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Kristaps Porzingis to miss start of season while recovering from knee surgery

By Erin Walsh | Last updated 11/16/20

The Dallas Mavericks aren't completely in trouble without star forward Kristaps Porzingis, but he played a large role during the team's 2019-20 campaign, and they'll need him down the stretch this coming season if they have any hopes of making it past the first round of the playoffs.

The Latvian played just three games against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the playoffs last season before suffering a knee injury, and now the Mavericks are certain he'll miss the start of the 2020-21 campaign.

Porzingis underwent surgery to repair the meniscus in his right knee last month and, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, Dallas is now targeting Jan. 1 as the date that he'll be available for on-court activities. The 2020-21 campaign is slated to begin on Dec. 22 and, if all goes well, Porzingis shouldn't miss too much time.

The Mavs have targeted Jan. 1 as the date that Kristaps Porzingis will be cleared for on-court activity, president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson tells ESPN. Nelson revealed on @1053thefan today that Porzingis (knee surgery) will be sidelined to start the season.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) November 16, 2020

The 25-year-old was traded to Dallas from the New York Knicks in 2019 and is entering the second season of his five-year, $158M max contract. In his first season with the Mavericks, Porzingis averaged 20.4 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists while shooting 42.7% from the field and 35.2% from deep. In just 57 games he set career-highs in rebounds and assists per game and was just 2.3 points shy of reaching his best mark in points per game from the 2017-18 season.

With the help of Porzingis, the Mavericks reached the postseason for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign. However, they haven't made it past the first round of the playoffs since the 2010-11 season, when Dirk Nowitzki led the team to its first NBA title in franchise history.

If they want to go deeper into the playoffs, they'll need a healthy Porzingis and, on that note, a healthy Luka Doncic. They came close to beating the Clippers in the postseason last year, and it seems like they're even closer to reaching the second round than ever before.

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