Don’t overdo it in workouts on the precipice of the postseason. That’s what Chandler Parsons did on Sunday, reaggravating a right knee injury that’s kept him out of the Mavs lineup since April 2. His coach, Rick Carlisle, told Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas, “Am I concerned? Yeah, I’m concerned.”
The initial plan was that Parsons would suit up for Dallas’ final two regular season games. A two-week layoff is no way to come into the throes of the playoffs, but the setback on Sunday probably means he misses tonight’s regular-season finale with Portland coming to town at 8 EST.
Parsons tells MacMahon the knee “kind of gave out in a weird way” while he was going through a workout at Staples Center on Sunday. If the playoffs had started on Tuesday, Parsons said he’d be unable to go.
Rick Carlisle knows how important Parsons’ shooting and slashing is to space the floor for a Mavs team with an aging Dirk and an inconsistent backcourt of Monta Ellis and Rajon Rondo:
“Am I concerned? Yeah, I’m concerned,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “We’ll see where we are. We’re not going to take any risks with it. He desperately wants to play, and he’s played hurt a lot this year. When he came back from his foot thing, he was out there a lot earlier than a lot of guys would have been. We’ve just got to make sure we’re smart about the whole thing.”
The swelling in the knee has subsided, but Parsons wasn’t able to dunk off his right foot before the knee gave out on Sunday. It’s got nothing to do with pain tolerance, but simple effectiveness. Parsons doesn’t have it, so trotting him out on the court — even in a first-round series against San Antonio, LA, Memphis or Houston — doesn’t make sense.
While Parsons says “I’m not going to be selfish and rush back and not be a contributor and be able to help our team,” he’s out for tonight.
Mavs list Chandler Parsons (knee) and Devin Harris (toe) as out for regular-season finale tomorrow.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 14, 2015
He felt good on Monday during a light run through, but performed no lateral cuts that might test the knee’s ability to withstand the rigors of a game.
An MRI on April 3rd, the day after the swollen knee forced him out of a game against the Rockets, turned up nothing, but the soreness continues.
Mans fans will be sore if their $46 million man can’t help them against whomever they face in the first round.
