Will Anthony Davis be 100% to start the season?

Since Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison traded for Anthony Davis in February of last season, the latter was a dependably efficient 20 points and 10 rebounds per game in Big D. And those stats don’t even demonstrate his value on defense, as a rim protector.

Unfortunately, however, as impressive as the stats are, they represent merely the average of the 9 games out of a potential 30 that Davis played in for the Mavericks after his arrival, starting with his first game with the team on February 8th. In that game, expectations began to rise quickly for what this new team could be. Davis played almost 31 minutes and had a very dominant first half, showcasing all the things that make him an elite big, thereby adding his signature to an overall successful team effort that painted a picture of a very high ceiling for Harrison’s new, defensive-minded group. But just as this glorious vision was beginning to materialize, Davis then suffered a groin injury and had to leave the game, limiting him to his human alter-ego, “Street Clothes”, for two thirds of the remaining games, while AD - the superhero - made very limited appearances after that time.

Some speculated that the Maverick’s decision to field Davis so early on in his recovery from a previous abdominal injury was the result of shortsighted thinking, perhaps crafted from a desire for respite from the biting assaults the team’s brass were being subjected to as a direct result of the Doncic trade that brought AD into the fold from the Los Angeles Lakers. At any rate, Harrison’s newest weapon would be sidelined once more, a status which has been an unfortunate constant in his (otherwise) extremely impressive career. But this specific injury was, perhaps, more due to the fact that the team chose its short-term interests first (something of a growing consistency for them), rather than simply AD’s inability to stay healthy.

Fast forward to now, just a short 6 weeks ahead of the NBA regular season opener, and we find the Mavs - first of all - most certainly without Kyrie Irving in the projected lineup (who is still recovering from an ACL tear he suffered in March), and secondly, perhaps also without a fully healthy Anthony Davis. At some point near the end of last season, Davis suffered an injury to his eye, likely the result, it’s said, of an elbow to the face. After playing through that injury for the remainder of the year, it eventually required surgery for the repair of a detached retina, which he underwent on July 8th.

NBA insider Marc Stein just appeared on the DLLS Mavs podcast and voiced his concerns over AD’s recovery timeline (which was originally predicted by the team to be complete by the start of training camp). Stein’s emphasis on that recovery timeline highlights just how pivotal the health of Irving and Davis will be to the Mavericks’ ceiling and overall success this coming season.

Stein had this to say:

“When practices start on September 30th, will AD even be ready to practice at that point? We don’t know that yet. So it’s not just the potential of starting the season without Kyrie… Ya know, is AD gonna be ready to go on opening night against San Antonio? I mean, October 22nd ain’t that far away.”

Stay tuned…

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