Klay Thompson's father takes a brutal jab to describe Lakers' injury woes - "You know who we are tonight? The Dallas Mavericks”

Klay Thompson has been a steady presence in the Dallas Mavericks' lineup, having played in 59 of the team's 68 games thus far. The same cannot be said, however, for many other key pieces of the Mavs' rotation, including injured All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis.

On Friday, the injury bug also got to the LA Lakers, who were missing the services of multiple players who typically play significant minutes. This led Thompson's father, former Lakers star Mychal Thompson, to draw a comparison prior to the Lakers' game against the Denver Nuggets.

"You know who we are tonight? The Dallas Mavericks," Mychal said.

Mychal, who transitioned to a radio broadcast career and podcasting in his retirement, was alluding to the fact that the Lakers were severely shorthanded heading into their matchup with the Nuggets.

Among the players ruled out were LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Rui Hachimura, and Jaxson Hayes. Dorian Finney-Smith and Gabe Vincent were ruled day-to-day, but they ended up with DNPs as the Lakers lost to the Nuggets 131-126.

Though the Lakers were down by just four at halftime, they could not contain the firepower that the Nuggets unleashed in the final 24 minutes. All five starters for Denver finished with double-digit scoring, led by Nikola Jokic (28 points, 50% shooting from the field, 12-for-17 from the charity stripe).

Jamal Murray, who has earned a reputation as a postseason menace to the Lakers, drilled a three-pointer with 5.6 seconds left to break a deadlock at 126. Russell Westbrook would then steal the ball and score on a slam dunk to secure the five-point win for the Nuggets.

Though the Lakers (40-25, 5th in the West) are in a better position than Thompson and the Mavericks (33-35, 10th in the West), they'll need to overcome their injury plight in order to go far in the postseason.

Klay Thompson on Dallas Mavericks' future: "We still have big goals"

Despite the season-ending injury of Irving and the extended absence of Davis, Klay Thompson remained hopeful that a bright future is ahead for the talent-laden Mavericks.

After the Mavs defeated the San Antonio Spurs 133-129 on Monday, Thompson reaffirmed his faith in the team:

"We still have big goals; we still want to make a run," Thompson said. "The injuries have been awful, but I still love our team... I still believe in this franchise. I'm here for two more seasons after this."

Klay Thompson's optimism is a bright spot in an otherwise beleaguered season for the promising Mavericks.