DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks will host the Phoenix Suns on Friday night in the final contest of a five game home stand. Dallas, though, is dealing with injury trouble heading into the game. Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd revealed that Dereck Lively II (right shoulder sprain) and PJ Washington (right knee sprain) are both out for Friday night's game. Maxi Kleber, who is dealing with a right hamstring strain, has been upgraded to doubtful, however.
Washington, Kleber and Lively all missed Wednesday's game. The Mavs still earned a 119-99 victory, but Dallas is battling injury concerns. Kleber has been limited to only two games played this season due to his hamstring injury, but the fact that he is listed as doubtful as opposed to out is encouraging.
The Mavericks forward probably will not play against the Suns. His doubtful status hints that he may return sooner rather than later, though. At the very least, Kleber is seemingly trending in a promising direction.
Lively was initially listed as questionable for Wednesday's game before later being downgraded to doubtful. He was ruled out before tip-off. Washington was ruled out on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday's contest.
It remains to be seen when Washington, Lively and Kleber will return. The Mavericks are not making excuses amid their injury absences, though. Rather, the team is leaning into the “next man up” mentality despite the challenging circumstances.
Overall, the Mavs hold a respectable record to begin the new campaign. Dallas has not played up to their standards yet but this team projects to be extremely competitive while fully healthy.
The Mavericks will look to earn another win on Friday night against the Suns. We know that Lively and Washington will not play, but there is still a chance that Kleber could take the floor, although it is doubtful. Nevertheless, his status will be worth closely monitoring.
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