The Dallas Mavericks’ championship aspirations took a major hit when it was announced on Saturday that Power Forward/Center Maxi Kleber is sidelined indefinitely after dislocating his shoulder. Kleber suffered the injury in the Mavs 114-101 series-clinching win on Friday night against the Los Angeles Clippers. He will miss the team’s second round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and possibly the rest of the NBA Playoffs.
He suffered the injury in the second quarter of Friday night’s game after being upended on a layup attempt. He crashed to the floor and fell on his shoulder proceeding to dislocate it. He only played five minutes in game six.
How will the Maxi Kleber injury affect the Dallas Mavericks and their championship aspirations?
Maxi Kleber Career Summary
Kleber has spent all seven seasons of his NBA career with the Dallas Mavericks. Kleber hails from Germany and signed a four-year $35 million contract extension in September of 2022. He had an injury-plagued 2023-24 season and was forced to miss nearly two months after dislocating his toe. Kleber was a crucial part of the Mavericks win over the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
He averaged nearly six points per game on over 55 percent shooting from three-point range on about 20 minutes per game of playing time.
Kleber averages 6.7 points and 35.7 percent shooting from downtown for his NBA career.
What Will The Mavericks Rotation Look Like Without Kleber?
With Kleber out for an extended period, Dallas Mavericks Head Coach Jason Kidd will need to find a way to divvy up the 20 minutes per game that are normally played by Kleber. The clear adjustment for Kidd would be giving a larger role to standout rookie Dereck Lively II. Lively averaged nearly nine points per game and 6.5 boards in the Dallas Mavericks first round series following a successful regular season.
Lively provides the Mavericks with great size and an offensive punch on the second unit.
Dallas Mavericks Enter Tough Playoff Series
The Dallas Mavericks begin their playoff series with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday, May 7. This series features two of the best players in the National Basketball Association in Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Doncic and his costar, Point Guard Kyrie Irving, combined for 58 points in Friday’s closeout game.
The Thunder won three of the four regular season matchups against Dallas and this series should be full of points as the Thunder and Mavericks were the third and seventh-highest scoring teams in the regular season respectively. Gilgeous-Alexander is entering this series playing well and averaged over 27 points per game as the Thunder swept the overmatched New Orleans Pelicans.
The Dallas Mavericks will have their work cut out for them against the Thunder, and with Kleber not being available, their job just got that much harder.
About The Author
Justin has always loved sports. He has previously written for Sports Illustrated and 247Sports. He is always willing to talk football (NFL or college) and basketball, whether it’s on the women’s or men’s side, college or pro! Check out all the great content Total Apex Sports has to offer. Check us out on X @TotalApexSports and our other sites: Total Apex Sports Bets and Total Apex Fantasy Sports
