The Mavs were blown out Monday night in Utah. It was the best news of the night.
More troubling for Dallas is what’s on the playoff horizon as far as Chandler Parsons’ health and their first-round opponent. A couple of daunting realities: Parson’s knee won’t be 100 percent when the playoffs start this weekend, and the Mavs might very well find themselves making another post-season trip to San Antonio.
If the streaking Spurs – who have won their last 11 – win in New Orleans Wednesday night, it will be a repeat of last year’s first-round matchup in which the Mavs pushed the eventual champs to a Game 7. Dallas could still be matched-up against the Rockets or the Clippers.
Against either of those on the road, the Mavs need Parsons at full strength. And at this point that looks iffy.
With an eye toward the finale and a chance to win 50 games, head coach Rick Carlisle rested Dirk Nowitzki, Tyson Chandler, Monta Ellis against the Jazz. Parsons, however, couldn’t have played if needed.
He hasn’t played since April 2 because of a sore, swollen right knee, and suffered a setback during an intense pre-game workout before Sunday night’s game in Los Angeles. The plan was for him to play the final two regular-season games to get his rhythm back before the playoffs, but now that’s impossible.
Best case, the next time we’ll see Parsons on the court will be Game 1 of the playoffs Saturday or Sunday.
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“Am I concerned? Yeah, I'm concerned,” Carlisle told reporters before the Utah game. “We'll see where we are. We're not going to take any risks with it.”
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He’s held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He currently lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.
