Dallas Mavericks rule Chandler Parsons out for the playoffs
Dallas Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons will miss the remainder of the playoffs with a knee injury. Is this the dagger for the Mavs?
Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks had high hopes when they stole Chandler Parsons away from the Houston Rockets last summer. The Mavs gave the versatile forward a three-year, $46 million deal that Houston refused to match, adding fuel to the in-state rivalry.
Unfortunately, Parsons will not be a part of the Mavericks playoff plans going forward this postseason, as he attempts to recover from a knee injury.
Mavs just announced that Chandler Parsons, on top of Rondo situation, is out for rest of SEASON and potentially facing surgery on right knee
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 22, 2015
With the Rajon Rondo fiasco out in full-force in Dallas (the starting point guard is ruled out with a back injury, despite not suffering any injuries last night), the announcement of Parsons’ season-ending injury could not come at a worse time.
Parsons struggled during Game 1 of the team’s current playoff series with the Rockets, scoring just 10 points on 5-of-15 shooting. The Mavs forward missed the final six games of regular season with a knee injury, and he appeared to re-aggravate the injury midway through the game. He was held out of last night’s loss, and the official announcement ending his season finally came today.
Is the loss of Parsons the final dagger in the Mavericks’ season?
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Considering they are already down 0-2 in the series, and Rondo’s “back injury” leaves a gaping hole at the point guard position, losing Parsons essentially ends Dallas’ playoff hopes for this year.
For the Mavericks organization, however, this is an incredibly smart move. Even if their starting point guard was not the biggest head-case in the NBA, this season was not ending in an NBA championship, regardless of the health of Parsons. Aside from the aforementioned two issues, their supposed defensive anchor Tyson Chandler has been of no assistance, allowing enough highlight reel alley-oops that the Houston Rockets could make a documentary on it.
The Mavericks have a very promising future, and Parsons is a major factor in that. If the franchise was unsure whether or not he could make the transition from role player to go-to guy, they would not have thrown close to max-contract money at him last offseason.
The Dallas Mavericks season is over, and risking the health of a player you committed $46 million over three years to would be nothing short of foolish. A comeback in the series is not out of the question, but a championship run is simply not happening.
You have to give the Mavericks organization tremendous credit for not risking their long-term future for the present, despite being engaged in a heated playoff series with a hated rival.