The Dallas Mavericks’ season has been a disaster. After trading away Luka Doncic, things just went from bad to worse. Anthony Davis, Luka’s supposed replacement, injured himself in his Mavs debut. He only recently made his return for the Mavs. But it seems he may be back on the sidelines following tonight’s game against the Atlanta Hawks.

AD was having a great first quarter with 13 points, 6 rebounds, and a block. This is his best first quarter since his Mavs debut. However, just like his debut, he suffered an injury during this game, too. So what happened exactly?

Well, AD was going in for a rebound when he was hit in the face by his teammate Daniel Gafford’s elbow. This left him on the floor in agony. But we were met with a nasty visual once he got up. Anthony Davis’ face was bleeding like a faucet as the medical staff rushed to apply pressure on the cut with a towel. AD was soon helped to the locker room.

AD is now back on the floor for the Mavs with a huge bandage above his brow. And he picked up where he left off.  A win tonight will significantly improve the Mavs’ hopes for a postseason, and AD knows that. But his injury in the first quarter must have given Jason Kidd a mini-heart attack on the sidelines.

This game is a must-win for the Dallas Mavericks if they want any shot at having a postseason. But whether they can make a deep run depends on several factors that include the health of Anthony Davis.

Can the Mavs make a deep run in the postseason? Brief look at the road ahead

Well, first things first, the Mavericks need to end the season as or above the tenth seed. That’ll give them a shot at entering the Play-In Tournament. But even that will be easier said than done with teams like the Phoenix Suns and the Portland Trail Blazers all looking to secure their own postseasons.

Getting into the Play-In is only the beginning, though. If the Mavs hold onto the ninth seed, they will play the Sacramento Kings in the first round. And beating them will not be easy. They are the team that eliminated Steph Curry and the Warriors in the first round last year. Albeit, the Kings don’t have De’Aaron Fox anymore. Even so, they’re extremely dangerous. Anthony Davis and the Mavs will need to be sharp to best them.

If they can get past the Kings, they will need to face the losers of the first-round game between the West’s 7th and 8th seeds. That’ll be either the Clippers or the Timberwolves. Neither of these teams are easy customers, especially with stars like Anthony Edwards or Kawhi Leonard. But with a healthy AD and some Klay Thompson magic, the Mavs do have the ability to claw their way past them.

This long winding road finally brings us to the Playoffs. The way the brackets are set up means that if they win their Play-In games, the Mavs will face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round. Sadly, this is where we think the Mavs’ run will come to an end. Despite their quality, we simply don’t see them beating the West’s top seed this year. Especially with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander having an MVP season.

But considering where the Mavs were around a month ago, this is definitely a major improvement on their part. However, this is still purely speculation on our part. And only time will tell whether they can get past the regular season.