With injuries mounting, Dallas Mavericks will rely on backcourt depth

The Dallas Mavericks have to dig deep into their bench after yet another backcourt member went down with an injury.

Point guard Deron Williams suffered a right hip contusion in Monday’s 112-97 loss to Atlanta after he got sandwiched between two Hawks players. The brunt of the collision for Williams occurred when he had a violent collision with forward/center Mike Muscala.

Williams left the game briefly, returned, and then left for good in the second quarter after the pain became too unbearable. Afterward, Williams was seen walking around in the visitors’ training room at Philips Arena with a noticeable limp.

Neither Williams nor coach Rick Carlisle knows whether the 11-year veteran will be able to play Wednesday night when the Mavs (28-23) host the Miami Heat (27-21) at American Airlines Center.

“I think it was a hip-to-hip collision on the drive, and so he was unable to return,” Carlisle said. “I don’t know anything about a timetable or anything like that, but I’m concerned.”

Devin Harris, meanwhile, has missed the last five games with a sprained great left toe suffered during Jan. 24 against the Rockets.

“We’d love to have Devin’s speed on the perimeter, especially on defense, but we just got to grind it out somehow without him,” forward Dirk Nowitzki said. “But whoever is available has got to play hard and play within the system.”

Williams had been impressive lately, having scored 27 points during Sunday’s 91-78 win over the Phoenix Suns. Now, the Mavs will have to depend on Raymond Felton and J.J. Barea to receive that boost they normally get from Williams and Harris.

“He’s been great for us on both ends of the floor,” Nowitzki said of Williams. “A big guard who plays to himself and he plays for others, posts up, and he’s been really good on defense for us all year.

“That’s a tough one, but J.J.’s experienced, Ray’s been around for a long time. And it doesn’t look like we’re going to get Devin back anytime soon, so those two are going to do a nice job for us, hopefully, until the [All-Star] break.”

The Mavs just completed a stretch in which they played 19 games in 32 days, going 9-10. Now they will play five games in seven days.

After Wednesday, the Mavs host San Antonio on Friday, play at Memphis on Saturday, and then return home to play Utah on Feb. 9 before the break. With so many key injuries, it’s almost as if the Mavs wish they can push a fast-forward button and get to the All-Star break so their wounded and fatigued players can catch a well-deserved rest.

“We’ve got a late [8:30 p.m.] game at home against San Antonio, and then we go to Memphis, so we’re still in the midst of a brutal stretch,” Nowitzki said. “And we only have two days off and we play Utah, and then everybody is going to relax a little bit and get away and get some rest.

“But yeah, we just have to grind it out, especially with a few guys out.”

Dissing the ’do

Look for the Mavs’ marketing crew to have some fun with Nowitzki’s new haircut. At least that’s what owner Mark Cuban says.

“I’m sure we’ll figure out something,” Cuban said. “Whenever we can find a way to embarrass our guys on the Jumbotron, we always do.”

Nowitzki decided to get a new haircut last weekend, and that look created a national buzz. The 18-year veteran had to endure some good-natured ribbing from his teammates.

But at least one of Nowitzki’s teammates has his back.

“I told Dirk I’m not going to laugh at him,” guard John Jenkins said. “That’s my man.

“Everybody’s on him, so one more guy on him isn’t going to do him any good, so I’ll be the one who says it looks all right.”

Nowitzki already tweeted that his teammates said he looks like talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.

This story was originally published February 2, 2016 at 8:51 PM with the headline "With injuries mounting, Dallas Mavericks will rely on backcourt depth."