1-word Mavericks description exposes shocking truth about their playoff fate

With teams scrambling for playoff seeding, the NBA season has reached one of its most important points. Multiple teams have stood out and etched their names into contender status, while many, such as the Dallas Mavericks, are fighting to make it out of the play-in games.

While Dallas has been handed the short end of the stick regarding injuries, excuses are running thin with the regular season ticking away. March 6 will be an important date as fans will finally get an answer on when centers Dereck Lively II, Anthony Davis, and Daniel Gafford could return to the hardwood.

With multiple injuries happening at the same time to the center position, the Mavericks had to retool around the big man by signing former first-round pick Kai Jones to a two-way contract. Dallas hasn't only made multiple roster moves over the last month, but their recent injury spell has put them in a dire situation in the Western Conference.

Mavericks' playoff fate is slipping away due to injuries

In Bleacher Report's latest article titled "1 Word to Describe Every NBA Team Right Now" Eric Pincus labeled the Mavericks' situation as "Tenuous." Tenuous is when something is weak or uncertain, and that is the perfect way to describe Dallas' current status.

While injuries are something no fan wishes for and no team anticipates, they're the reality of professional sports. In the offseason, Dallas surrounded Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving with depth at all positions. Still, after trading away their franchise superstar, Dallas' depth issue has hit an all-time low due to injuries.

Signing Kai Jones put a band-aid on the lack of center depth, but Dallas' situation has only grown more desperate as the playoffs grow closer. Labeling the Mavericks situation as tenuous is not a total lie considering a lot of the team's upside relies on Anthony Davis returning to the floor soon.

Davis won't only take pressure off Irving on the offensive end of the floor, but Davis' paint presence will give the Mavericks legit shot blocking at all times. In addition to Davis' size, Lively II and Gafford will bring much needed interior presence to a team that has lacked size over the last month.

Assuming all three players come back healthy in the remaining few weeks of the season, Dallas' playoff hopes will still not be a lock. The Mavericks not only have to stay healthy for a long stretch but they must compete at the highest level in the Western Conference.

As of Monday morning, Dallas is sitting in the 10 seed and is half a game back of the LA Clippers for the sixth seed. The Mavericks must not let their foot off the gas in the last remaining games of the season if they have any wish at catching the Clippers and escaping the play-in games.

A lot must go right for the Mavericks to reach their ceiling on the season and it starts with getting back healthy. Even still, it won't be an easy road to the playoffs, but the Mavericks have a history of making late season pushes to get in an ideal first-round playoff matchup.

So much is on the line over the next month and a half, and with so much tenuousness surrounding the team, getting healthy may be their only hope of avoiding the play-in. Dallas is even in danger of missing the playoffs altogether if they can't finish strong, and this reality is closer than anyone realizes.