![]() The five-year veteran will play in his fourth All-Star game Sunday – his third as a starter – and is looking forward to getting his body back right. “But I think when we’re fully healthy we have a dangerous team.”ĭoncic himself has battled a lot of nagging injuries this season. ![]() ![]() “A lot of people forget our best defender has been out for like (33) games now,” Doncic said of Kleber. Guard Luka Doncic can’t wait for the day when the Mavs are fully healthy, because he said that’s when they can truly show everyone what they’re made of. “With him being able to play defense – he’s a bigger (center) - with him being able to stretch the floor and me being able to space the floor for Luka and Kyrie, it’s going to be interesting.” He’s a compliment to me and I’m a compliment to him. “I think me and Maxi have been perfect together. “Maxi being our defensive anchor, he’s been with this team since he got in the NBA (in 2014),” center Christian Wood said. His absence has hampered the Mavs the most, because they’ve been hurting on the defensive end of the floor. Kleber is the Mavs’ best defender and the player who keeps things in-check from the interior portion of the court. And they’re all vets, so we need to have those guys come in and give us that leadership. “We need Maxi on the defensive end, Davis shooting the ball, Kyrie obviously doing what he does, and Tim being another spacer. “We definitely need them with the schedule coming up. “All of them are four great players,” forward Reggie Bullock said. The Mavs know they need those four players healthy and ready to play if they have designed on moving up the standings and reaching at least the Western Conference Finals for the second year in a row. Also, forward Davis Bertans suffered a left calf strain and has sat out the last seven games, and center/forward Maxi Kleber has missed the past 33 games after he suffered a right hamstring tear during a Dec. has missed the past two games with tightness in his right hamstring. Meanwhile, guard/forward Tim Hardaway Jr. 23 at home against the San Antonio Spurs. But coach Jason Kidd said he expects Irving to play in Sunday’s All-Star game at Vivint Arena, which also means he should be ready when the Mavs resume play on Feb. Mercurial guard Kyrie Irving, who the Mavs acquired from the Brooklyn Nets on Feb 6, missed Wednesday’s 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets. All of those numbers would be significantly better - the Mavs believe – if they didn’t have to deal with so many injuries to so many key players. The Mavs are 31-29 on the season, 19-10 at home, 12-19 on the road, 23-16 against the Western Conference and 8-13 against the Eastern Conference. SALT LAKE CITY – Since they have so many players sidelined with injuries, the NBA All-Star break has come at a most opportune time for the Dallas Mavericks.
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