Mavericks coach Jason Kidd gravely concerned as Luka Doncic-led injury list sees $33,000,000 player's addition 

Luka Doncic's Dallas Mavericks can't seem to shrug off their injury bug. With Doncic out since Christmas Day, the Mavericks have seen several key rotation players join him on the injury list. It has mainly been their centers. Dereck Lively II was the first to join Doncic. The sophomore center suffered a small fracture on Jan. 22 and is expected to be out for the next two to three months.

Before Saturday's game against the Boston Celtics, the Mavericks ruled out Dwight Powell with a right hip strain. Dallas suffered another blow after Maxi Kleber, who played in rotation with Daniel Gafford, went down injured against the Celtics with an ankle sprain.

Coach Jason Kidd was gravely concerned about the Mavericks' frontcourt situation after the $33,000,000 German center joined Doncic and Co. on the injury list.

"Yeah, it’s a hole," Kidd told reports (h/t Noah Webber). "It’s tough … I’ve never seen anything like it and it’s not gonna get any better, so, we’ll see."

The Dallas Mavericks have Daniel Gafford as the only active center momentarily. 6-foot-7 P.J. Washington is an alternative at the five. Their other option is Markieff Morris, an end-of-the-bench rotation player. Both are not traditional centers but have spent minutes at the five in small-ball lineups.

According to the latest update from Shams Charania, Maxi Kleber has suffered a broken right foot and will miss significant time.

Injury-riddled Mavericks suffer another loss in Luka Doncic's absence

Luka Doncic missed his 16th consecutive game on Saturday when the Dallas Mavericks hosted the Boston Celtics. The Mavericks were 19-10 before the Christmas Day game against the Timberwolves when Doncic suffered a left calf strain, which ruled him out for multiple weeks.

Since then, including the loss to the Timberwolves, the Mavericks have gone 5-11, dropping to 24-22 on the season and out of the top six of the Western Conference standings. They have struggled against most teams over .500 without Doncic.

On Saturday, the Mavericks were outplayed after they struggled to compete with the Celtics' star power. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined to score 46 points in the 122-107 win. Kyrie Irving had 22 for Dallas, while Quentin Grimes added 20 off the bench.

The Mavericks didn't receive any significant contributions from others. On the other hand, the Celtics' other three starters scored 17 or more.

The Mavericks will have to battle a week or more before Luka Doncic returns. He is expected to come back before the All-Star break in February.