Mavs Injury News: Wood Fractures Thumb; Hardaway, Kleber Updates

The Dallas Mavericks will be without Christian Wood for Friday's game against the Miami Heat. Maxi Kleber addressed reporters with the latest on his hamstring recovery.

The Dallas Mavericks had gained Dorian Finney-Smith and Josh Green from injuries ahead of Wednesday's 130-123 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. As players came off the injury report, Christian Wood became a new addition.

The Mavs announced on Thursday that Wood had sustained a fracture of his left thumb during the second quarter of Wednesday's game against the Hawks. He will be re-evaluated next week. 

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that forward Christian Wood has sustained a fracture of his left thumb. The injury occurred in the second quarter of last night's game against the Atlanta Hawks. Wood will be re-evaluated next week.

The timetable for a possible return remains unclear, but the key distinction in the press release wording is "next week" instead of "one week." Wood's status will be monitored as early as Monday as a result. 

Tim Hardaway Jr. missed the Mavs' previous two games due to an ankle injury, but he is currently listed as probable for Friday's matchup against the Miami Heat. He was seen getting shots up after Thursday's practice.  

Tim Hardaway Jr. getting some shots up after Mavericks practice. He has been sidelined for the previous two games due to an ankle injury. pic.twitter.com/DVjnXpsjJa

— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) January 19, 2023

Maxi Kleber, who hasn't played since Dec. 12, did address reporters after Thursday's practice to offer an update on his torn hamstring recovery. He began participating in on-court activities like shooting, ball handling, and movement workouts. 

"Everything is going well so far as planned," Kleber said. "Now we're in a phase to do on-court stuff and just figure out how soon I can advance — jogging, change of direction, and stuff like that." 

Kleber explained that he was never concerned that recovery from the injury would prevent him from returning to the lineup before the end of the season. He still is unsure how long he will sidelined, but did mention that he envisions himself being able to practice and then play within "a couple of weeks."

"As soon as I got the MRI results, the doctors were open to me about what kind of injury it is, how long (recovery) takes," Kleber said. "I wasn't worried that it'd be the whole season. It still takes time. The muscle still has to heal. I never thought it'd be the entire season. What the timeline exactly is, it's hard to tell. It differentiates on how it feels, but I'm optimistic."

Kleber clarified further: "Hopefully in a couple of weeks I can return to practice and play."

With Kleber still working toward a return from his torn hamstring injury, the Mavs will have to rely on Dwight Powell and JaVale McGee as their main center options while Kleber and Wood are sidelined. Both players were working on "Veer" switching concepts during the open portion of Thursday's practice. 

The Mavs return to action on Friday when they take on the Miami Heat in part of a nationally televised (ESPN) matchup. 

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