Maxi Kleber returned to action for the Dallas Mavericks in Game 4 against the Minnesota Timberwolves after being out for about three weeks due to a third-degree dislocation of the AC joint of his right shoulder. Kleber seemed a little out of it on the court after missing so much time, as at one point, his teammates had to yell at him to join their huddle.
Mavs squad was in sync trying to get Kleber to join the huddle 🤣 https://t.co/oBZO44rFga
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 29, 2024
While Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, P.J. Washington, and Derrick Jones Jr. came together to form a huddle, Kleber was instead talking to an official. All four men yelled at him to join them and the 32-year-old eventually made his way over.
Doncic, Irving, and Jones were even in sync when they motioned to Kleber to come over and it was just a hilarious scene. Unfortunately for the German, this isn’t the first time that he has been yelled at in these playoffs.
In Game 1 of the first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers, Kleber failed to catch a pass from Doncic. The Slovenian was not happy, to say the least.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbN8c5RSpmY
That game against the Clippers ended the same way as this one against the Timberwolves, as a loss for the Mavericks. Dallas would have advanced to the NBA Finals with a win here, but Minnesota kept its season alive by winning 105-100 to cut the deficit to 3-1.
Kleber didn’t play all that well in the loss, finishing with 2 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist in 13 minutes. He doesn’t seem fully healthy, but with Dereck Lively II out due to a neck injury, the Mavericks needed him to step out onto the court. If Lively is back for Game 5, I don’t expect Kleber to play significant minutes as he did here.
This 2023-24 season has been a bit of a rough one for Kleber. He dislocated his toe early on in the campaign and ended up playing just 43 games in the regular season. Then came that shoulder injury in the playoffs and it was believed initially that he would miss the entire postseason because of it. Kleber battled through that pain to be out there for his team at a time of need and does deserve credit for that.
Luka Doncic Took Responsibility For Game 4 Loss To The Timberwolves
Kleber wasn’t the main reason why Dallas couldn’t wrap up the series here, though. The big stars didn’t deliver in this one and Doncic blamed himself for the Mavericks’ Game 4 loss.
“That game is on me. I didn’t give enough energy. We gotta do better. There’s one more game, so we have to focus on the next one.”
Doncic had 28 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists, and 1 steal in this game but went just 7-21 from the field. The Mavericks as a whole shot only 42.0% from the field in what was easily their worst offensive showing of the series.
I expect a greater sense of urgency in Game 5, but they have now given the Timberwolves a little bit of hope. If Minnesota wins that game, there will be a whole lot of pressure on Dallas in Game 6, but I would back Doncic to get his team over the line in that scenario.
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