Kristaps Porzingis Will Miss Rest of Mavs vs. Clippers Series with Knee Injury
August 28, 2020
Dallas Mavericks forward Kristaps Porzingis will miss the remainder of his team's first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers after being diagnosed with a lateral meniscus tear of his right knee.
The Mavericks noted Porzingis suffered the injury during Game 1 on Aug. 17.
Earlier on Friday, head coach Rick Carlisle told reporters Porzingis was "very doubtful" for Game 6 on Sunday. Los Angeles leads the series 3-2 and can advance to the Western Conference semifinals with a win.
It has been a week since Porzingis last played, as his last appearance came during last Friday's Game 3. He has been sidelined ever since as he has been dealing with a sore knee.
He also dealt with a heel contusion that limited him during the seeding games in Orlando, Florida.
It's part of a long injury history for the 25-year-old, which includes a torn ACL that kept him out for the entire 2018-19 season.
When healthy, Porzingis remains an impact player who averaged 20.4 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game in 2019-20. During the seeding games, he averaged 30.5 points per game while proving to be an ideal secondary option alongside Luka Doncic.
The 2017-18 All-Star is signed through at least the 2022-23 season, giving the Mavs plenty of upside if he can stay on the court.
Dallas has gotten accustomed to playing without him, however, and the team will have to succeed once again without its best frontcourt option. Maxi Kleber and Boban Marjanovic should take on bigger roles down low until Porzingis is back to full strength.