UPDATE 2:38 p.m. Pacific: Dallas Mavericks star forward Anthony Davis has been upgraded to AVAILABLE to play against the Brooklyn Nets Monday night, ESPN’s Shams Charania has reported.

The Dallas Mavericks could be getting a key reinforcement for the stretch run of the regular season. Dallas star forward Anthony Davis has been upgraded to questionable to play against the Brooklyn Nets Monday night, the Dallas Morning News’ Mike Curtis reported.

Davis has been out with an adductor strain since Feb. 8. He suffered the injury during his Mavericks debut following the earth-shattering trade that sent Davis to Dallas and superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. Davis had initially been listed as doubtful for Monday’s game when the injury report was released on Sunday.

This news has made it onto a Portland Trail Blazers blog primarily because the Mavericks are one of Portland’s main opponents in the race for the Western Conference play-in. Following Portland’s 129-116 loss Sunday to the Boston Celtics, No. 11 seed Dallas sits 2.5 games ahead of No. 12 seed Portland heading into Monday’s game against Brooklyn. The Phoenix Suns, also 2.5 games ahead of the Blazers, own the tiebreaker over Dallas so they stand in that 10th and final play-in spot.

Davis’ potential return is important because of the talent he’ll bring back to Dallas’ lineup. It’s almost more notable in how it shows the Mavericks’ priorities with 11 games left in their season. After Dallas lost nine of its last 11, some might’ve thought the Mavericks may decide to punt on this season, focus on securing a higher draft pick (i.e. tank), and set their sights on next season. They still could do that, but with Davis pushing to come back with such little time left, that appears more unlikely.

This all will make that 2.5-game hill harder to climb for the Trail Blazers.

If you’re interested in scoreboard watching Monday night, the Mavs play the Nets at 4:30 p.m. Pacific. The Suns tip off against the Milwaukee Bucks at 7 p.m. Pacific.