Injured, Digitally

Posted by Rob Mahoney on February 17, 2010 under News |

Erick Dampier left last night’s game in the fourth quarter with a finger injury, and the Mavs have provided further details. Damp suffered an “open dislocation of his right middle finger,” and he stayed in OKC to have his finger surgically closed.  Damp’s expected to rejoin the Mavs in Dallas at some point today, though no timetable is set for his return.

It’s incredibly fortunate that the Mavs just traded for Brendan Haywood, because these are the exact situations in which you’d like to have another option aside from Drew Gooden. Drew played fairly well in his starting opportunities, but his defense is decidedly unremarkable. Haywood’s quite the opposite, though ironically, he may be less useful than Gooden on a night like tonight — in which the Mavs face off against the Phoenix Suns. Oh, bother.

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  • David

    I would not be surprised to see Washington flip Z for Damp and his Dust Chip. Salaries match one for one and Z would allow us another big. After seeing the game last night and Damps hand, I dont see him helping anytime soon.

  • Andrew Tobolowsky

    Man, I remember reading the Mavs had one of the easier finishing schedules, but I sure haven't noticed it....and to answer YOUR question David, it's because the Mavs brass think the HUGE amount of expiring money on Damp's contract is so valuable that if all they get back for it is Darko (who I BELIEVE is heading back to Europe, actually), they'll feel terrible...

  • David

    With Damp and his right middle finger fried why dont the Mavs just trade him and his contract now since he wont be able to play for a while. Is not a trade for another big man and option? Possibly Dalembert, Darko, Murphy and option. Could there be a 3 way where we send Damp to Houston and get Darko from NY in the McGrady deal. We save money and get a young backup center with bird rights.

  • @David: Trading Damp for Dalembert is moving laterally at best, and there's no guarantee that Sam would be the kind of consistent defender the Mavs need. Murphy's a good player, but he's not a great fit alongside Dirk. And Darko has absolutely no interest in playing in the NBA next season, and has already said he's returning to Europe for next year. That and, well, as of now, he's no longer a member of the Knicks.

    Sticking with Damp is the best thing the Mavs can do right now. Let him come back, rely on Dirk and Najera at the back-up 5 in the meantime, and roll into the playoffs with one of the best defensive center duos in the league.

  • Blaine

    This stretch really scares me, with only 30 games left and the West so bunched up, it could be the difference between the 3 or 4 seed. I know the guys need to get used to each other and it takes time, this is just the worst possible stretch of schedule for that to happen.

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