Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd expects two Mavericks players to help “pick up the slack” after Luka Doncic’s right wrist injury. On Tuesday night, Doncic, 25, sustained a right wrist sprain in the Mavericks’ 132-91 win over the New Orleans Pelicans at the American Airlines Center. The 25-year-old will be re-evaluated in one week, meaning he’ll miss at least a few games.
Kidd’s expectations shouldn’t be a surprise, as he recently name-dropped two Mavericks players to reporters after the Mavericks’ practice on Thursday. Both of these players are rather intriguing due to their scoring potential. Both players could get plenty of open shots, as opponent’s defenses will focus on Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson amid Luka Doncic’s absence. Read on for the two players.
Expectations
Kidd is a “man of many words,” but his expectations from two Mavericks players — Jaden Hardy and Quentin Grimes, both shooting guards — are reasonable. Hardy, 22, agreed to a three-year, $18 million contract extension on October 21, 2024, and Grimes, 24, is in the final year of a four-year, $11,128,042 contract but declined to accept the Dallas’ three-year contract extension offer. As a result, Grimes will enter restricted free agency in 2025.
As Irving and Thompson prepare to lead the Mavericks, Hardy and Grimes should follow Kidd’s lead and help “pick up the slack” amid Doncic’s injury absence. Doncic is an elite scorer and playmaker, but Kidd, 51, seems hopeful that Hardy and Grimes could provide depth for a short-handed Mavericks team. Doncic’s recent comments to the reporters seemingly shut down the injury-related concerns, but we’ll wait for the Mavericks’ updates from the healthcare professionals.
Jason Kidd Prioritizes
Kidd and the Mavericks received devastating news when Dallas’ medical staff confirmed Doncic’s right wrist sprain on Thursday. Doncic can be described as “injury-prone,” and some, if not most, of his injuries are soft tissue injuries. However, his latest injury disappointed Kidd and the Mavericks. The Mavericks entered the 2024-25 NBA season with high expectations, and they’ve started the season in a subpar manner.
There’s optimism for Doncic’s injury recovery. He only missed one game — the Mavericks at Oklahoma City Thunder game on Sunday night — this season, at the time of writing. The Mavericks’ luck can change with the upcoming three-game road trip starting with Friday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena in downtown Denver.
However, Kidd can update his game plan for a higher chance of success Friday night and beyond. Kidd might want to prioritize starting center Daniel Gafford, as Gafford, 26, has been delivering strong performances off the bench in recent games. However, the potential prioritization of Gafford shouldn’t discredit the other starting center, Dereck Lively II, as Lively II, 20, had a nice bounce-back game against the Orlando Magic on November 3, 2024.
Dallas Makes Do
It’s safe to say that Jason Kidd can’t change the past. All he can do is make do with the short-handed Dallas Mavericks ahead of the team’s upcoming three-game road trip to Denver, Miami, Florida, and Atlanta. His expectations for Hardy and Grimes might not be met, as it’s up to Hardy and Grimes and then each game’s circumstances at the end of the day, but Kidd can dream, right?
In the meantime, Dallas should focus on getting past the Denver Nuggets in Denver on Friday night. The Mavericks and Nuggets are 1-1 in the NBA Cup’s Group Stage, and Friday night’s game could determine one team’s chances of advancing to the Knockout Stage. The Mavericks will be without Luka Doncic, but they’ve built some momentum this past week with a three-game winning streak.
