The Dallas Mavericks have been one of the surprise teams in the NBA so far this season as they are 28-23 which has them in sixth place in the Western Conference. Part of the reason for Dallas' success has been a somewhat resurgent year by point guard Deron Williams. Williams has remained relatively healthy for most of the year, which has always been the biggest key for him, but he hurt his hip on Monday night and head coach Rick Carlisle is concerned about the injury, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas.
Williams played just eight minutes on Monday in Dallas' loss to the Hawks before he hurt his hip. Initially the Mavericks said that Williams would be able to return to the game but he never did and after the game Carlisle seemed a bit worried saying "I don't know anything about a timetable or anything like that, but I'm concerned."
Williams was walking with a noticeable limp after the game on Monday, according to Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com, and he is currently listed as day-to-day. Williams sustained the injury in what Carlisle called a "hip-to-hip collision" and may have to miss some time due to the injury as hip contusions tend to be tricky. Add that to the fact that Williams has had his fair share of injury issues the past couple of years and you can expect the Mavericks to be cautious in this case.
Williams has appeared in 43 of the Mavericks 48 games so far this season which is proof that he has been able to stay on the floor for the most part. Williams had a nice start to the season but since then he hasn't been very consistent as his field goal percentage is down to 41 and his three point percentage is down to 34. Despite the decline in percentage Williams is still second on the team with 13.9 points per game and leads the team with 5.3 assists per game.
As mentioned before there is no timetable on Williams' return but more will be known after shoot around on Wednesday. It is completely reasonable to think he might miss a game or two though, based on Carlisle's concern. If he does miss time the Mavericks will likely be able to handle it as they are deep at the point guard spot with Devin Harris, J.J. Barea and Raymond Felton.
