Mavericks hopeful Tyson Chandler will only miss 1 game with ankle sprain

Things certainly could have turned out worse.

The Dallas Mavericks expressed optimism Tuesday, one day after losing starting center and defensive linchpin Tyson Chandler to an ankle injury.

Chandler has been ruled out for Wednesday's game with a left ankle sprain, but the team is hoping that, thanks to the All-Star Break, he'll only miss one game. After Wednesday, the team is off until Feb. 19, giving him more than a week to recover.

Chandler injured the ankle while getting fouled by Los Angeles Clippers big man Spencer Hawes on Monday. He tried to stay in the game but asked to be removed one minute later, and the Mavericks proceeded to get rolled by the Clippers.

That would likely be a common story if Chandler missed any significant time, as he's the backbone of a league-average Mavericks' defense that's short on talented individual defenders. The team has been 4.2 points-per-100 possessions better on defense when Chandler is on the floor and six points-per-100 possessions better overall, with Chandler's singular abilities to protect the rim and act as a guard-corralling pick-and-roll big making an enormous difference.

On offense, his strong finishing (he's shooting 68.4 percent), solid screens and hard rolling help keep Dallas's offense well-spaced, as he requires constant defensive attention and help on the dive despite a lack of range. He's averaging 10.7 points and 11.8 rebounds with a 21.4 player efficiency rating, easily the highest of his career.

Without Chandler, the Mavericks will turn to some undersized combination of Dwight Powell, Greg Smith, Charlie Villanueva, Al-Farouq Aminu and 10-day signing Bernard James to fill in at center. So that should be fun in the interim.