Monta Ellis likely to return vs. Thunder — or is he?
The Dallas Mavericks received some good news Tuesday when Monta Ellis went through all of the team’s practice drills without a hitch.
So there’s a good chance the shooting guard will be back in the starting lineup Wednesday night when the Mavs (45-29) meet the Oklahoma City Thunder (42-32) at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Or will he?
First, coach Rick Carlisle said of Ellis: “He did everything [in practice]. He’s making a lot of progress, so I think he’s going to be upgraded to at least questionable with the chance that he’s going to play.”
Then at the end of Tuesday’s interview session, Carlisle said of Ellis: “He’s not going to play unless he’s 100 percent. There’s a chance that he’s not going to play, but he did real well today.”
Since it’s highly unlikely that any player is 100 percent this late in a grueling 82-game season, whether Ellis plays against the Thunder is anybody’s guess. But at least the 10-year veteran was healthy enough to go through Tuesday’s practice entirely after suffering a right-leg injury Friday when he was inadvertently kicked by San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili.
The injury forced Ellis to sit out Sunday’s 104-99 loss to the Indiana Pacers and also ended his consecutive-games-played streak at 237.
In addition to Ellis, the Mavs might also have backup point guard J.J. Barea back Wednesday night. Barea missed the last four games after suffering a sprained left ankle March 21 in practice.
“It feels a lot better,” Barea said. “We’ll make a decision [Wednesday].
“But [Tuesday] was a good day and hopefully I’ll feel good.”
That’s exactly what the Mavs are hoping, since their backcourt has been decimated by the absence of Ellis and Barea.
“Both of those guys have done well with their rehab,” Carlisle said. “Thankfully, Monta’s thing was not serious.
“It was painful and he’s worked through it to this point. Nothing for sure [Wednesday], but it looks promising.”
No. 7 not secure
With the way this season has gone, many assume the Mavs will enter the playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference.
Not so fast, says Carlisle.
Carlisle has said in the past he doesn’t watch the standings. But there’s a good chance he knows that with eight games remaining, the Mavs are 2 1/2 games behind the sixth-seeded San Antonio Spurs, four games behind the fifth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers and three games ahead of the eighth-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.
“I don’t think anything is for sure, I really don’t,” Carlisle said. “We’ve got to play this thing out and we’ve got to play it with the idea of moving up and winning as many games as possible.
“As far as the positioning and whether it’s eight, whether it’s seven or whether it’s six, the opponent isn’t as important as how we’re playing down the stretch.”
‘Live! With Mark’
Owner Mark Cuban expanded his résumé Tuesday morning when he was a co-host on Live! With Kelly and Michael.
Cuban was a co-host on the New York-based show along with Kelly Ripa. The other regular co-host, Houston native Michael Strahan, had Tuesday off, paving the way for Cuban to step in as his replacement for the day.
One of the stories Cuban told while on the show was that his father wanted to buy him a Mazda RX-7 when he was a high school senior.
“I’m like, ‘Dad, I want a station wagon because I can take my friends to go play basketball,’” Cuban said. “That’s how stupid I was.”
Dwain Price, 817-390-7760
This story was originally published March 31, 2015 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Monta Ellis likely to return vs. Thunder — or is he?."