Mavericks duo likely to return Wednesday

Starting forward Dorian Finney-Smith and key reserve Josh Green are likely to return to action for the Mavericks on Wednesday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.

Finney-Smith, who has been recovering from a right adductor strain, and Green, who’s been dealing with a right elbow sprain, are officially listed as questionable, according to the team’s PR department. Finney-Smith, who keys the team’s defense, has been sidelined for 14 games, while Green has missed the last 20 games.

Finney-Smith sat out nine games last season due to a bout with COVID-19. Both players participated in Tuesday’s practice in preparation for the game against Atlanta.

“I felt good today — first time going through a full practice,” Finney-Smith told Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. “Been playing one-on-one and three-on-three. But it felt good and I’ll see how I feel tomorrow. Right now, I feel like I’m going to (play). I don’t like sitting. It’s been awhile. This is probably the most games I’ve missed since COVID.”

Both will probably play limited minutes in their return.

“I’ll probably be out of shape, but I’m going to be loud,” Finney-Smith said to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. “Me being loud will help the team. I gotta be that talkative guy on defense.”

With that duo sidelined, the Mavericks have fallen to 25th in defensive efficiency.

“It gave guys an opportunity to play,” coach Jason Kidd said. “Numbers-wise, not very nice. The 25th defense isn’t what we want. To win in this league, we have to be better.”

The Mavericks will be without starting shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. (left ankle sprain) on Wednesday.