Mavericks Update Injury Status for Klay Thompson and Jaden Hardy Before Celtics Matchup

 With another lengthy injury report, the Dallas Mavericks will continue to play without many key players when they face the Boston Celtics on Saturday. However, the team upgraded Klay Thompson (left ankle sprain) and Jaden Hardy (right ankle sprain) to questionable on the injury report.

The Mavericks have already ruled out Luka Dončić (left calf strain), Dereck Lively II (right ankle stress fracture), Danté Exum (right wrist surgery), Naji Marshall (illness), and Dwight Powell (right hip strain) against Boston.

Here are the latest Mavericks injury notes:

Klay Thompson: While Thompson didn’t travel with the Mavericks to Oklahoma City, he continued his rehab process back in Dallas. After missing the last two games, Thompson’s status being upgraded is a positive sign. In his previous two performances, he scored a combined 13 points while shooting 4 of 12 overall. Getting healthy and finding his rhythm will be necessary as Dončić remains sidelined. 

Jaden Hardy: After going through pre-game workouts before recent games, Hardy has looked like his usual self. More consideration goes into returning to competition, but he appears close to being back in the lineup. Dallas could use more guard depth with Kyrie Irving and Spencer Dinwiddie shouldering heavy workloads.

Naji Marshall: As Marshall is set to miss his eighth game due to illness this season, there is minimal information about the situation. He wasn’t at the American Airlines Center on Wednesday and didn’t travel to Oklahoma City. As in previous situations, monitoring Marshall’s return to competition from illness begins with at least going through a weight room workout, even if he doesn’t do an on-court workout.

Luka Dončić: DallasHoopsJournal.com has continually reported that Luka Dončić is expected to return from his calf injury in early February. Many fans eagerly await updates about a re-evaluation, but Dončić has been in the weight room and doing varying degrees of on-court work for quite some time now. 

Danté Exum: It remains to be seen when Exum can return. He’s been going through on-court workouts in pre-game for multiple games, but as head coach Jason Kidd stated before Thursday’s win over the Thunder, “There’s a lot of time between today and when he’s supposed to be back.” DallasHoopsJournal.com asked Kidd if Exum had at least been cleared for contact, but that hasn’t been the case.

Dwight Powell: Powell is progressing after slipping on the court and injuring his groin against the Denver Nuggets. He traveled with the Mavericks to Oklahoma City and was seen running the stairs at Paycom Center. He remains out for now, but that was a positive development for Powell’s outlook.

Dereck Lively II: While the wording was different in the reporting from ESPN compared to the Mavericks’ official announcement, a former NBA Performance & Rehab Director shared insight on the situation with DallasHoopsJournal.com. That article covers a lot of ground for those wanting to learn more about the nuances.

Check back with DallasHoopsJournal.com for further injury updates on Thompson, Hardy, and the rest of the roster before tip-off against the Celtics.