Anthony Davis admits Mavs are “undermanned” in gruelling assessment of season so far

It was no surprise that after racking up 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a block in 26 minutes in Monday’s 120-101 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, Anthony Davis said that he “felt great” to be back at Barclays Center.

It was only the second time that Davis had featured for the Mavericks after his hugely controversial move from the Los Angeles Lakers which saw Luka Doncic go the other way. An adductor injury had kept him out for 6 weeks before finally making his return with a sensational performance.

“It’s the mental aspect when you’re coming back from something like that”, David admitted after the game ended. “To mentally be ready to go out and play. I was mentally ready. But then getting into game action where you can’t anticipate what the other team is going to do. I overcame that in the first minute or so. From there, it was just about being smart. Obviously, I’m on a minutes restriction.”

‘Guys were gassed to the point of exhaustion’

“It was tough seeing these guys battling every single night. Winning close games. Losing close games. Blowing teams out. Getting blown out. They are laying it on the line. For me, it was never a thought about if I was going to come back and play. Especially if I was healthy. We are undermanned. Guys are hurt. Gafford. Lively. Kyrie goes out. It was tough. Guys were leaving it on the floor. Guys laying on the floor in the locker room afterwards just gassed -- to the point of exhaustion. There was no doubt I was going to come back and play. That makes you want to come out and play with these guys. Leave it on the floor and battle each and every night.

“As one of the leaders of the team, I just wanted to go out there and give them a breather at least... Once I’m 100 percent, whenever that time was, and we have games left, I’m going to play. We all huddled up and got on the same page. Went through the rehab process and was able to play tonight. There was never a moment in my mind -- unless we ran out of games -- that I wasn’t going to play.

‘We just don’t have enough bodies'

“Seeing these guys playing with seven guys. Guys playing 38, 40 minutes. We just don’t have enough bodies. Kessler Edwards is playing the 5. Naji [Marshall] is playing the 5. Added a little bit more motivation for me. I was already motivated to get back. But it added a little bit more motivation seeing those guys battle each and every night. And leaving it on the floor. There was no doubt in my mind I was going to come back.”

On the ACL injury to the aforementioned Irving, Davis labelled it “devastating”, adding “Kyrie is a phenomenal basketball player. But even more phenomenal human. Any time anyone goes through something like that, an injury like that, it always sucks. Obviously, the initial injury, the initial moment, you want to give him space. Then he came back to the locker room. Got everything out of his system. Now he’s excited about the rehab process.

“He’s in a good headspace now ... to see him in a great headspace, it’s good for our team. Good for me. And, I’m pretty sure, good for him. Obviously, it sucks. But we have to hold the fort down for this season, and into next season, until he’s ready to come back.”

​The Dallas Mavericks' next game is on March 25, 2025, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, where they will take on the New York Knicks. The game starts at 7:30 PM ET.

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