{"id":72967,"date":"2025-11-28T05:34:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T05:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/72967\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T05:34:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T05:34:13","slug":"dallas-mavericks-reveal-key-anthony-davis-injury-update-before-los-angeles-lakers-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/72967\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas Mavericks Reveal Key Anthony Davis Injury Update Before Los Angeles Lakers Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dallas Mavericks released their final injury report ahead of Friday\u2019s matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers, and while the team remains thin, one key development stands out: Anthony Davis<\/a> is on the brink of returning.<\/p>\n

Dallas listed Davis as questionable with the left calf strain that has sidelined him for nearly a month. Cooper Flagg<\/a> is available while wearing a right thumb splint, but the Mavericks will again be without Kyrie Irving<\/a> (left knee surgery), Dereck Lively II<\/a> (right foot injury management) and Dant\u00e9 Exum (right knee injury management).<\/p>\n

Anthony Davis Completes First Full Practice Since Injury<\/p>\n

Davis has missed 14 straight games since straining his left calf on Oct. 29, but Wednesday\u2019s practice marked the final stage of what the Mavericks hoped would be a steady ramp-up. Davis said the session \u201cfelt good\u201d and praised the energy around him.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood practice. Great intensity. Good competitive-spirited practice,\u201d Davis said. \u201cIt was good to get back on the floor with the guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Head coach Jason Kidd<\/a> said Davis handled the workload as well as the staff hoped.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst practice with the group, he did a really good job,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cHopefully we can see how he feels tomorrow, and then we\u2019ll make that decision if it\u2019s LA or the Clippers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team has already ruled out Davis playing both nights of the back-to-back. When asked which game he preferred, Davis didn\u2019t hide his leanings.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know what game I want to play,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ll have a conversation and see what makes the most sense with the medical staff and coaching staff. No decision has been made.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Frustrating Wait \u2014 With a Cautious Approach<\/p>\n

The Mavericks have applied a conservative timeline to Davis\u2019 recovery, a process the All-Star big man acknowledged has required patience.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always frustrating when you\u2019re sitting out,\u201d Davis said. \u201cOur job is to play games, and I want to play. But I\u2019m listening to the medical staff and front office and trying to be smart with the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davis added that this calf strain did not compare to the one he suffered in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think this one was as severe as the one in \u201922,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m listening to our medical staff and doing everything they need me to do to make sure I\u2019m ready to get back on the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kidd echoed that caution earlier in the week, noting the nature of calf strains and broader league trends with soft-tissue injuries.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnytime with a calf strain, you have to be cautious,\u201d Kidd said.<\/p>\n

Dallas Mavericks Still Thin Elsewhere<\/p>\n

Even if Davis returns Friday or Saturday, the Mavericks will still be without key pieces. Kidd said the team still needs to wait \u201cseven to ten days\u201d for clarity on Lively\u2019s foot issue and confirmed the 20-year-old center won\u2019t travel on the road trip.<\/p>\n

Irving and Exum remain sidelined, and Kidd pointed to the cumulative strain on the roster.<\/p>\n

Those stretches have spotlighted players forced into larger roles, including Brandon Williams<\/a>. Kidd praised the way the young guard has responded.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look at B-Will\u2019s ability to work on his game and understand,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cHe\u2019s playing at a high level and starting. Given the opportunity in this league, he\u2019s taken full advantage of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Facing Luka Don\u010di\u0107 at an MVP Level<\/p>\n

The Mavericks will see Luka Don\u010di\u0107<\/a> for the first time this season, and Kidd didn\u2019t hesitate when asked whether the former Dallas star looks different in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s one of the best scorers in the world, so I don\u2019t know if anything is different,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cYou can see he\u2019s confident and playing the game at a very high level, if not the MVP.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u010di\u0107 leads the NBA in scoring and has powered the Lakers to a 13\u20134 start.<\/p>\n

Davis said watching from the sideline as Dallas fell to 4\u201311 in clutch games has been one of the toughest parts of his absence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re right there \u2014 we\u2019re in every game,\u201d Davis said. \u201cFor me, those moments are where I close games and help us on both ends of the floor. It gets even more frustrating when I\u2019m not able to go out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Return This Weekend Feels Imminent<\/p>\n

Whether Davis plays Friday or Saturday, both he and the team agree the comeback window has finally arrived.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a step closer to getting back on the floor, hopefully this weekend,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n

For a Mavericks team stretched thin and searching for stability, that step may arrive at the perfect time \u2014 even if it comes one night later than Davis would prefer.<\/p>\n

Latest Dallas Mavericks News & NBA Rumors<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Dallas Mavericks released their final injury report ahead of Friday\u2019s matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72968,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[42739,42740,7015,42741,42742,42743,33233,48,52,51,47,50,2497,49,7551,129,8874],"class_list":{"0":"post-72967","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-anthony-davis","9":"tag-cooper-flagg","10":"tag-dallas-mavericks","11":"tag-dante-exum","12":"tag-dereck-lively-ii","13":"tag-jason-kidd","14":"tag-kyrie-irving","15":"tag-la","16":"tag-la-headlines","17":"tag-la-news","18":"tag-los-angeles","19":"tag-los-angeles-headlines","20":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","21":"tag-los-angeles-news","22":"tag-luka-doncic","23":"tag-nba","24":"tag-nba-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72967\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}