DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - At long last, the Mavericks will be getting some much-needed reinforcements for their lineup as Josh Richardson, Dorian Finey-Smith and Dwight Powell are all listed as questionable for the Mavericks matchup vs the Jazz on Wednesday night.
Coach Rick Carlisle informed the media Tuesday that he expects all three players to be available to play some minutes in the game, Mavs television broadcaster Mark Followill relayed on Twitter.
"It's been a long road for these guys. They've gone through a big process and we just gotta get em back into it. There's gonna be a gradual aspect to it. They're not gonna be back in game shape overnight. But having them back in the fold is a big plus," Carlisle said.
It's been 18 days since the Mavericks announced that one of their players had tested positive for COVID-19 on Jan. 8. Richardson, Finney-Smith and Brunson all were left behind in Denver while the team returned to Dallas. Brunson was eventually cleared to return after he tested negative for the virus. Richardson and Finney-Smith, however, both tested positive.
Just three days later, Powell and Kleber were placed in the league's Health and Safety Protocols after they tested positive for COVID-19.
Kleber is the only player of the four to remain out. He was listed as being away from the team on the team's latest injury report.
In the players' absences, Carlisle was forced to give significant minutes to unproven players in Josh Green and Wes Iwundu, who have struggled to provide an impact on the offensive end of the floor.
Dallas went 4-5 since their win over Denver on Jan. 7, so getting these key rotational players back will give them the opportunity to really see what they can do at (nearly) full strength.