Dallas Mavericks: Kristaps Porzingis (heel) out vs. Suns

Dallas Mavericks star Kristaps Porzingis out versus Suns with a heel injury

The Dallas Mavericks have struggled a bit inside the bubble. They won three of their seven seeding games so far. Kristaps Porzingis has not disappointed, though. The Mavs star is averaging 30.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in his six games from Orlando. That includes four 30-point performances. Mavericks fans have seen the best version of the Unicorn in the restart.

Dallas wraps up their seeding games on Thursday afternoon against the Phoenix Suns. It is the second meeting between the two teams in Orlando. The Suns are undefeated and have to win to keep their hopes alive of reaching the Western Conference play-in. The Mavericks are locked into seventh and will play the LA Clippers in the first round of the playoffs.

Dallas got some bad news heading into Thursday’s game. Let us take a closer look at their injury report.

Dallas Mavericks star Kristaps Porzingis (heel) out versus Suns

The Mavs ruled KP out before tipoff on Thursday. The official injury report calls it a “heel contusion”. Expect Maxi Kleber and Boban Marjanovic to handle the minutes at the five with Porzingis on the bench.

The Mavericks have nothing to play for on Thursday. Their playoff fate is locked in. Hopefully, they are just resting the Unicorn. The Mavs need him healthy in the postseason. It will be a situation to monitor going forward.

Porzingis had 30 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks in the first bubble meeting against the Suns. Dallas will struggle to fill that production on Thursday afternoon. Expect coach Carlisle to be cautious with every player. The Mavericks are focused on the playoffs now. Thursday’s game is just the final tune-up before their first postseason series since 2016.

Keep it locked to The Smoking Cuban for all the latest on Kristaps Porzingis’ injury plus analysis on the Dallas Mavericks that fans will not want to miss.