The injury bug has hit teams hard across the league and the Dallas Mavericks are no different as this compressed schedule takes its toll following abbreviated training camps.
Point guard Jason Kidd has already missed four games with back spasms and now Vince Carter could miss that many and maybe more. He sat out his first game of the season with a sprained foot Wednesday night during the Mavs' 91-89 loss at the Los Angeles Clippers.
Carter sustained the injury on the final play of Monday's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers as he made a move to the right to get off a potential game-tying three-pointer. He got it off, but the shot missed and then teammates had to help Carter to the locker room.
"It's a loss, a significant loss for us right now," said Mavs coach Rick Carlisle, who noted that Carter's absence could open more minutes for Lamar Odom at small forward and for Rodrigue Beaubois at shooting guard. Dallas continues its four-game road trip Thursday night at surging Utah.
Carter is a significant loss because he had emerged as a valuable member of Dallas' deep and high-scoring bench. He is second in scoring behind Jason Terry, averaging 9.5 points.
He also provided elements that the Mavs just haven't had. He could create his own shot with one-on-one penetrations and he was also the team's most accurate three-point shooter.
