The Mavericks have been wearing out the Dallas North Tollway between downtown and Frisco.
For the second time this week, they sent players to practice with the Texas Legends, ostensibly to have enough players to field a five-on-five scrimmage.
Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford all worked out in Frisco with the Legends when they were assigned to the G League team.
A few hours later, they were recalled to the Mavericks. All of them were in street clothes on the bench for the game against Detroit Friday night.
It’s the second time Davis, recovering from a strained left adductor muscle, which runs along the inner thigh, has worked out with the Legends. It was the first time for Lively (right ankle stress fracture) and Gafford (right knee). Jaden Hardy went with Davis on the first run with the Legends and returned from an ankle injury Wednesday in Indiana.
Coach Jason Kidd said that Davis took part in a five-on-five scrimmage and Lively and Gafford were involved in three-on-three play.
“So it was a positive day today,” he said. “We’ll see how they feel tomorrow (Saturday) and continue to keep pushing forward. And hopefully they can get them back in uniform and playing. There is no timetable. But it’s all positive. A lot of good stuff.”
Davis has played just one game for the Mavericks since he was acquired in the Luka Doncic blockbuster. And he was a monster in that game against Houston on Feb. 8 with 26 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists in 31 minutes.
Lively has been out since Jan. 14 and Gafford has missed every game since Feb. 10.
The G League workouts, assuming that the Mavericks don’t have any setbacks from them, could mean that a return to game action is possible in the coming week during a four-game Eastern Conference trip.
Homecomings: Tim Hardaway Jr. made his first appearance at AAC since getting traded in the offseason from the Mavericks to the Pistons.
The 6-5 guard played five-plus seasons with the Mavericks since being part of the Kristaps Porzingis trade in the 2018-19 season.
“He’s a fierce competitor and it’s every single day, it’s every drill,” Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “It’s in shootaround and walkthroughs. Whatever it is, he brings an intensity to the moment that our guys need. And in the game the same thing.”
The Mavericks played a well-done video during a first-quarter timeout that highlighted a lot of Hardaway’s big moments on the court, but also showed him contributing to many community endeavors off the court.
Unfortunately for Hardaway, his night was done when he suffered what appeared to be a right ankle injury in the second quarter.
“That’s what makes us Dallas Mavericks,” Hardaway said in one of the clips about giving back to the community.
And Hardaway has been well-received in Detroit.
“When you watch him, he’s willing to do whatever it takes to help this team win,” Bickerstaff said. “The shooting piece of it is obvious, his ability to space the floor and the way people have to respect him, but there’s a grittiness and a toughness to him that allows him to just go out and do all the nasty things that we need to do that impact winning and he’s set the tone that way with our group.”
Hardaway has averaged 10.4 points this season while starting all 66 games in which he’s appeared.
He isn’t the only Piston with local ties. Cade Cunningham grew up in Arlington and spent part of his high school career at Bowie High School. He eventually went to Oklahoma State and was the No. 1 overall pick in 2021. He was an All-Star for the first time this season.
Ron Holland, the No. 5 overall pick of last summer’s draft who attended Duncanville High School, has averaged 6.2 points and 15 minutes per game in his rookie season.
More injury info: Sometimes, you have to measure headway in small increments. But the Mavericks made forward progress Friday when they had nine players available against Detroit. That’s up from the eight players who suited up in the previous two games. That also happens to be the league minimum for any team to have available for a game.
Brandon Williams was added to the list of available players, having overcome lower-back tightness
The players who were out still comprised a massive list: Davis (left adductor), Kyrie Irving (left knee), Lively (right ankle), Gafford (right knee), Caleb Martin, (right hip), Dante Exum (left hand) and O-Max Prosper (right wrist).
In addition, the Mavericks elected to sit Kessler Edwards, who has one game left to play with the Mavericks under the rules of his two-way contract. Those players can be active for only 50 NBA games. Kessler is at 49.
“If everyone comes out of this (game) clean, we can take him on the road and figure out if he’ll play Monday or Tuesday,” Kidd said.
X: @ESefk0
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