Porzingis Watch, Day 22: Clippers at Mavs on Tuesday and 'If He's Feeling Good, He'll Play,' Carlisle Says
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says Kristaps Porzingis is, “all good,” and he tells us that what matters is that it’s not his left knee. Maybe. But we nevertheless monitor news out of Monday practice as we begin "Porzingis Watch - Day 22'' ...
“If he’s feeling good,'' coach Rick Carlisle said after the workout, "he’ll play.”
That's positive news, kinda .. with no promises, obviously, that KP will participate Tuesday against the visiting Clippers. Still, he's listed as "questionable,'' and ... The fairly-scary fact is, we head into the second half of the NBA season with our eyes on a $158-million talent with a substantial bit of lower-body injury history ... now dealing with a lower-body injury.
We have a “not-that-big-a-deal” injury keeping a guy out for 10 games in a row and counting.
It’s an injury that, if we’re to believe everyone talking to us about it, they can’t quite identify. X-rays were negative, they’ve treated it with both time and injections. Still, the unexplained soreness persists, and the unexpected glitches continue.
The latest glitch, and also the latest exclamation point on our concerns, was a false start going into the Kings’ game last Thursday. He was excited to play, he warmed up for 15 minutes, and then his “not-left-knee” kept him out of another game.
Over the weekend, in the most recent Mavs outing, KP didn’t even attempt to warm-up against the Blazers. Porzingis did, however, zip off to Vegas for the UFC fight on a Mavs day . As we write here, nobody should have an issue with that; indeed, the fact that he's healthy enough to travel is actually a positive thing.
Along with that, there is KP's own frustrated, as he noted on Sunday.
“I hate it, it’s the worst,” he said. “The whole last season I was out in a suit, and it’s tough. It’s not easy at all, but it’s part of sports, it’s part of basketball, the season is long. It’s very important to keep a good head on your shoulders in those moments and push through it and work through it, but at the same time not rush anything. Just take your time with it and make sure when you’re back, you’re healthy and you can play again.”
How do the Mavericks and Kristaps move forward with an injury that doesn’t seem to have an explanation? How long do they wait before they contemplate something more aggressive? The longer they wait, especially if it’s more serious than they’re letting on, the less likely it is that KP is available for the playoffs. But, if this is just some sort of fluke, maybe we’ll forget all about it 15 games from now when he’s back in the paint, blocking shots.
Or maybe we'll forget about it on Tuesday, if he plays, soreness-free, against the Clippers, on Day 23 of "Porzingis Watch.''
