Mavericks Big Man Suffers Fractured Thumb

A bad break for the Dallas Mavericks as their second-leading scorer has gone down with a fractured thumb, suffered Wednesday night in the Mavs' loss to the Atlanta Hawks. 

Dallas‘ Christian Wood has suffered a fractured left thumb and will be re-evaluated in one week.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 19, 2023

Christian Wood could be seen favoring his left hand and grimacing during the game, and it turns out to have been more serious than thought. The Mavericks say he'll be re-evaluated in one week. 

Could he really be back in just over a week? NBA Injury Expert Jeff Stotts explains the possibilities:

A distal phalanx fracture would likely be a best case scenario. Still, there are multiple examples of players missing minimal time with thumb fractures (<6 games) including Andrei Kirilneko, Brad Miller, and Domantas Sabonis (this season). (2/3)

— Jeff Stotts (@InStreetClothes) January 19, 2023

Stotts says there are multiple examples of players missing minimal time with thumb fractures, the most recent of those is Domantas Sabonis, who missed just one game. 

After starting the year as Sixth Man, Wood has ascended into the starting lineup, and has been the No. 2 man on the Mavs this season, averaging 18.4 points, and 8.4 rebounds, while shooting 38.5% from behind the arc. His production has gone up since moving into a starter's role, however, averaging 20.4 points and 9.4 rebounds in the starting lineup, and 21 and 10 in January. 

In a bizarre coincidence, Wood becomes the second significant player around the NBA to suffer a fractured thumb on Wednesday night, as the New York Knicks also lost a key member of their squad. 

Photo: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports