Mavericks are learning a harsh Anthony Davis lesson they should've known all along

The Dallas Mavericks are learning the harsh lesson that Anthony Davis is injury-prone and struggles to stay in the lineup, and this is something that they should've known all along. This hasn't been a secret over his career, as he struggled with injuries in New Orleans and Los Angeles, and the injury bug has followed him to Dallas.

One of the reasons that the Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Davis was that they predicted that Doncic's body may break down, but the player that they brought in for him has a much more severe injury history. Davis' 14-year career has been plagued by injuries, and he was even hurt when the Mavericks traded for him back in February.

After the trade, Davis rushed to return to the floor and ended up straining his adductor in his first game as a Maverick. This caused him to miss the next month and a half, and Dallas is already having to deal with his constant injuries this season.

Anthony Davis just can't stay on the floor

Davis is currently out of the lineup due to a strained left calf, and he missed his sixth straight game on Monday night with this injury. Dallas ended up losing against the Milwaukee Bucks, dropping to 3-8 on the season, and they clearly can't rely on Davis to be their savior from their downward spiral for the time being.

Even though Nico Harrison is out of the picture now, the Mavericks don't have the shot creation or offense to win games, and their frontcourt injuries have been devastating as well.

No one, not even Cooper Flagg, can pull them out of the disaster they're in right now unless they can find a way to quickly improve their offense, and Davis being out this early into the season could be a sign of bad things to come moving forward.

It should be noted that Davis wanted to play on Saturday night against the Washington Wizards, but some people from inside the organization, including Patrick Dumont, thought that he should sit out and not rush back from injury. The fact that Dumont is now weighing in on when players return from injury shows just how rocky things got in Dallas before Harrison got fired, and the Mavericks are truly in a rough spot.

Davis has been listed as questionable for the last two games, but the Mavericks seem to be taking the cautious approach when it comes to his return. He will definitely help Dallas string together some wins once he is back in the lineup, but Mavericks fans are getting impatient.

Dumont and the Mavericks' medical staff aren't trying to rush him back, which is definitely the right approach considering that he is dealing with a calf strain, and they can't risk him coming back too early and suffering an even more serious injury. Davis is someone who always wants to be in the lineup and hates missing time, but his body is unfortunately not on the same page.

Talent means nothing if he can't stay on the floor, and the Mavericks are learning this for every game that he misses and every loss that they're dealt. Coming back from 3-8 and finding a way to make the playoffs will be a tall task for Dallas, and doing this while your star player is in and out of the lineup will make it nearly impossible.