NBA: After surgery: Mavericks have to do without Noel for a long time

The Dallas Mavericks have to give up Center Nerlens Noel for several weeks. Coach Rick Carlisle explained that. Noel had to have surgery on his thumb.

Noel suffered a torn ligament in his thumb and was operated on. According to Carlisle, he is still missing “several weeks”after missing the last four games. At the moment he is having problems catching balls or putting pressure on his thumb.

The center plays only a minor role in the rotation of the current season. In 18 games he stood on the field for an average of 12.5 minutes at 4.0 points and 4.1 rebounds. Besides, he only got six starts.

Noel had caused a stir in the off-season when he had rejected a highly remunerated contract extension of the Mavericks and accepted the qualifying offer instead. This will make him an Unrestricted Free Agent next summer.

Dallas suffers from injury in the current season anyway. Apart from Noel, Dorian Finney-Smith (knee, return unknown), Seth Curry (legs, possible return in December) and Josh McRoberts (legs, return unknown) are currently missing.