Mavericks can't afford to repeat this costly Luka Doncic mistake with Anthony Davis

The Dallas Mavericks' season continues to drag on, as they have now lost nine of their last 10 games, and the team has been struck with awful luck ever since the Luka Doncic trade. Dallas has suffered several season-ending injuries over the last month and a half, and among players who have been out for an extended period of time includes new superstar big man Anthony Davis.

Davis went down in his Mavs debut on February 8 with an adductor strain, and despite initial optimism from Davis that his injury wasn't serious, he has been out ever since. It has been clear for some time now that Davis is approaching a return to the floor, as his rehab has gone smoothly and he recently practiced with the Texas Legends, but now the question on Dallas' end is if they should bring him back or not.

Davis is eager to get back on the floor after being sidelined for the last month and a half, but the risk may outweigh the reward.

Mavericks must be more cautious with Davis than they were with Doncic

While the Mavericks still have a chance at securing a spot in the Play-In Tournament, their probability of making it into the playoffs and going on a run is slim to none, even with Davis in the lineup. The Mavs are consistently having to play with eight players, tiptoeing the line of having to forfeit games, and they must handle this upcoming situation with Davis in the opposite way of something that happened to Luka Doncic just over three years ago.

On the final day of the 2021-22 season, the Mavericks played the San Antonio Spurs at home. Dallas had already secured the No. 4 seed in the West, and this game was pretty much meaningless as the Mavs were on the way to the playoffs while the Spurs were fighting for a spot in the play-in. The Mavericks had nothing to worry about from a standings perspective, but they still decided to play Doncic for his usual minutes in this game.

In the third quarter, Doncic ended up straining his left calf, causing him to be out for nearly two weeks and missing the first three games of Dallas' first-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz. The Mavs still ended up winning two playoff series and reached the Western Conference Finals, but Doncic playing in that game against San Antonio could have been costly if his calf injury was more serious.

Both Doncic and Davis are cut from the same cloth when it comes to the fact that they're warriors and hate to miss time, even when they're battling injuries and there isn't much to play for. Doncic himself has admitted that he often rushed his injuries to get back on the floor, and they must be conservative with their approach for the rest of the season with Davis. While the Mavericks are not in a guaranteed playoff spot right now and aren't true contenders, the same principle from their situation with Doncic ahead of the 2022 NBA Playoffs stands true.

Even if Davis wants to play with everything in him, risking him getting re-injured is not worth it. Dallas gave up one of the top three best players in the NBA to get Davis from the Los Angeles Lakers, and they can't afford for anything bad to happen to him. Dallas is also in a good position to have a spot in the draft lottery, and they need to do whatever they can to keep that pick in the lottery, which may include sitting Davis for the remainder of the season.

It's clear that some members of the Mavericks organization want to shut Davis down for the season while Davis wants to get back on the floor as soon as possible, and whatever decision Dallas makes could end up having a bigger effect than anyone realizes.