If Mavs fans thought Rajon Rondo being injured was bad, having big man Tyson Chandler and shooting guard Monta Ellis sidelined is a nightmare. In Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers, both Ellis and Chandler went down in the opening minutes of the first quarter. Ellis with an apparent hip injury, Chandler with an ankle injury.
DeAndre Jordan took full advantage of the lack of Tyson Chandler down low and grabbed 27 rebounds while adding 22 points in the win. Chris Paul also cooked against the already depleted point guard line up for the Mavs, adding 21 points and 13 assists.
A positive for the Mavericks is backup forward, Charlie Villanueva, who dropped a season high 26 points.
Trying to overcome having three starters out was deemed too tall of a task for the Mavericks, who still hung around at times and shooting 40% from the floor to the Clippers 44%
The All-Star break can not come soon enough for Dallas. They need to get healthy and regroup to get into gear to make a push down the stretch. It’s possible that the Mavs can add pieces to the bench like Jermaine O’Neal and Amar’e Stoudemire who can add much needed size down low to help out Chandler on the boards.
This loss drops the Mavs to 2-11 against Western Conference playoff teams. Funny thing is, when the Mavs went on that 2011 championship run, they were 2-15 after New Years day against Western Conference playoff teams. Does history repeat itself? Only time will tell.
The Hardwood Nation 