Mavericks' Jason Kidd provides important Dereck Lively II, PJ Washington injury updates

DALLAS — The Chicago Bulls and Dallas Mavericks are playing on Monday night. However, PJ Washington , Dereck Lively II , Maxi Kleber and Dante Exum are all out for the Mavs due to injuries . Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd provided updates on Washington and Lively before the game.

Kidd said Lively, who is dealing with a right shoulder sprain, is trending in the right direction but there is no set timeline for his return. The Mavs head coach also said Washington is day-to-day with a right knee sprain .

Washington was suddenly added to the injury report before Wednesday's game. Lively, meanwhile, was ruled out ahead of Monday's game and was questionable heading into Wednesday. He was later downgraded to doubtful and was ultimately ruled out along with Washington.

Jason Kidd addresses Mavericks' injury concerns

Injuries are playing a significant role early in the season. However, Kidd is looking at the bright side.

"Nothing changes, next man up," Kidd said. "We believe that our bench is one of the best in the league. This gives those guys an opportunity to play. And that's good early in the season. I think when you look at injuries the positive is that there's others that have the opportunity."

Jason Kidd and the Mavericks obviously miss the injured players, but they are attempting to focus on the positives. It is a difficult situation but Kidd has the right mindset. He often preaches the "next man up" mentality, and it is clear that Kidd believes in the entire team. That is something that players coming off the bench surely notice and it works as a confidence boost.

The Mavericks will need their depth to step up on Wednesday night as Dallas looks to improve to 5-3 on the season. However, it will require a complete team effort without question.