OAKLAND, Calif. _ The injury situation at small forward is nearing crisis stage for the Mavericks after they found out Devean George has cartilage damage in his right knee that could require surgery.
George was injured Wednesday at Portland and the leg stiffened up quickly after he departed the game in the fourth quarter.
It is not known what sort of procedure will be required, but team physician Dr. T.O. Souryal will join the team in Los Angeles on Saturday to conduct a thorough exam on George. This sort of injury typically requires some sort of surgery to repair the cartilage. The Mavericks said there didn't appear to be any ligament damage.
George, who referred comment after today's shootaround to athletic trainer Casey Smith, suffered the injury when he was on a fast break and Portland guard Steve Blake fouled him to prevent an easy basket.
"It's tough,'' said Dirk Nowitzki. "It kind of looked like an awkward play. He had a little breakaway and the guy was just trying to foul him and I guess he came down awkward. It's obviously a little frustrating, but injuries are part of the game for every team. You can't complain about it.''
The injury means Antoine Wright and Gerald Green are the only two true healthy swingmen on the team. Coach Rick Carlisle said he would experiment with other alternatives as Josh Howard and Jerry Stackhouse remain sidelined.
"All the sudden we're thinner than we were,'' he said. "But we got Gerald and James Singleton who's played some three for us, so we're going to have to make it work. And (Jason) Kidd has played some three for us defensively.''
--Eddie Sefko
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