Kidd must stop disastrous Anthony Davis trend from becoming Mavericks' kryptonite

It's no secret that injuries are already playing a huge part in the Dallas Mavericks' season before training camp has even begun. Anthony Davis, while now healthy for five-on-five action, had an offseason eye surgery that sidelined him for much of the summer, in addition to Dereck Lively II receiving foot surgery to clean up bone spurs this summer.

Just last season, the Mavericks were facing the franchise's worst injury crisis, and it didn't help when Davis got hurt in his debut game, as it may have been caused by too much of a workload on Jason Kidd's behalf when he wasn't fully recovered from an injury that he suffered while on the Los Angeles Lakers. Although it might sound like it could come to the detriment of the team and its success, Kidd must prevent injuries early this season by lessening the workload for Davis.

Throughout Davis' career, he has always been plagued by injury after injury, and it may be due to the extreme workload Davis typically has through a given NBA season. Now at the age of 32, the Mavericks need to prioritize Davis' longevity before handing him a 40-minute workload every night, and the Mavs may have the perfect roster to do so.

Jason Kidd must lessen Anthony Davis' workload to prevent injuries

While it might sound easy to some fans to lessen the workload of your No. 1 player, it might be harder for the Mavericks to do so, considering they are already without Kyrie Irving for much of the regular season. Not only would this mean that the Mavericks could be without their two best players on the floor at a given time, but it may be necessary if Kidd and the Mavericks don't want to lose Davis for an extended period of time.

Not only will minimizing Davis' workload as much as possible be necessary for Kidd to establish early in the season, possibly even during training camp, but the Mavericks could have the perfect roster to build around Davis. By many accounts, the Mavericks have one of the deepest frontcourts in the entire league, and even without Davis in the lineup, the Mavs could still have one of the most respected center to forward combos.

The Mavericks already have Lively II and Daniel Gafford, who are more than capable of holding their own within the team's rotation, but backing up Davis, the Mavericks will likely have P.J. Washington and Cooper Flagg. Not only could this mean that Kidd will be forced to bench Davis through stints of a game, but it's hard to keep Washington off the floor.

In addition to Washington, the Mavericks have already expressed interest in playing Flagg two through four, which, unless Kidd wants to explore putting Davis at the five, would mean that Flagg would be replacing Davis in a lineup that features him at the power forward position.

The Mavericks will have plenty of options when it comes to adding depth behind Davis, and unless it's a close and important regular-season affair, Davis shouldn't be expected to clock more than 35 minutes in a game. Ensuring Davis' longevity should arguably be one of Kidd's top priorities when it comes to his roster, and thankfully, the Mavericks have the perfect names to make that a reality.

With Washington alone having the ability to play the four in any given Dallas lineup, the Mavericks shouldn't be afraid to see what their team looks like without the star power of Davis on the floor for a lengthy period of time. Davis playing the four for an entire season should help keep him healthier than we've seen in years past, and the Mavs must do whatever they can to ensure he stays healthy.