The Dallas Mavericks are itching to get back their Latvian superstar Kristaps Porzingis. Porzingis hasn't been available throughout the start of the 2020-21 season as he rehabs from his knee surgery in October, leaving the Mavs slightly thin in the frontcourt.
While there's no direct date for the 7-foot-3 center's return, head coach Rick Carlisle chaffed with an insightful update on Wednesday in terms of Porzingis' progress:
Kristaps Porzingis won't play vs. Nuggets tomorrow, but he's nearing his season debut. Rick Carlisle: "In terms of a timetable, we’re not talking weeks. We’re talking some time in the next week, week and a half, if all things continue to go well."
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) January 6, 2021
Having Porzingis available in the next week or so is good news for the Mavs. After leaving an impression on most of the league during the 2020 playoffs, Dallas has gotten off to a 3-4 start for the season with most of the workload going to Luka Doncic.
Porzingis suffered a torn meniscus during the first round of the 2020 playoffs against the Los Angeles Clippers. While he attempted to play on the hobbled leg at first, the medical staff urged sitting the Unicorn until his knee fully healed. Many pundits will argue his absence from the lineup was the sole reason as to why the Mavericks fell to the juggernaut-statured Clippers.
Prior to going down with his leg injury, Porzingis averaged 20.4 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in his first season with the Mavs. He and Doncic became a complete one-two punch after learning one another's style of play, allowing them to squeeze into the playoffs as the seventh seed.
As it stands, the Mavs will have to once again battle without Porzingis on Thursday. Doncic and company will square off against the 3-4 Nuggets as they look to climb up the rankings early on in the season.
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