, and we finish the season off against the Grizzlies. And if we can get at least Anthony Davis, maybe not Anthony Davis, Derek Lively, and Daniel Gafford all together, but if we can get just one player, and I feel like Anthony Davis would be the first one to return, if we can get him back for these last 10 games, I would argue that we would win a lot more than we would lose, and you can take a pick on which games you think we would actually win. I see a lot more wins on this screen with Anthony Davis versus if we didn't have Anthony Davis, which could also help us in the standings. That's 10 games, 10 possible wins. A lot of things could happen, but it all depends on the health. I'm just taking a look right here. Oh, I'm all over the place. Anyway. It all depends on health. I'm all over the place. It all depends on the health of this team. I know a lot of people don't want to see anybody rush back. P.J. Washington, who's been dealing with ankle problems, even said it himself, he felt maybe he was rushed back a little bit too soon, and that's why he's still out. That's why he was playing kind of sort of bad before he finally had to sit himself out. So as long as you take precaution. We don't rush anybody back. We allow guys to just naturally recover and come back on their own. The Dallas Mavericks are more than well equipped to make a good playoff run. Maybe not the finals, but we could definitely make things harder for a team if they have to see us in the first round or even the second round. But before we do finish this episode, hey, man, who is this Dallas Maverick? We got to do the Guess That Maverick. A lot of times he is still on the roster. A lot of times he thinks he's Luka Doncic in the way he plays. He is definitely somewhat of a fan favorite, but he can also be a fan headache. But let me know in the comment section down below, who do you think that Maverick is? But, that's all I got for you guys today. Thanks for being a part of the video. Make sure to check out our Twitter and Discord. Links in the description below. Consider becoming a channel member. We are doing a giveaway every single month on this channel. Only way to enter our giveaways is to become a channel member of any tier. But, until next time, y'all take care. Drink water. Peace.