Dallas Mavericks forward Kristaps Porzingis was expected to play against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on New Year's Eve. The 7'3″ Latvian, however, was scratched off the line-up on the Mavs' final game of the year due to knee soreness.
Per Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News, Porzingis already felt some stinging pain during warmups, prompting the team's medical staff to sit him out rather than risk a potentially more serious injury.
The 24-year-old star also claimed to have felt some pain for a brief moment after landing awkwardly in the Mavs' 95-108 defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers last Sunday.
Without Kristaps Porzingis, Luka Doncic had to shoulder the load by his lonesome against the Thunder and came up with 35 points, 10 rebounds, and seven dimes. Dallas, however, still came up short and dropped a close 101-106 match, dropping to 21-12 in the season after losing back-to-back games.
Porzingis, meanwhile, missed all 82 games last year after recovering from a torn ACL. Given his importance to the Mavs' plans moving forward, it's quite understandable that the team take a cautious approach to their other European star.
The Unicorn has shown flashes of his pre-injured self in stretches this season, averaging 17.3 points (40.3 percent FG shooting and 34.3 3PT) to go along with 9.4 rebounds and 2.1 blocks. Still, it's also quite evident that he is still a work in progress in terms of regaining his All-Star form, often looking timid in some games this year.
TNT analyst Charles Barkley even lambasted Porzingis for his lack of aggressiveness, claiming he can no longer play the “injured card” from last year.
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