Klay Thompson can't wait for the 1 thing all Mavericks want as soon as possible

The Dallas Mavericks are in the middle of one of their roughest stretches of the season as they have gone 5-10 ever since Luka Doncic went down with a calf strain on Christmas Day, and they are fighting one of the worst injury bugs we have seen for this team in recent memory. Seemingly everyone has missed time this season for Dallas, and they have battled adversity all year.

In Thursday night's win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas was without seven players due to injury and illness, and they were still able to claw out a win. Dallas has truly been Oklahoma City's weakness this season, and they showed the resilience that they have shown all year long despite being without nearly half their roster. Among those seven injured Mavericks was Klay Thompson, as he has missed the last two games due to a left ankle sprain.

Thompson is currently listed as questionable for today's matchup against the Boston Celtics, and him returning to the lineup will give Dallas much-needed depth on the wing. The Mavs have started Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Kessler Edwards over the last two games in the frontcourt, and Thompson will undoubtedly retake his starting spot at the three once he is healthy.

Thompson's season hinges on Doncic's return

Thompson has had an up-and-down season so far for Dallas, and he as much as anyone misses Doncic on the floor. They have pretty much been attached at the hip, as Thompson typically always shares the floor with Doncic when they're fully healthy, and they have truly formed a deadly duo.

Thompson was brought in to compliment Doncic's game, and without Doncic on the floor, Thompson's play takes a dip. He is averaging 11.9 points per game while shooting 37.9 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from downtown in games without Doncic, and the quality of shots that he gets is much lower when Doncic is sidelined. He isn't getting the same clean catch-and-shoot looks that he would get when Doncic was on the floor with him, and his play is truly suffering without him in the lineup.

With Doncic in the lineup, Thompson is averaging 14.9 points while shooting 43.4 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from downtown. As shown by these stats, Thompson is much more effective with Doncic on the floor with him. Doncic is always looking to get Thompson open looks behind the arc, and his on-ball gravity and unreal playmaking are a perfect fit next to Thompson. Doncic is the best playmaker that Thompson has ever played with, and he has been getting some of the best shots of his career when Dallas uses him correctly and emphasizes getting him involved with off-ball actions.

The duo of Thompson and Doncic posts a 120 offensive rating when they are on the floor together, which is in the top three duos on the team when ranking them by offensive rating (duos who have played together for over 100 minutes), only trailing Doncic and Quentin Grimes and Doncic and P.J. Washington. They truly bring the best out of each other, and as soon as Doncic returns, we should see the big Thompson games return.

The difference between Thompson's impact is night and day when he is playing with Doncic, and the Mavericks are counting down the days until Doncic makes his return.