DHJ Quick Take: P.J. Washington Returns vs. Lakers<\/p>\n
The Defensive Anchor Returns: P.J. Washington has been cleared to return after a three-game absence due to illness, restoring the switchable, multi-positional defense Jason Kidd noted was sorely missed. With 1.1 blocks and 1.0 steals per game, Washington\u2019s presence is the primary engine for a Dallas unit looking to stabilize after surrendering 138 points to Orlando.<\/p>\n
Restoring the \u201cNext-Man-Up\u201d Floor: While Washington\u2019s 32% clip from deep has been a rollercoaster, his gravity is essential for Cooper Flagg. Having a veteran who can thrive in the \u201cshort roll\u201d and the pick-and-pop forces defenses to stay out of the paint, giving Flagg and Brandon Williams the necessary spacing to operate.<\/p>\n
Stemming the Home Skid: Washington\u2019s removal from the injury report marks the first time in weeks the Mavericks have their core defensive identity intact. Against a Lakers team that thrives on interior scoring, Washington\u2019s ability to guard multiple positions is the prerequisite for Dallas to finally snap the 14-game losing streak at the AAC.<\/p>\n
DALLAS \u2014 The Dallas Mavericks<\/a> will have a vital defensive piece back in the fold for Sunday night\u2019s high-stakes matchup.<\/p>\n P.J. Washington<\/a> has been removed from the injury report and is cleared to play against the Los Angeles Lakers after missing three games due to illness, the team announced.<\/p>\n What P.J. Washington Brings Back<\/p>\n Washington\u2019s absence was acutely felt during the Mavericks\u2018 recent defensive struggles. The veteran forward had been playing some of his best basketball of the season before the illness sidelined him, a point Jason Kidd<\/a> made explicitly in his pregame availability earlier this week.<\/p>\n \u201cPJ was playing well \u2014 we lose him to illness, and he\u2019s not back yet,\u201d Kidd said. \u201cWe\u2019ve always talked about a next-man-up mentality, and that\u2019s what we\u2019ve done for the last two years due to injury. A lot of guys have gotten opportunities and taken advantage of them.\u201d<\/p>\n On the season, Washington is averaging 14.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists across 55 games. While his scoring provides a necessary secondary punch, his value is most evident on the defensive end. He is currently averaging 1.0 steals and 1.1 blocks per game, numbers that reflect a versatile, switchable defensive profile that has been difficult for Dallas to replace.<\/p>\n The Bigger Picture<\/p>\n His return gives Dallas a more complete defensive identity than it has possessed in weeks. With Marvin Bagley<\/a> III also listed as probable, the Mavericks are finally seeing their frontcourt rotation stabilize.<\/p>\n Washington\u2019s ability to operate in the pick-and-roll alongside Cooper Flagg<\/a> and Brandon Williams<\/a> gives Kidd additional lineup combinations to combat the Lakers\u2019 size. His presence will be particularly crucial as Dallas attempts to snap a franchise-record 14-game home losing streak.<\/p>\n Caleb Martin<\/a>, Kyrie Irving<\/a>, and Dereck Lively<\/a> II remain out for Sunday\u2019s contest.<\/p>\n Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. CT at American Airlines Center.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DHJ Quick Take: P.J. Washington Returns vs. Lakers The Defensive Anchor Returns: P.J. Washington has been cleared to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":698868,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3790],"tags":[7,4034,1698,300,4044,251,150,4033,4043,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-698867","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-lakers","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-la","10":"tag-la-lakers","11":"tag-lakers","12":"tag-lalakers","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","15":"tag-losangeles","16":"tag-losangeleslakers","17":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116349630124868216","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=698867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/698868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=698867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=698867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=698867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}