Anthony Davis played for the Dallas Mavericks on Monday and scored 12 points as they beat the Brooklyn Nets 120-101.
Davis played for 28 minutes and looked mostly like his usual self in his first game since February 8. He started with a dunk, played well on defense, and gave some hope to the team, which has been lacking it since he joined.
However, this is the Mavericks team without Luka Dončić, so things are never simple. While the win against Brooklyn and Davis`s return put Dallas (35-37) back in 10th place in the Western Conference Play-In race, it`s questionable if that`s a good goal for the struggling Mavericks. They are still missing important players like Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II, Caleb Martin, Dante Exum, Olivier-Maxence Prosper, and Kyrie Irving, who is out for the season and likely part of next season with a torn ACL.
Just reaching the playoffs will be difficult. Phoenix, their competitor, has won four of their last five games and is healthier. The Suns, also 35-37, have the tiebreaker and took back the 10th spot by winning against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday. Getting the 10th seed means playing two away games just to reach the playoffs, likely against Sacramento and then either Minnesota or the Los Angeles Clippers. Waiting for them in the playoffs would be the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are the best team in the NBA and want to get revenge for losing to Dallas in the second round last season. The chances of a deep playoff run are very low.
Davis is not thinking about those odds. He sees a chance to make the playoffs, so he is playing for it.
“I saw we were short of players for a long time, sometimes playing with only six, seven, or eight guys, and if I felt 100% ready to play, I would do it. I told my team and the organization that. We felt I could play, and that`s what I wanted to do,” Davis said after the game. “I`m not going to give up and sit out.”
It`s an admirable attitude, especially from a player who has been injured often like Davis. He feels he has a responsibility, and there is pressure on him. Despite jokes about his injury history, he is trying to lead his team to the playoffs and prove himself to fans who are currently unhappy. Davis is not Dončić, and some fans may never forgive him for that. But fans who are still supporting the team will see a new star trying his best to help them compete. It`s a good way to earn respect in a new city.
However, it might not be the best way to approach the rest of the season if the Mavericks want to win a championship in the future.
Missing the playoffs can actually be helpful for getting a better draft pick. Dallas knows how important draft position is. In 2023, they intentionally lost games to get Lively. If they had finished one spot lower, that pick would have gone to the Knicks. Dallas will keep their pick this year, but they need to make the most of it because they have traded away all their first-round picks between 2027 and 2030. Even a few draft spots can make a big difference, especially with the current NBA draft lottery system.
While draft picks are important, Davis is even more so. He is a player who made an existing injury worse in his first game as a Maverick. The nickname `street clothes` exists for a reason. Davis is prone to injury. The stakes are not very high this season because the Mavericks are unlikely to contend for a title anyway. What if Davis, like Irving, gets injured and it affects next season while trying to reach a play-in spot that might not even be desirable? What if the groin injury that sidelined him for a while this season continues into next year?
That risk might be worth it if Irving was healthy and Dallas had a real chance to compete this season. But given the situation with the rest of the team, there is not much to gain by playing Davis.
Davis`s effort is commendable, especially in a league where many teams are intentionally losing. But it creates a lot of risk for the Mavericks with very little potential reward.
