Is Daniel Gafford all right? That question would be going through the minds of the attendees at the Wells Fargo Center as the Mavericks-76ers matchup reached its final stage. The player had played on par with his average season score during the recent game, though it wasn’t enough to put his team on top. To make matters worse, the last minutes of the Mavericks loss may have delivered a double blow to the team, which was already lying in a precarious position.

With less than 1 minute in the final quarter, Mike Curtis reported that Daniel Gafford was seen heading to the locker room early. And no, it wasn’t an early-stage walkout like Isiah Thomas and co did against the Chicago Bulls. Instead, Gafford was seen holding his left shoulder, indicating the presence of an injury. Even the on-court reporters had a hard time explaining what went wrong with the player back then.

With no update on the player’s physical condition, it is hard to determine just how severe the shoulder injury is. As highlighted by Dr. Charles Ruotolo, the average time for a professional basketball player to miss games due to a shoulder dislocation can range from a few weeks to months. Unfortunately, even the absence of a few days is something the Dallas Mavericks cannot afford.

The Texas franchise recently participated in a trade deal that sent star player Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. In exchange, the Mavs received the #2 of that team: Anthony Davis. A force on the offensive front, the veteran center is also someone whose 107.8 defensive rating proves he can handle things on both ends of the court. This is beneficial for the Mavs, who were looking to bolster their defense. Unfortunately, Davis continues to deal with his abdominal muscle strain, making his return timeline to the NBA court unknown. Davis’s absence meant that the secondary (Anthony Davis), tertiary, (Dwight Powell), and 4 Center (P.J. Washington) of the Mavericks were all unavailable.

If Daniel Gafford is sidelined for long, then the team will be severely weak on the Center front. On top of that, they will be without 3 of the 5 starters moving forward. This will be a shame since Anthony Davis had relied on Gafford’s availability to play more on the 4.

Anthony Davis desired to play as a power forward while “phenomenal” Daniel Gafford was at Center

Even during his tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers, one thing Anthony Davis wished was to play less in the Center position. In one of his recent interviews with Shams Charania, the player had even stated “I think we need another big. I feel like I’ve always been at my best when I’ve been a four and having a big out there.” Speculation arose that this interview caused the Lakers front office to develop Michael Jordan’s ‘And I took that personally’ mentality, and trade Davis himself! A new team brings with it a new start. What couldn’t happen with the Lakers is what the 31-year-old wants to do with the Mavs.

“I think I’m going to be playing a lot of four,” said Davis recently. “Obviously, Dereck (Lively II) is dealing with an injury. (Daniel Gafford) has been playing phenomenally. So I think that’s the plan. But we will see how that goes.”

Lo and Behold, Davis’s plans have now hit an obstacle. His desire to get into the Power Forward role now depends on how quickly Daniel Gafford’s injury heals.