Harrison Barnes will miss opening night, maybe more

According to multiple reports Harrison Barnes will miss the Mavericks first game on Wednesday in Phoenix with a strained right hamstring.

Last week Carlisle mentioned that Barnes won’t be ready to play until he gets significant practice time, so three days doesn’t really qualify. Barnes missed the entire preseason with this strained right hamstring which was initially announced back in September during training camp.

Hamstring injuries have a bad habit of lingering if they’re not allowed to heal properly. Last week after practice Barnes did some treadmill running at the Mavericks training facility in addition to practicing some free throws.

With this injury it looks like Dorian Finney-Smith will take Barnes’ spot in the starting lineup in the Mavs season opener in Phoenix on Wednesday night. Finney-Smith started all four of the preseason games.

This injury to Barnes highlights how few wing players the Mavericks have. Outside of the normal starters in Wes Matthews, Luka Doncic, and Harrison Barnes the team only has Dorian Finney-Smith and Ryan Broekhoff.

Dallas needs this injury to heal up quickly or this difficult October stretch could derail the Mavericks lofty goals before they can get off the ground.