Mavericks' undeniable Anthony Davis reality continues to cripple them

With two games left in the regular season, the Dallas Mavericks are scrambling to regain momentum before the Play-In Tournament game. After an emotional loss against the Los Angeles Lakers and Luka Doncic, the Mavs have positioned themselves in a scary spot in the Western Conference.

As of Thursday, the Mavericks hold the tenth seed in the West and have little chance of gaining home-court advantage in the first round of the Play-In Tournament. Despite the Mavs' head-scratching position with two games left in the season, Doncic's return to Dallas was undoubtedly this week's biggest headline.

Doncic didn't only torch his former team but once again showed why Nico Harrison made the biggest mistake of his life when he decided to trade away the Slovenian superstar. Doncic finished the night off with 45 points on uber-efficient numbers as both Maverick and Laker fans cheered him on to the final whistle.

While Doncic did his best to embrace the fans, Anthony Davis struggled to have a patent revenge game against his former team. Davis didn't only look sloppy in his 33 minutes on the floor but also angered fans with his lack of aggression on both ends of the court.

Anthony Davis isn't fully healthy and is nowhere near killer mode

Injuries are no doubt the worst part about professional sports, but unfortunately, they are a reality that Maverick fans know all too well this season. Even before Doncic was traded, Dallas was battling a slew of injuries and illnesses that plagued the locker room.

In an effort to combat a season being jeopardized by injuries, Harrison traded for Davis, who would ultimately spend even more time on the bench rehabbing an adductor strain that he suffered in his debut game as a Maverick than time on the floor.

While Davis heroically came back a few weeks ago in an attempt to revive Dallas' playoff hopes, it's proven to be yet another decision that has landed the Mavericks farther than where they started. The Mavericks will continue to compete for a playoff spot, but fans can't help but think the team might be in a better spot had they decided to shut down Davis for the remainder of the season.

To make matters worse, since returning from his lengthy calf strain as a Laker, Doncic has looked nothing short of MVP material. Assuming Doncic had a fully healthy season, he would no doubt be in hot contention for this year's MVP race.

While Davis has given the Mavericks a jolt of life in terms of their postseason hopes after being back in the Mavericks lineup for multiple weeks, it's clear Davis is not fully healthy. Against his former team, Davis looked sluggish and disinterested in what was the biggest game of the season, while the man Dallas traded for him was locked in on dominating the entire game.

This might only be a one-off scenario for Davis, but fans couldn't help but notice how slowly Davis was to rotate on the help side as a defender or get to his spots on the offensive end of the floor. The Lakers were sending double teams Davis' way early and often, and he struggled to get open and leave his mark on the game.

Had Davis been fully healthy, this would likely not be a topic fans are raging about, but it's clear the Mavericks and Davis need to have a serious discussion about his health ahead of the first round of the Play-In Tournament next week. Davis returned to prove something to Mavericks fans, his teammates, and Nico Harrison, and the only thing that Wednesday night proved is that he should not be mentioned in the same sentence as Doncic when comparing their impacts.

The Mavericks are still in contention for home-court advantage in the play-in game, but it may not be worth Davis' health and availability for what will become the most important game of the season.