Southwest Notes: Branham, Collins, Irving, Doncic

Malaki Branham suffered a right ankle sprain during the first half at Memphis on Tuesday and was ruled out, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express News tweets.

The Spurs’ staff has been willing to allow Branham to work through his mistakes at the point, according to Orsborn.

“It’s a whole new world for him and he’s absorbing it every game, basically trying to figure out the role,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “It’s a tough role. It’s the most difficult on the court really in some ways. So, he’s been very successful in taking steps each time to understand how he can help the team, with being aggressive, decision-making, all those sorts of things. He’s dealing with all that, been doing well.”

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

• Spurs center Zach Collins is expected to miss 2-to-4 weeks with a right ankle sprain and he appreciates the franchise’s conservative approach to injury management. “They look after your body,” he told Orsborn. “They are very player friendly in that regard. Pop is one of the best I have been around with that stuff. They care about your career. We all appreciate how they go about that.”
• Kyrie Irving returned on Monday from a heel contusion that had sidelined him since Dec. 8. The Mavericks guard admitted he was very concerned when the injury occurred, as teammate Dwight Powell fell on his leg. “Oh, yeah, I was scared, man. I was very scared. My daughter was at the game. I was trying to make sure she was good first, so I went into daddy mode right after. But once I got home, man it was a struggle, just even going to sleep. You could feel the throbbing. I wasn’t sure of the significance of the injury and how long I was going to be out,” he told Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News.
• Luka Doncic is grateful the Mavs signed Dante Exum, who is currently dealing with a heel injury, as a free agent last summer, Grant Afseth of Sports Illustrated writes. Exum has made an unexpected impact since returning to the NBA from the EuroLeague, starting 14 games and making contributions across the board. “Honestly, he’s been amazing so far,” Doncic said of Exum. “Not just really good, but amazing. His IQ is insane. He’s driving to the basket. His layups, he’s been hitting 3s. I’m really happy that he’s on the team because he’s been a great addition to our team.”