Rumors: Mavericks’ Anthony Davis injury situation is not what they expected

On Saturday afternoon, Dallas Mavericks fans were in heaven as Anthony Davis was having a perfect debut.

He had 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists, and three blocks, but then everything turned frightening quickly. Davis took an awkward fall while playing defense, and while he was able to get down to Dallas’ offensive end of the floor, Max Christie had to pick up an intentional foul so he could sub out of the game.

Davis almost immediately went back to the locker room, and Mavericks fans’ hearts were racing. He had been dealing with an abdominal strain since the end of January, and considering he was holding his midsection, fans assumed the worst, especially since it was a non-contact injury.

The Mavericks ruled Davis’ injury as a “lower-body injury” and he was ruled as doubtful to return. This was initially a good sign, as there was a slim chance he was going to return, and he later spoke to the media and talked about the injury.

Davis’ injury looks much more severe than expected

Davis said the injury was “nothing serious” and that he was “fine,” giving fans immediate relief. They thought that Davis had just tweaked something, as he said that it was just a “little spasm.” He said the injury was in his groin/quad area, and his demeanor seemed positive, but the initial positive outlook from Davis doesn’t seem to be the case anymore following NBA insider Marc Stein’s latest update.

Stein reported that there is fear that Davis could be sidelined for an “indefinite period” with the “severity of his adductor injury still being determined.” This was the last thing that fans expected after Davis’ positive update after the game, and treatment of this injury is going to be discussed on Monday.

ESPN’s Shams Charania followed up this report saying that Davis “is expected to miss multiple weeks with a left adductor strain,” and that he could end up missing a month.

This report is the last thing that Mavericks fans expected with the context clues provided yesterday of Davis being ruled as doubtful to return, to him saying he was fine, and this is an absolutely brutal break for a Mavericks team that hasn’t been able to stay healthy all year. Davis’ injury threw a wrench into his elite start as a Maverick, and it may be awhile until Mavs fans see him on the floor again.

This is awful luck for Davis and the Mavericks, as he has stayed healthy over the last two seasons, and if he misses significant time, the Mavs could be in danger of being a play-in team. Dallas is currently 28-25 and the No. 8 seed in the West, but the playoff race is close as ever.

Every game matters at this point of the season, but one positive of the timing of Davis’ injury is that the All-Star break will be here before we know it. The Mavericks only have three more games until the All-Star break, and after All-Star break, their next game is on February 21. That could be enough time for Davis to get healthy depending on how the tests go, but he will likely miss more time than that.

Dallas must be cautious with their new superstar, as him being out for the season would ruin their dreams of winning the NBA Finals this season. The Mavericks traded Luka Doncic for Davis with the hopes that they could win it all this season, and time will tell if Davis can help them turn that dream into a reality sooner rather than later.