Mavericks' biggest weakness just exploded after brutal injury to key starter

Dallas Mavericks center Daniel Gafford went down with a right ankle injury in the third quarter of Wednesday night's game against the Miami Heat, and he did not return to the contest. This will be a major blow for Dallas, considering how dominant he can be down low when he's at his best, and the Mavericks' injury curse from last season seems to be creeping into the 2025-26 season.

Gafford was clearly in some serious pain despite being able to walk back to the locker room under his own power, and the Mavericks' injury problem at the five has turned into a nightmare. Entering the game against the Heat, Gafford had missed eight of Dallas' first 22 games with this injury, and fans should expect that he could miss some more time this time around as well.

Lower-body injuries are nothing to mess with when it comes to bigger-bodied players, and Gafford has unfortunately suffered multiple of these injuries since arriving in Dallas at the 2024 trade deadline.

Daniel Gafford's right ankle is still a problem months later

He missed the Mavericks' previous two games before the Miami game due to right ankle injury management, and his ankle clearly has been bothering him for the entire season. Gafford has often popped up on the injury report due to this nagging ankle sprain, and it seems like it has never fully healed despite initially happening over two months ago.

Gafford was out for the first five games of the season after spraining his ankle in training camp, and it has been a hindrance ever since. It has become a common sight to see Gafford wincing as he walks off the floor after games due to the pain he is dealing with in his ankle, and Dallas is now without their two top centers, Dereck Lively II and Gafford.

Lively II was recently spotted in a walking boot due to some swelling and discomfort in his surgically-repaired foot, and he has now missed 16 of the Mavs' 23 games. Injuries have been Lively II's kryptonite for every year of his career so far, and Dallas' dominance in the paint has been limited because of this.

On the bright side, Anthony Davis fully recovered from his left calf strain and returned to the lineup at the end of last week, but he now doesn't have much help down low. If Gafford misses serious time, which he definitely could since he re-aggravated the same ankle that has been bothering him all season, Dallas will be down to Davis, Moussa Cisse, and Dwight Powell as their centers.

Cisse has shown some promise, and Powell always hustles, but this is not the news that they needed at this point in the season. They have already dealt with countless injuries, and losing Gafford for an extended time is the last thing they need as they try to stack some wins and climb the standings.

Gafford has started in 12 of the 15 games that he has played in this season, and fans will be hoping for the best when it comes to an official update on his ankle and timetable for his return. The Mavericks' biggest weakness has been their health for the last two seasons, and every time one player comes back, it feels like a different one goes down.