In the middle of a horror season, the Dallas Mavericks received a major boost. After suffering an abductor injury in his first game, Anthony Davis returned to the floor against the Brooklyn Nets. The dynamic forward’s entrance instantly transformed the Mavs. They held the Nets to just 101 points, although AD played just 26 minutes. But his short time on the floor reaped great benefits for Jason Kidd’s side.

Davis added 12 points, 6 rebounds, and a block in his first game since the injury. Although on a minutes restriction, the former Lakers forward admitted, “I felt like I was good to continue,”. However, it was important for Kidd to mitigate the risks since it was only the first game back for Anthony Davis.

But even in his limited time, the coach was pleased with his performance. “Yeah, it was a positive experience I thought. A lot of things. We tried to keep his run short and then we tried to you know keep him under his minutes and thought he did an incredible job. I thought his rhythm was good,” Kidd said about AD.

Still, having such a dominant phantom on the floor could have easily shifted the team’s dynamics. And Kidd made sure that didn’t happen. Tonight Davis played for “for the rest of the guys”. His teammates did the heavy lifting. “You know sometimes when you get a player back like AD, you want to throw the ball to him every time. I thought the guys did their job of being aggressive and let the ball find him,” Kidd said about the rest of the Mavs.

That is what happened in Anthony Davis’ first game. It was an electric experience but because of his prior injury, the volume of work led to him re-injuring himself. But tonight he was conservative. The Mavericks decided to play like a team rather than force the ball to Davis who is capable of turning the game on its head.

With him still working his way to full intensity, Naji Marshall, Spencer Dinwiddie, and PJ Washington were critical. They combined for 54 points in the lob-sided win. Each of them capitalized on AD’s presence on the floor to had an efficient game and became the key contributors for the Mavs tonight.

Obviously, in due time, the 32-year-old will take over as the focal point of the team. But until then, Davis is dealing with a battle of his own.

The mental barrier still exists for Anthony Davis

Over the last few years, Anthony Davis has been subject to criticism over his inability to stay healthy. Analysts labeled him to have a ‘glass’ body that breaks down easily. But it’s been a tough run for him personally. Having gone to a new team with such high hopes, his abductor injury on debut was a huge step back.

It was the same injury he suffered during his tenure with the Lakers. Still, Davis has always managed to return with confidence from such ailments. So physically, he was more than prepared to be back out there with his teammates and impact winning for the desperate Dallas Mavericks.

But a mental hurdle does exist. One wrong motion or overextension could lead to the injury creeping back. So although he felt ready, the in-game experience was a little different for Davis.

“Felt great. Physically I felt great. It’s the mental aspect. When you come out of something like that to be mentally ready to go out and play. I think the first couple of minutes or the entire rehab process I was mentally ready. But then getting into the game action where you can’t really anticipate what the opponent team is going to do,” he said after his return game.

Still, for the most part, Anthony Davis seemed prepared. He shot 6 for 9 from the field en route to his 12 points. His defensive protection instantly got some organization to the Mavericks’ defense which hadn’t held an opponent to under 110 points in March. And at the end of the night Davis “felt great out there”.

In what has been a tumultuous season for the Mavericks, tonight was a huge win on multiple fronts. And Davis will hope to keep building on his confidence as the Mavs battle for a spot in the Play-In Tournament.