In a matter of 72 hours over one July weekend, the Dallas Mavericks went from one of the most interesting teams coming into the 2015-16 season to a team that has many question marks going into the season.
How much does Dirk Nowitzki have left? Can Deron Williams play like a perennial all-star once again? Will they be able to recover from striking out on DeAndre Jordan? But perhaps one of the biggest questions is, how healthy are they going into the season?
Chandler Parsons season came to an end in the playoffs due to a knee ailment, newly signed wingman Wesley Matthews is still returning from his achilles tear and JaVale McGee’s health is up in the air as well.
One thing appears to be certain with that trio of players, they won’t be participating in the upcoming Mavs training camp.
Following from Tim McMahon of ESPN.
Three players who are anticipated to play key roles for the Dallas Mavericks will not be fully cleared to begin training camp next week, according to sources.
Shooting guard Wesley Matthews, small forward Chandler Parsons and center JaVale McGee are all expected to gradually work into full participation in practices as they continue to recover from major injuries.
For Matthews and Parsons, by all means they should take all the time necessary in their individual recoveries. The Mavs have already said they would be patient with Matthews as he is coming back from an achilles injury and Parsons’ injury has been so secretive, we can assume that they would be allowed to take all the time necessary in their comeback.
For McGee, his return back to the court is more important for the Mavericks and for his own personal career. The Mavs need to establish who the starting center is immediately so they can begin to build continuity with their starting lineup. He’s going to be battling Zaza Pachulia and Samuel Dalembert for the main rotation minutes and he has talented young big men Jarrid Famous and Salah Mejri on his heels looking to make a name for themselves.
Injury concerns are just one of the many questions the Mavs have going into 2015.
