The Dallas Mavericks kicked off their season on Wednesday night with a win on the road over the Phoenix Suns in rather impressive fashion. Dallas got a lot of solid performances from several players including Deron Williams but the point guard also left the game with a knee injury and did not return which was somewhat concerning. Williams though reportedly suffered no structural damage and it is very possible that he doesn't miss any time, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
Williams sustained the injury when he banged knees with Suns point guard Eric Bledsoe during game action and at first the Mavericks said he was probable to return but they later changed that to doubtful. The fact that the Mavericks were winning by a comfortable margin might be part of the reason that D-Will didn't return but with him you never know.
Williams has dealt with a lot of injuries over the past few years and they have taken him from one of the best players in the NBA to an afterthought in the top ten point guards argument. Williams is hoping that a change of scenery from the Brooklyn Nets to Dallas will rejuvenate his career but he will need to be healthy for that to happen and so far he's had issues with that. The 31 year old point guard dealt with a calf issue during the preseason and missed a lot of time but was able to get into the final preseason game and looked good early in the regular season opener until he got hurt again.
Williams had 12 points and seven assists before exiting but he only got to play 20 minutes due to the injury. The Mavericks are deep at the point guard position so should Williams miss time they will be able to handle it just fine but he is their point guard with the most talent. The other three point guards, Raymond Felton, Devin Harris and J.J. Barea, all played 20 plus minutes in the opener but Felton started at shooting guard with Chandler Parsons out.
When Parsons does return, possibly this weekend, the Mavericks will have an overload of backcourt options but that may be necessary with Williams' recent injury history. This knee injury seems to be minor and he likely won't miss much, if any, time but if you are a fan of the Mavericks it has to be concerning that he has already been hurt twice in his short tenure with Dallas.
