The Dallas Mavericks are set to finish their current four-game road trip on Saturday night against the Chicago Bulls. When the NBA injury report was made available on Friday night, however, the Mavs received multiple important updates. Anthony Davis, who had previously been listed as questionable before being made available for Thursday's game, was listed as probable. Meanwhile, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II were both upgraded to doubtful.
Mavericks' injury report vs. Bulls
Here is the Mavericks' full injury report for Saturday's game:
Anthony Davis (left adductor strain): Probable
Daniel Gafford (right knee sprain): Doubtful
Dereck Lively II (right ankle stress fracture): Doubtful
Caleb Martin (right hip strain): Probable
PJ Washington (left ankle sprain): Questionable
Brandon Williams (low back tightness): Probable
Kai Jones (left hip contusion): Questionable
Kyrie Irving (left knee sprain/ACL tear): Out
Olivier-Maxence Prosper (right wrist surgery): Out
Dante Exum (left hand fracture): Out
Davis is seemingly trending in a promising direction as he recovers from his adductor strain. The Mavs star first returned on Monday before not playing on Tuesday. Davis was ultimately made available on Thursday, as the Mavericks defeated the Orlando Magic 101-92.
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Lively has not played in a game since the middle of January, while Gafford last appeared in a contest in mid-February. Dallas has missed the centers without question. Once they return, AD, Lively and Gafford will immediately form one of the best big men trios in the league.
The expectation is that Anthony Davis will play most of his games at power forward while Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II split time at the center position.
Although Gafford and Lively may not return on Saturday, they had previously been consistently listed as out. Their injury status upgrades to doubtful suggest that they will return soon. Perhaps they could even end up playing in limited action Monday in the Mavs' home game against the Brooklyn Nets. Nothing is guaranteed, though.
We will continue to monitor and provide updates on the Mavericks' injury situation as they are made available.
a]:text-link [&_>a]:underline">Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. Mistretta graduated college with a degree in broadcast journalism from Biola University, and he has bylines at NBA Analysis Network and RotoWire.