Mavericks' Kristaps Porzingis to Miss Start of Season Amid Knee Injury Rehab

The Dallas Mavericks are expected to contend in the Western Conference in large part because of their superstar duo of Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, but they reportedly will not have the latter at the start of the 2020-21 NBA campaign.

Dallas president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said the hope is Porzingis will be clear to participate in on-court activity by Jan. 1 as he recovers from surgery to repair the meniscus in his right knee.

"We're going to make sure that that's 100 percent before we put him out there, so that's going to be into the season before we are able to have him join us," Nelson said Monday on 105.3 FM The Fan in Dallas (h/t Tim MacMahon of ESPN).

Health is always a concern with Porzingis, who tore his ACL in February 2018 as a member of the New York Knicks and sat out the 2018-19 campaign as he recovered even after he was traded to the Mavericks.

The big man suffered the meniscus injury during Dallas' first-round playoff loss to the L.A. Clippers and missed the final three games. He was also ejected during Game 1 of the back-and-forth series, and the argument could be made that the Mavericks would have won the series if Porzingis were available the entire time.

He averaged 20.4 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 35.2 percent from deep during the 2019-20 season. His ability to extend beyond the arc makes him a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses and allows him to play in pick-and-pop situations with Doncic.

It makes sense for the Mavericks to ease him back given his injury history and how daunting the Western Conference playoffs are expected to be during the 2020-21 campaign, which begins Dec. 22. 

The only way Dallas can realistically contend with the Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers and others is with a healthy Doncic and Porzingis.

While that may mean sacrificing some early games with Porzingis sidelined, having him back by Jan. 1 for on-court activity should clear the way for a second-half run before the playoffs.