The Dallas Mavericks were already lacking a backcourt player going into their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night. It wasn’t just any player, either, as Luka Doncic was forced to miss the brief road trip due to a hamstring injury he suffered against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.
But in the first quarter of their game against the Thunder, Josh Green suffered a serious ankle injury that also sidelined the Mavericks. Joey Mistretta, a Mavs beat reporter for ClutchPoints, claims that Green’s collapse to the floor was a clear indication that he would not be playing again.
Green battled Thunder player Kenrich Williams for a rebound with four minutes and a few seconds left in the first quarter. He tapped the ball towards Maxi Kleber before collapsing to the floor unharmed. But as the Mavericks guard moved down the court, it appeared like he twisted his feet with those of teammate Dereck Lively II.
When Green stomped on Lively’s foot, he twisted his ankle and began to writhe in agony on the ground. It took him several minutes to regain his bearings, and judging by the Mavericks guard’s reaction to his right ankle roll, a multi-game absence was highly likely.
With Luka Doncic sidelined with a hamstring injury, Josh Green was anticipated to handle a greater workload. As a result, the Mavericks are forced to look even further into their bench to try and make up for the loss of their greatest player. Green scored two points on 1-2 shooting from the field prior to leaving. Hopefully, Green’s injury is not as severe as it first appears.
As he has started 32 of his 54 games for Dallas this season, Green has continued to be an intangibles extraordinaire for the Mavericks. He is still a very effective scorer (8.6 points per game on 60.4 percent true shooting) and can fill in for other players when needed.
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