When star guard Klay Thompson signed with the franchise last summer, he envisioned being in the championship hunt at this time of the year and playing alongside Irving and Luka Doncic. Instead, that dream is long gone with Irving on the mend, Doncic in Los Angeles, and the Mavericks fighting for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.

In response to big men Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford going down with injuries, the Dallas Mavericks have been forced to roll out smaller lineups than usual. In fact, Thompson, along with fellow forward Kessler Edwards,