From the trade to date, it’s been quite some time, and every team has settled since then, but what about the Dallas Mavericks? Probably the only exception, and it is tough being Mavs right now. As if having Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis and a plethora of players being injured wasn’t enough, the team may have trouble even assembling a rotation for the future. You must remember the viral picture when the Mavs only had eight players available against the Spurs. The large number of injuries have curtailed Jason Kidd’s plan drastically this season.

But matters are getting worse. In their lob-sided loss to the Houston Rockets, the Mavs suffered another massive wound. Dante Exum was just starting to work himself into playing major minutes. With Dallas severely depleted, the veteran guard was bound for a larger role this season. Sadly, his season may have ended already after just returning in January. The Luka curse of ‘injury’ seems to have come down to haunt the Dallas-based franchise.

Against the Rockets, Exum suffered from a broken left hand. Now, he has no timetable to return. Understanding his hard road to recovery to even play this season, Jason Kidd was devastated to see Exum in such a tough spot.

“Yeah, it’s tough you know it’s unfortunate. He breaks his left hand and I think he broke his right hand at the start of the season. So this has been a tough season for him. Had to come back you know day one of training camp to break his hand and then come back here late in the season and break his left hand so I feel bad for him because he worked extremely hard to get back,” the Mavericks head coach stated.

Notably, Dante Exum arrived at training camp fully healthy this season, even playing in the Paris Olympics. However, during practice, he suffered a wrist injury which sidelined him for three months. He made his return in January. It seemed he could comfortably settle back into game shape. But again, sports are unpredictable and you never know when injury comes your way.

And that’s what happened. His recent injury adds another major setback for the Boomers’ guard. Exum had played in 18 games this season, averaging 9.1 points and shooting 44.7% from three. In the already cursed season for the Mavericks, the 29-year-old’s injury stands as another disruptive barrier for Kidd. Now the question is, how do the Mavericks move forward?

A flurry of problems all upon Jason Kidd

Putting Exum’s injury aside, the Mavericks suffered from an ugly loss against the Houston Rockets. They shot just 41.5% for the night. It ranks as one of their worst offensive performance this season. Klay Thompson‘s hot streak came to a halt as he shot just 2-16 tonight. However, with his experience, the sharpshooter can pick up the pace at any moment.

The larger concern for Kidd now is even having enough players to compete. Against the Spurs, they had borderline eight members. But with Exum being out indefinitely, they are cramped. According to Bobby Marks, Kessler Edwards and Brandon Williams can only play 3 and 6 games respectively due to their two-way limitations. And unless somebody from their pile of injuries returns, the Mavericks will “run out of bodies”.

Considering them, the Mavericks only have an active eight-player rotation. That’s the league minimum needed to play a game. So if anything else goes wrong, the talks of forfeiting games are closer than fans would think. Luckily, energetic forward PJ Washington could return soon as he recovers from an ankle sprain. But even with him, the Mavericks are operating on a tight ship.

Another concern for them is Max Christie. The former Laker arrived at the Mavericks by posting one solid performance after another. But over the last five games, he has largely diminished in his shot-making. Tonight, he shot just 1 for 13 from the field. Still, Kidd isn’t losing hope. Because he can’t.

“Christie is trying to work off the dribble to create his own shot so. He had some good looks that didn’t go down and he had some tough looks. So for that, we continue to keep working and stay positive that he will work his way through this,” Kidd said about the 22-year-old.

The next few weeks could be very troublesome for the Dallas Mavericks. With their game plans heavily suffering, even getting out of a slump is tough for players. On the other hand, with injuries stockpiling, every player could be forced to play for large minutes. This again increases the chances of injuries when the Mavericks can’t afford another one.

This may be the toughest phase for Jason Kidd in his coaching career. And although intangibles, fortune, and prayers seem to be the only thing the Mavs can rely on at this moment.