Mavericks injury update: Wood out, Hardaway back

The Dallas Mavericks took one step back and one step forward with their injury issues. The team announced Thursday that center Christian Wood has a fracture in his left thumb and will be reevaluated in one week. The team also announced that Tim Hardaway Jr., who tweaked his ankle earlier last week, is probable for Friday night’s game against the Miami Heat.

Wood has already been confirmed out for the Heat game and will likely miss Sunday’s game against the Clippers and Tuesday’s game against the Wizards. Exactly one week from today would be Thursday, Jan. 26, the day the Mavericks go on the road to play the Suns. That would be the earliest Wood could return if the one week evaluation holds up.

Wood injured his thumb Wednesday night in the loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Wood had a two-handed dunk in the third quarter and immediately was holding his left hand in pain afterward.

Hardaway sprained his ankle late in the loss to the Trail Blazers on Saturday and missed the last two games. Thankfully it wasn’t a severe sprain, as Hardaway returns to the lineup on Friday.

With Maxi Kleber still out recovering from his surgery on a torn hamstring, the Mavericks big man rotation is seriously strained. The only two healthy bigs on the roster are Dwight Powell and JaVale McGee. Powell likely will see a big minutes increase the next week and unfortunately McGee, who hasn’t been part of the regular rotation since his disastorious start to the season, will likely have to play more to fill the gaps. The Mavericks still have an open roster spot from waiving Kemba Walker, so there’s a possibility they could look for a temporary solution with a 10-day contract.