Ever heard the saying “It gets worse before it gets better”? Well, the Dallas Mavericks would’ve been hoping that their worst had come and gone. Playing without Luka Doncic for over 16 games has drastically affected the franchise’s win record. Their injury report is endless! It’s gotten worse over the last few days. The last thing, the VERY LAST THING the Mavs would’ve wanted was another player getting sidelined. Call it bad luck, bad omen, bad whatever, but Maxi Kleber is the latest casualty.

If losing to the Boston Celtics by a 122-107 score wasn’t enough, the matchup saw Maxi Kleber going down after sustaining a foot injury. The power forward was forced to exit the game at the 4:18 mark of the 3rd quarter and didn’t return. Shams Charania later revealed the hoopster had a broken foot and is “sidelined for an extended period.”

Under normal circumstances, Maxi Kleber’s injury would not have come as too big of a blow to the Dallas Mavericks. After all, the player had been underwhelming throughout the season, having averaged only 3 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists across 34 games. However, having broken his foot, the 32-year-old now becomes the 6th player on the current injury report.

Luka Doncic and Dereck Lively II continue to recover from their respective ailments. Meanwhile, the recent Mavericks-Celtics matchup also saw Dante Exum, Dwight Powell, and Naji Marshall missing out because of their respective ailments.

Therefore, in light of this worsening situation, no one can really blame NBA fans for reacting the way they are. Judging from their reactions on social media, people were certainly more than disappointed.

Dallas faithful call out “cursed season” amidst Mavericks’ increasing woes

Social media users took to the comments section of Shams Charania’s report that highlighted Maxi Kleber’s injury. One of them wrote, “Cursed season for the mavs man, After making the finals this was supposed to be the start of years of success for them. Hopefully Luka gets healthy soon”.

Luka Doncic is reportedly now in the rehab process. He’s been spotted in practice sessions, shooting standstill jumpers. Addressing the same, Coach Kidd revealed that the 5x All-Star’s rehab process “looks great. I think he’s trending in the right direction. He’s doing everything he’s supposed to do.” As highlighted recently by NBA insider Marc Stein, the Mavericks are “optimistic” that Luka will return to the hardwood before the NBA All-Star break next month.

One social media page sent out their wishes by stating, “Just want everyone to be healthy @MavsLead (folded hands emojis)”. Some progress on the recovery side took place when Klay Thompson and Jaden Hardy returned to the lineup. However, their presence was not enough to secure the win against the Boston Celtics, and it may not be enough for future games too.

One individual looked to seek hope in some form when he wrote, “I mean there has to something in the water for the mavs. This isn’t normal at all”. Unfortunately, any hope Luka Doncic and Co. held about making it to the playoffs seems to be slipping away. With this recent loss, they haven’t been able to improve their situation. They are now the 9th seed. There are still quite a few games remaining that allow the Texas side to improve their situation, but teams above them will have to perform badly, to give even a glimmer of hope.

Dr Jesse Morse, who reportedly specializes in Family & Sports Medicine, gave his expert opinion on Maxi Kleber’s injury. He took to the comments section and wrote, “Depending on the specifics, this can take anywhere from 4 weeks to 12 weeks, depending on the specifics. A Jones fracture would be 12 weeks”.

Maxi Kleber’s absences can have consequences. Daniel Gafford will probably see his on-court, or rather frontcourt, workload increase. With Dwight Powell ‘OUT’, Mavericks HC Jason Kidd can assign additional makeshift pieces to cover the Center position briefly.

One individual touched base on the Mavericks’ worsening situation and wrote, “No way they can overcome this”. Optimism is the key when looking to overcome situations like these. However, the Mavericks are going to need more than that to improve their predicament. They are going to need their full set of players, healthy and at their best.

Overall, the majority of reactions sympathized with the Dallas Mavericks squad. With the next matchup being against the Washington Wizards, aka against whom the Mavericks have won their last 3 games, the squad could be walking into a brief breather.