Dallas Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons suffered a setback during a workout session on Sunday, and Parsons' nagging right knee injury leaves his status in doubt for the Mavericks' regular-season finale against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday and possibly even Game 1 of the postseason, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas.
Chandler Parsons’ injury status: not good
Parsons suffered a setback over the weekend, and it’s unclear when the Mavericks forward will return to the floor from a knee injury.
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Parsons hasn't played since April 2 because of a knee injury initially suffered on March 29 against the Indiana Pacers. He initially tried to play through the injury, but soreness and swelling in the knee forced him to leave the April 2 game against the Houston Rockets, and he hasn't seen the floor since.
The good news is that an MRI on April 3 didn’t reveal any structural damage and swelling has gone away. The bad news is that soreness remains and his knee “kind of gave out in a weird way” during Sunday’s workout.
Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle is "concerned" about the injury, although Parsons is still hoping to be back on the floor for Wednesday's finale. The 26-year-old said he felt better after a pregame shooting session on Monday, but he also admitted that he needs to be careful with the injury and not rush back too soon:
"Right now, I think if I played, not only do I think I'd further the injury, I know I'm not as good as I could be, and I'd probably hurt more than I'd help," Parsons said while pedaling on an exercise bike before he watched Rajon Rondo and the Mavs reserves play the Utah Jazz.
"I could play, but it would almost be selfish to rush back and play and not be able to help my team. I'm not going to be immature and ignorant just to play. I'm dying to play. I really want to play, but at the same time, I'm not going to be selfish and rush back and not be a contributor and be able to help our team."
With Dallas locked into the No. 7 seed, sitting Wednesday and ensuring better health for the postseason would seem to be the play here. Parsons has another visit to the doctor on Tuesday to get a better idea of why the injury isn’t progressing, and it’s hard to see the knee being healthy enough to all of a sudden be able to play in a relatively meaningless game on Wednesday.
The Mavericks need Parsons if they want to make any type of noise in the postseason. The forward is averaging nearly 16 points and five rebounds on the season while shooting 46 percent from the field and 38 percent from long range. His numbers were even better in March after returning from an ankle injury that forced him to miss seven games, and Dallas has played some of its best basketball with him on the floor this season.
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