Mavs Playoff Outlook: Parsons' Injury Deals Major Blow To Post-Season Chances
By: Josh Clark
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DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - The Mavericks are locked in a tight race for the West's final three playoff spots. With 12 games left to play, let's take a look at the teams Dallas is up against, and the schedules each team faces to finish out the regular season.
PORTLAND (36-35): 6TH PLACE: 11 games remaining, .500+ 6, 8 Home, 3 Away (Against each other: DAL)
DALLAS (35-35) .5 gb: 7TH PLACE: 12 games remaining, .500+ 6, 4 Home, 8 Away (Against each other: @POR, HOU, @UTAH)
HOUSTON (35-36) 1.0 gb: 8TH PLACE: 11 games remaining: .500+ 6, 7 Home, 4 Away (Against each other: UTAH, @DAL)
UTAH (34-36) 1.5 gb: 9TH PLACE: 12 games remaining, .500+ 5, 6 Home, 6 Away (Against each other: @HOU, DAL)
How they fared over the last 7 days:
Portland (1-2), Dallas (1-2), Houston (1-3), Utah (2-1).
How far can they move up: Dallas is suddenly in a lot of trouble after a report from ESPN's Tim Macmahon said Chandler Parsons will miss the rest of the season with a torn meniscus in his right knee.
Parsons had missed the 4th quarter of the Mavs home loss to the Warriors on Friday and their overtime win over Portland on Sunday due to a 'sore hamstring.' The fact that it turned out to be a knee injury is a devastating blow to the Mavericks' playoff chances. The injury is also a blow to Parsons, who will now have his second consecutive season ending knee surgery.
After the ESPN report came out, the Mavericks released a statement saying that Parsons was out for the team's upcoming four-game road trip, while the team could explore 'treatment options.'
Parsons had been on a role of late after struggling for much of the first two months of the Mavericks' season. A minute restriction placed on him by Rick Carlisle held him to around 20 minutes of action per game, while he was recovering from off-season arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. In the last two months, however, Parsons was averaging 17 points, while shooting over 50% from the field in nearly 34 minutes per game.
Dallas will have to find a way to make up for his lost production in the season's final 12 games. The likeliest candidates to try and fill his role I expect will come in the form of rookie Justin Anderson and veteran Charlie Villanueva. Anderson played sparingly in Sunday's win over Portland, while Villanueva scored 6 points in just over 12 minutes of play.
The Mavericks fortunes, as they have for the last 16 plus seasons, will fall squarely on the shoulders of their legend, Dirk Nowitzki.
On Sunday, Nowitzki became the fourth player in NBA history to score 40 points in a game at the age of 37 or older. The other three are Michael Jordan (8 times), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (4 times) and Karl Malone (2 times), according to Elias Sports Bureau research.
Meanwhile, Deron Williams became the first Mav with 30 points and 15 assists in a game since Jason Kidd did it in 1996.
If Dallas wants to make the playoffs, they'll need their two veteran horses in Nowitzki and Williams to carry them past the finish line.
Mavericks Prediction: 8th seed (last week: 7th seed)
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