The Mavericks will be without Maxi Kleber in the second round, but a familiar face will return to the lineup.
Dallas coach Jason Kidd revealed Tim Hardaway Jr. is available for Tuesday’s Game 1 at Oklahoma City. Hardaway suffered a right ankle sprain in the Mavericks’ slim Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the LA Clippers.
It looks like Tim Hardaway Jr. (ankle) has returned to action. He’s getting shots up with Josh Green, Dante Exum and Derrick Jones Jr. pic.twitter.com/4IhQ1JeZxr
— Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) May 6, 2024
While the Mavericks will be without Kleber for the immediate future, the loss presents an opportunity for Hardaway to come in and provide a scoring punch on the offensive end.
“It’s unfortunate to lose Maxi,” Kidd said. “Maxi was playing well for us, defensively and offensively. ... Getting Timmy back is a good thing. We’re going to need Timmy coming off the bench to be able to give us some offense, but also, his experience of being in the playoffs is going to come into play. We’re going to need that experience on the floor, especially here with the first two games on the road.”
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