“He’s all good.” Mark Cuban says Kristaps Porzingis injury nothing to be concerned about.
Kristaps Porzingis’ injury is nothing to be worried about.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said the team is just playing it safe with Porzingis, who has missed the past 10 games with a right knee injury. The 7-foot-3 forward missed all of last season after a major injury to his left knee in February 2018.
“It’s just something that happens. It’s just irritation. We’re pushing the workouts. And that’s why you push the workouts to see if he gets irritation,” Cuban said before the Mavs’ Friday night win against the Portland Trail Blazers. “He’s all good.”
In fact, Porzingis’ injury has given the Mavs a chance to see more of Dwight Powell and Maxi Kleber on the floor together.
“Our lineup with Dwight and Maxi in their together is killing it,” he said. “I think we’re like a plus 13 so there’s a lot of positives. The problem is we’re probably not as good a defensive team because KP is such a unicorn, he’s so unique. But overall we’re holding up and we’re getting better.”
Cuban said he’s not concerned about Porzingis’ injury turning into something more serious.
“We’re just playing it extra, extra safe,” he said.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said Porzingis is making progress.
“He had a good day today and we’re just going to continue moving forward. We’ll see where we are come Tuesday,” Carlisle said. “He’s made considerable improvement. I know that in his workouts, he’s doing a lot of lifting. He’s running. And he’s been tolerating all that stuff better and better as time has gone on. Every day we try to help the move the needle in a positive direction. Mother Nature can be finicky. Some things take time.”
The Mavs, who have gone 6-4 without Porzingis over the team’s last 10 games, host the Los Angeles Clippers Tuesday at American Airlines Center.
This story was originally published January 18, 2020 at 2:36 PM.
