Opening night is still more than a month away, and already it seems like the Dallas Mavericks are in for a long season.
The DeAndre Jordan mishap has come to define their offseason. They had one of the top free agents available, and then, quite suddenly, they didn’t. And that left them to pick up the pieces of his indecision, assembling a makeshift core in the frontcourt while overpaying Wesley Matthews, who is working his way back from an Achilles injury, to honor his commitment to Dallas.
To that end, Matthews was never expected to be fully ready by the start of training camp. Achilles injuries are nasty, and even if he beats his projected timeline, it would be genuinely surprising to see him log a minute of meaningful action before December.
But Matthews isn’t alone on the sidelines as the Mavericks gear up for training camp. Sources told ESPN.com’s Tim MacMahon that JaVale McGee and Chandler Parsons will be right there with him:
Three players who are anticipated to play key roles for the Dallas Mavericks will not be fully cleared to begin training camp next week, according to sources.
Shooting guard Wesley Matthews, small forward Chandler Parsons and center JaVale McGee are all expected to gradually work into full participation in practices as they continue to recover from major injuries.
Matthews and Parsons, the Mavs’ high-priced starting wing duo, have both said that they are hopeful they will be able to play in Dallas’ Oct. 28 season opener.
Again, I’ll be sincerely shocked if Matthews is ready by Oct. 28. But his absence, along with Parsons’ and McGee’s issues, represents a bigger quagmire: The Mavericks’ immediate well-being is tied to a ridiculous number of maybes.
Maybe Dirk Nowitzki will play like he’s 32, not 37. Maybe Deron Williams turns back the clock himself. Maybe Parsons will stay healthy. Maybe Matthews won’t regress substantially after he gets healthy. Maybe Dallas’ defense won’t devolve into a bottom-five disaster. Maybe coach Rick Carlisle is once again able to piece together a first-rate offensive attack.
Maybe, maybe, maybe.
It will take a ton of things breaking right for the Mavericks to flirt with a playoff berth in the wild Western Conference. Matching their 50-win total from last season is assuredly out of the question. Hell, it was a stretch even if they signed DeAndre Jordan, who, while a fantastic rebounder, shot-blocker and lob-finisher, has become overrated as a defensive anchor.
Right now, with all these injuries colliding with all of Dallas’ preexisting question marks, the thought of a playoff run doesn’t even look like a stretch.
It feels completely out of the question.
