Bitten by injury bug, Mavs have had their practice time chewed up, too

HOUSTON – Some 23 years ago, Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson famously quipped “you’re talking about practice, not a game” after he skipped a practice session during his team’s trip to Miami.

Fast forward to today, the Dallas Mavericks are crossing their fingers for the day they have enough players to have a practice session.

The Mavs only dressed nine players for Friday’s game at the Toyota Center against the Houston Rockets. That has become the standard for over a month when the Mavs started being besieged with the kind of injuries that’ll make Mavs Nation cry.

Before losing to the Rockets, 133-96, coach Jason Kidd said of his team’s plight: “There’s really not time or enough guys to practice, so a lot of times we’ll get in small groups just to work on stuff. But right now we’re not practicing just due to the number of guys (injured) and the schedule.

“We have this (Friday) evening (game against Houston) and we have an early one Sunday (at 12-noon against the Sixers), so it’s really trying to get the guys rest. Just having eight guys, sometimes nine, sometimes seven, right now practice is not (an option).”

Mavs centers Dereck Lively II (right ankle stress fracture), Daniel Gafford (right MCL sprain) and Kai Jones (quadriceps) did not play against the Rockets. Forwards Anthony Davis (strained left adductor), PJ Washington (right ankle sprain) and Olivier-Maxence Prosper (right wrist surgery) also missed Friday’s game, as well as guards Kyrie Irving (left knee ACL surgery) and Jaden Hardy (right ankle sprain).

“I think we’ve been in this situation for a long time now, so it’s just been consistent of what we’re asking them to do – the energy and effort – things that we can control,” Kidd said. “We’re not going to get every rebound (and) we’re not going to make every shot.

“But trying to make the right plays on both ends, the guys have been doing that at a high level here with all the injuries.”

Adjustments on the fly are certainly needed when the Mavs don’t even have enough healthy players to have a five-on-five scrimmage.

“No, this is not the first in a sense of sometimes in March you might not have practiced just due to the situation of the games or how the schedule falls,” Kidd said. “Normally, if you’re making a run for a positioning of a (playoff) seeding right now, just understand shootarounds are a lot of times used as your practice.

“But right now we’re not having any of those on game days. Is it the first? No. But this is a little bit different due to the bodies that we don’t have.”

ROCKETS SAW A GLIMPSE OF MAVS’ FUTURE: The Houston Rockets are the only team that saw, first-hand, a glimpse of what the Mavs hope will be their immediate future.

Back on Feb. 8 before a raucous crowd at American Airlines Center, the Mavs defeated the Rockets, 116-105. That’s the game where Anthony Davis made his Mavs’ debut and put on a terrific show before leaving for good late in the third quarter after suffering an abdominal injury.

Davis started at power forward, Daniel Gafford was the center, PJ Washington was at small forward, and Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson comprised the backcourt. Davis finished that game with 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks. And Max Christie, who came to the Mavs along with Davis in the blockbuster trade which sent Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers, tallied 23 points and converted 4-of-5 shots from behind the three-point line.

“They looked good,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “They made us change strategies and go double big ourselves in the second half.

“And it was (the) first game (for Davis), so him and the crowd were extra amped up. They looked good so far in the short half or three quarters.”

That sample size was all the Mavs needed to show fans they’ll be a serious threat to win the NBA title when they’re completely heathy. Especially since the Mavs blocked a franchise record 18 shots in that game against the Rockets.

“I thought AD, for two-and-a-half quarters, with 18 blocks shots (as a team), protected the rim, protected the paint,” Kidd said. “But we lost PJ (Washington with a sprained right ankle) and AD in that game.

“But that’s the way we would like to be – the ability to protect the paint and get out and run. You saw AD (scoring) behind the arc, in the post and being able to play-make off the dribble.”

BRIEFLY: Mavs forward PJ Washington was listed as questionable for Friday’s game against Houston. But ultimately, he did not play and may be in the lineup for Sunday’s 12-noon game at home against the Philadelphia76ers. “I think he’s trending in the right direction,” coach Jason Kidd said before Friday’s game. “Hopefully, he’s able to play Sunday. Just understanding coming off an injury, it could be where if he plays tonight does that put him in jeopardy of not playing Sunday, because it’s a 12 o’clock game and it’s a quick turn? He’s done everything and he’s trending in the right direction. Hopefully, we get another body back on Sunday.”. .With so many injuries piling up, Kidd said under the circumstances: “I think the group has played extremely hard. The energy and effort has been there. Sometimes we can’t stop anyone offensively. It happens.”

X: @DwainPrice