Mavs Cautious About Dante Exum's Workload After Recent Injuries

Mavs guard Dante Exum remains in a minutes role after returning to the lineup against the Raptors. What's his outlook for the rest of the season?

DALLAS — Since dealing with multiple lengthy injury absences in January, the Dallas Mavericks have been cautious with Dante Exum's workload since his return to the lineup. He's averaged 8.7 points, 2.8 assists, and 2.7 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per game on the season, beginning in a low minutes role to solidifying himself as a starter, then getting injured and since coming off the bench. What's next? 

There was even a point in the season when his impact was described by coach Jason Kidd as being that of a "max player" while solidifying himself as a starter on the wing next to Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. In December, when filling in for Irving often, Exum averaged 15.3 points, 4.5 assists, and 3.8 rebounds in 31.1 minutes per game, often being a needed on-ball defender, secondary creator, and off-the-catch attacker.

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Exum began dealing with a right foot injury that caused him to be ruled out at halftime of the team's New Year's Day loss against the Utah Jazz, which was later described as being a "plantar sprain." After returning later in January, he began dealing with right knee bursitis, resulting in him appearing in just three games since the start of January through the NBA All-Star Break.  

Exum returned to the lineup on February 28 in the Mavs' win against the Toronto Raptors. He's averaged 13.2 minutes over a three-game span, ranking 10th among all Mavs players. Josh Green started next to P.J. Washington on the wings, with Tim Hardaway Jr. and Derrick Jones Jr. coming off the bench.  

Jason Kidd: Dante Exum Playing Like 'Max Player' for Mavs

Kidd doesn't envision Exum returning to the starting lineup to play heavy minutes this season, admitting the team "ran him at red line" when other players were injured, resulting in him missing over 20 games. 

“I don’t know about starting and about heavy minutes,” Kidd said. “We ran him at red line and he missed 20-some games. He played a lot of minutes. During that stretch we had a lot of injuries and we asked the guys to do a lot of things. We stretched D-Jones and Exum and put a lot on their plate. And they responded in a positive way and you got to thank them for that. But as you get healthy, things are going to change.

"To say we’re going to play him 30 minutes a night, fully healthy, that’s not going to happen," Kidd explained. "We have a lot of guys who can play minutes. We need guys to make that adjustment and it’s going to take time. For him, right now, it’s (about) keeping him under 20 minutes and getting him back into a rhythm and at a high-level basketball-wise for sure.”

Even with Exum having a reduced workload, the team should have options on the wing around Luka Doncic and Irving to space the floor and get enough stops defensively. However, that hasn't transpired since their seven-game winning streak, losing five of their previous six games entering Tuesday's matchup against the Indiana Pacers. 

Mavs' Luka Doncic Praises Dante Exum's 'Amazing' Impact Amid Career Year

While having Exum's impact at prior levels would be ideal for the Mavs, the team recently celebrated their depth during a seven-game winning streak, exclaiming themselves as "deep" for the first time in many years. Surely, there are enough buttons to push to generate sufficient results around Doncic and Irving. 

"We're deep. This is the first time the Mavs have been deep in a long time," Kidd said earlier this season. "Our health, our energy, everything's in a positive way right now."

It remains to be seen how the Mavs will manage his workload, considering he played 17 minutes against the Raptors in his return. Still, it has since logged 15 minutes against the Boston Celtics and eight minutes against the Philadelphia 76ers. Regardless, it remains a factor to monitor as the Mavs seek to bounce back from losing five of their last six games after a seven-game winning streak.