The Dallas Mavericks have been doing just fine without Dirk Nowitzki. Now we will see how they do without Shawn Marion.
The Mavericks said Tuesday that Marion has a sprained MCL in his left knee and will miss at least three games before being re-evaluated.
Marion suffered the injury in the third quarter of Monday’s 114-91 home win over Portland and did not return. Initially, the injury was not believed to be serious.
According to the team, Marion had an MRI that confirmed the injury. He will not play in Wednesday’s home game vs. Toronto and will not travel with the team for a two-game trip to New York and Charlotte later in the week.
Marion’s re-evaluation will be sometime next week. This season, he is averaging 8.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 blocks while shooting 52 percent from the field, helping Dallas get off to a 3-1 start.
Nowitzki had knee surgery Oct. 19 and is expected to miss six weeks, meaning his return likely would be sometime in early December.
Offseason acquisition Elton Brand has been starting at power forward for Nowitzki, with Marion and recent signee Troy Murphy filling in off the bench. Marion has been backed up at small forward by rookie Jae Crowder and Dominique Jones.
If Chris Kaman eventually replaces Brandan Wright as the starting center during Marion’s absence, the Mavericks will have an entire starting lineup of players that were not with the team last season.