The Dallas Mavericks got the full Anthony Davis experience in his debut against the Houston Rockets. He wasted no time making his mark, putting up 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in just 31 minutes in the Mavericks’ 116-105 win over the Rockets.

But the 10-time All-Star had his dominant debut cut short when he left the game injured at the end of the third quarter, and he’s now set to miss multiple weeks with an adductor strain.

Trading Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers meant Dallas hedged its championship bets on Davis, but this injury marks an unexpected early setback.

On the latest episode of “NBA Daily,” Dave DuFour, Es Baraheni and Zena Keita were joined by Mavericks beat writer Christian Clark to discuss the 31-year-old’s rollercoaster debut and injury status.

Zena: Anthony Davis absolutely made himself known out on the court, especially the first three plays of the game. Either they were an assist from him, or him leading the break leading to assists. He naturally, very smoothly, found himself within the offense and the defense of this Mavericks team. When you look at the way that he was utilized, particularly in that power forward position which is where he’s always wanted to be, what did you make of his debut with the Mavericks and how this could continue on past hopefully this injury that was sustained in the third quarter?

Christian: Anthony Davis was fantastic when he was actually on the court. I think the most revealing statistic number from that game was 18 blocks, that was a franchise record for blocks literally in game one of Anthony Davis at power forward and Daniel Gafford at center. They made this move because they wanted to be an elite defensive team. I think you have to view this through the context of the 2019/20 Lakers. Anthony Davis played a lot of power forward that season. Jason Kidd was an assistant coach on that team. That team was more defensive-oriented than offensive-oriented, and that was why they were able to win the title that season. AD was incredible on both ends of the floor and you totally saw the vision defensively. And then with a little less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter, he has to come out and he never returns. They officially listed him as ‘doubtful.’ He talked after the game and insisted it was nothing serious. I’m going to closely be watching the injury report tonight because AD missed five games in a row before he made his Mavericks debut with what they said was an abdominal strain. I know what he said (after the game), but I’m still watching the injury report to see what happens.

Zena: This is one of the concerns that people have about Anthony Davis and just his ability to stay on the court, to stay out of injuries. But from the conversation you guys had with him after the game, his sentiments seemed pretty positive. He felt really good about where the Mavericks were headed and how his impact would be felt, no?

Christian: Yeah, totally. I think he’s pretty OK with coming to Dallas. I think it’s a market he’s comfortable in. He’s got a friendship with Kyrie Irving. Kyrie Irving said during the road trip that he, Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant actually talked about playing together back in 2018. So the idea of Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis playing together is not anything that’s new at all. But to your point, I mean not only is Luka Dončić six years younger than Anthony Davis, he’s got a better track record of actually being available on the court…

Zena: Yeah, that’s important… (laughs).

Christian: To trade for an older guy and a guy who misses a lot more time, that’s part of the reason the reaction was what it was.

Zena: And understandably. Even Jason Kidd, as you mentioned in your article, saying the fans have a right to be upset. The fans have a right to feel a certain way about the caliber of player, and also the health of the player that you traded for that’s the number one thing. Anthony Davis is an All-Star when he’s available.