Practice report (11/06/12): Mavs prep to play minus Marion for at least 3 games
Earl K. Sneed reports from the Dallas Mavericks' Tuesday practice, where the team began to prepare for at least three games without four-time All-Star Shawn Marion due to a sprained left MCL.
Practice report (11/06/12): Mavs prep to play minus Marion for at least 3 games
DALLAS – With the Dallas Mavericks flying high after back-to-back impressive showings to start a three-game homestand, the sobering news surrounding forward Shawn Marion might have been the only thing capable of bringing the mood down.
Tuesday, the Mavericks (3-1) announced that the results of a MRI revealed a sprained left medial collateral ligament (MCL) for the four-time All-Star after he got tangled up with teammate Elton Brand and came down awkwardly from a shot midway through the third quarter of Monday night's 114-91 win over Portland. Marion was then ruled out for Wednesday night’s contest against Toronto, while it was determined that he will be re-evaluated next week after not traveling with the team to New York and Charlotte over the weekend.
“It is what it is. I’ve just gotta treat it and take it one day at a time,” Marion said of the ailing left knee. “E.B. kind of hit me on the way down a little bit and it buckled. … It could have been a lot worse, but luckily it’s not. I’m just gonna take it one day at a time and get back right.”
That means the 14-year veteran and his early-season averages of 8.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 blocks in 27.0 minutes will all be sidelined for at least three games. And after praising Marion’s leadership throughout the preseason and since 11-time All-Star Dirk Nowitzki went down following arthroscopic knee surgery on Oct. 19, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle now admits that his team will be missing two of its top contributors.
“Well, it will affect us a lot. I mean, he’s really our best player right now with Dirk out, and now we’ve got our two best players out,” Carlisle confessed. “o, it’s gonna be challenging and we’ve just gotta step it up and do it collectively with high intensity and playing our game. Not easy.”
“We’re losing a real good versatile player for us,” point guard Darren Collison added. “He’s really a guy that can step up in so many different ways, defensively and offensively. That means other guys have gotta step up.”
That collective effort will start with rookie Jae Crowder, eight-year veteran Dahntay Jones and eight-time All-Star Vince Carter, with one of the three likely to slide into Marion’s starting role at the 3. And after learning from Marion first-hand this training camp, the first-year standout Crowder figures to be ready should Carlisle call his name.
“The older guys told me to just be ready because anything could happen right now, not knowing how long he’s gonna be out,” the rookie explained. “I feel like I know the game plan each game and that makes me feel more comfortable when I’m on the court. And of course playing with these older guys has helped me out, and I feel comfortable playing on the court with these guys, so whatever gets thrown at me I’m pretty much prepared.”
“Defensively, [Marion] can guard so many positions, he runs the floor well, he rebounds well and he just gives us a low-post presence as well. So, I think the three of us are gonna just have to rotate in that position to make up for what we’re losing,” Carter concluded.
Note: The Mavs will now conclude their three-game homestand Wednesday night against the Toronto Raptors. The game will air locally at 7:30 p.m. CT on Fox Sports Southwest. Tickets for the game remain available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS or by visiting Mavs.com.
