Mavericks have a growing Anthony Davis problem after latest health update

Despite a hard-fought contest on Monday night versus the Milwaukee Bucks, a shorthanded Dallas Mavericks team (once again) fell short 116-114, with Anthony Davis missing a sixth consecutive contest. Davis' absence follows appearing on the injury report with bilateral achilles tendinopathy prior to Dallas' win over the Indiana Pacers roughly two weeks ago.

Davis played just seven minutes in Dallas' game versus Indiana, leaving the game with what was later announced to be a left calf strain, but his health status has been extremely wary ever since he was listed as questionable ahead of Dallas' game versus the Washington Wizards last weekend.

Per reports, Davis was pushing to play heading into Saturday's game versus the Wizards, but Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont was part of a contingent along with Dallas' medical staff that preferred the Mavericks err on the side of caution with Davis' return to play.

Inside the uncertainty of Anthony Davis' health

Based on how much time Luka Doncic missed with a calf strain prior to being traded last season, as well as how interconnected the calf is to the Achilles, Mavericks fans know all too well it's best to err on the side of caution when it comes to calf strains, especially with the increase of Achilles tears that happened in the NBA last season.

It's no secret Davis has a concerning injury history, so taking all things into account, it's great that Dumont reportedly interjected into whatever conversation was happening over Davis playing against the Wizards or not, as the Mavericks can't afford any more major injuries with how depleted they already are.

Davis worked out on the court ahead of Dallas' loss versus the Bucks on Monday, according to Jason Kidd, but he was ultimately ruled out, as the Mavericks are clearly trying to give him as much time as possible to recover from his calf strain. While the Mavericks may not have the luxury of time in terms of needing Davis' services back on the court, it's smart not to make a bad situation worse in this instance.

This is what happened when Davis re-aggravated his groin in his February 8 debut for the Mavericks, as he tried to return quicker than he should've to in an effort to ease fan discontentment over the Doncic trade, which ultimately led to his downfall.

One can't fault Davis for wanting to be out there and be a competitor, but his health status being a point of contention is a concerning issue for the Mavericks to have, especially after inner turmoil amongst their training staff nearly caused a disaster for Dereck Lively II last season.

The Mavericks have an issue when it comes to Davis' availability as well as the way Dallas is handling his injury, especially if Nico Harrison was the one pining for him to play on Saturday, but all signs are pointing toward Davis being back at some point on this four-game homestand considering Dallas is just giving him some extra time to get even healthier here, so we'll see how he fares in his return.