DALLAS — A sprained right wrist sidelined Dallas Mavericks center Kristaps Porzingis for Monday’s game against the Utah Jazz and could cause him to miss multiple games, according to coach Rick Carlisle.
“We don’t have a timetable,” Carlisle said. “We hope it’s not serious. It’s something that he’s been dealing with for a number of weeks, so we’re going to hope for the best on that.”
Porzingis’ sprained wrist did not appear on the official injury report until Sunday, a day after he sat out Dallas’ win over the Washington Wizards due to load management on the second night of a back-to-back.
The 25-year-old is averaging 20.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 31 games this season. His sore wrist seemingly has not affected his shooting recently, as he has shot 48.3% from the floor and 37.7% from 3-point range since the All-Star break, numbers that are slightly better than his percentages for the season.
Porzingis missed the first nine games of the season while recovering from offseason surgery to repair the meniscus in his right knee. He missed three consecutive games in late February due to lower back tightness and has sat out the second night of a back-to-back on five occasions.
“He’s a tough guy,” Carlisle said. “He doesn’t miss practices. He wants to play all the time, but this is one that he’s sitting out tonight. Maybe we’ll know more later tonight or tomorrow.”