Wesley Matthews and Chandler Parsons both said they planned to play opening night.
Neither is ready for training camp, but Parsons might meet his goal.
Matthews… not so much.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, via Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News:“Well, I would say that there’s a chance that Parsons could play in the (season) opener,” Carlisle said. “Wes is going to take a little longer. He’s not going to want to tell you that and we’re going to have to fight to keep him off the court, but we’ve got to make sure we do this the right way.”
Asked if Christmas was a realistic date for Matthews’ return, Carlisle said: “It’s a definite maybe.”
The Mavericks knew what they were getting into when the signed Matthews, who tore his Achilles in March. Him playing Dallas’ first game this season always seemed overly ambitious.
But this is still bad news for the Mavericks, who have only John Jenkins as a natural shooting guard behind Matthews. Expect plenty of two point guard lineups with Deron Williams, Devin Harris, J.J. Barea and Raymond Felton. Small forward Justin Anderson could also play up.
Important: Dallas owes the Celtics a top-seven protected first-round pick. Matthews’ injury might push the Mavericks into the protected range – or it might help Boston get the highest pick possible.