Dallas Mavericks Injury Report (Nov 14): Latest update on Luka Doncic and Maxi Kleber’s availability

The Dallas Mavericks take on the New Orleans Pelicans once again on their road trip. The two-game mini-series began on Sunday with the Mavericks winning 136-124 after Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving combined for 65 points. However, this game counts as a group-stage match in the NBA In-Season Tournament. The Mavs are 3rd in the West Group B with a 1-1 record in the tournament while the Pelicans are 0-1.

The Dallas Mavericks have put the league on notice early this season. They have an 8-2 record after 10 games, tied for the second-best record in the NBA. Luka Doncic is leading the league in scoring and is the heavy favorite to win the MVP award.

Kyrie Irving is also having an excellent season so far, thriving in the backcourt with Doncic. The tandem is averaging 55.6 points, 15.3 assists and 2.7 steals per game combined.

Luka Doncic is available to play against the Pelicans tonight. Unfortunately, Maxi Kleber is sidelined with a dislocated small toe in his right foot. The rest of the roster is healthy and ready to play and the only players unavailable are Greg Brown III, Dexter Dennis, and AJ Lawson, who are all on their NBA G League assignments.

The New Orleans Pelicans, on the other hand, have a stacked injury report with key players like CJ McCollum, Jose Alvarado, Herbert Jones, Trey Murphy III and Larry Nance Jr. Jones is questionable, while everyone else is sidelined.

How scary are the Dallas Mavericks in the West?

Luka Doncic (left) and Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks have certainly opened a lot of eyes to begin the season with their impressive winning streak. However, many have suggested that their dominance is not here to stay because they have faced majorly inferior opponents so far.

Six of their eight wins are against rebuilding or bottom-table franchises such as Memphis, Charlotte, Orlando, San Antonio, Chicago and more.

The Dallas Mavericks dropped from 4th in the West to 11th after the acquisition of Kyrie Irving last season. They eventually decided to restrict Luka Doncic and focus on tanking to get a pick.

Now they have a similar squad this season but have opened up 8-2 when most analysts predicted them to be in the play-in tournament spots. They are 26th in the league in defensive rating despite playing bottom-table opponents and have given up over a 100 points in every game so far.

Hence, many are still not convinced that they will stay at the top of the conference leaderboard.

Their win against the LA Clippers was more convincing of their ability to sustain a winning streak, but we will have to see more dominating victories over playoff-caliber teams. Only time will tell if they are one of the scary teams in the West.