Key Mavericks Star Downgraded for Blazers Showdown

A depleted Dallas squad hosts Portland on Thursday.

Oct 24, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) and guard Luka Doncic (77) and forward P.J. Washington (25) and center Daniel Gafford (21) and guard Klay Thompson (31) huddle up during the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

An already-depleted Dallas Mavericks squad will host the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday.

Now, another critical component of the club's attack, veteran center Daniel Gafford, may join the ranks of All-Star guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, who are already anguishing on Dallas' bench.

Per the league's latest injury report, Gafford is considered questionable to play through a sprained left ankle. Doncic (left calf strain) and Irving (lumbar back sprain) are out for multiple weeks. Top point-of-attack defensive guard Dante Exum is still on the mend from a right wrist surgery. Two-way players Kessler Edwards and Jazian Gortman are also on the shelf.

Across 35 contests this season (15 starts), the 26-year-old big man is averaging a career-best 11.7 points on 71.8 percent shooting from the field and 66.7 percent shooting from the charity stripe, along with 6.0 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, 1.1 assists, and 0.5 steals.

The 6-foot-10 big man out of Arkansas was first acquired by Dallas midway through the team's charmed 2023-24 season. Along with ex-Charlotte Hornets big man P.J. Washington, Gafford's addition totally revamped the Mavericks frontcourt, improving the team enough around incumbent superstars Irving and Doncic that the club ultimately made it all the way to the NBA Finals as a No. 5-seeded underdog in the Western Conference.

Gafford was installed as Jason Kidd's primary starter at the five last season, although then-rookie Dereck Lively II was playing more. Both centers are athletic, rim-rolling options who thrive in the paint. The 7-foot-1 Lively, the No. 12 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft out of Duke, has supplanted Gafford as the starter at their position this season, but Gafford is still a critical component in the Mavericks' attack.

With its best players absent, the team recently snapped a five-game losing streak by blowing out the Lakers on Tuesday, behind the improved play of several Dallas role players. The Mavericks are currently 21-16 on the year, but in the bunched-up West, things can change quickly. To wit, Dallas is just 3.5 games behind the No. 2-seeded Houston Rockets.

Portland, meanwhile, is looking to lose, much to the chagrin of its players and coaches. At 13-23, the club currently occupies the No. 13 seed in the West, and is hoping to drop a bit more to improve its odds of landing a top talent in next year's draft. So ultimately, both the Mavericks and Trail Blazers want Dallas to win. But with the Mavericks running out of healthy bodies, that could prove difficult.

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