Dallas Mavericks big man Kristaps Porzingis could make his season debut Monday night against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Porzingis, who underwent surgery in October to address a lateral meniscus injury in his left knee, is listed as questionable for the first time this season. He is included among the Mavs' likely starters in the team's media notes.

Porzingis has been a full participant in the Mavs' practices for the past two weeks as he has been ramping up for his return. He has been given a clean bill of health but said he needed time to practice and scrimmage to regain his rhythm before playing in games.

The addition of Porzingis would help the Mavs deal with a depth issue created by a recent pair of positive COVID-19 tests and related contact tracing on the roster. Power forward Maxi Kleber, small forward Dorian Finney-Smith, shooting guard Josh Richardson and point guard Jalen Brunson are all in the NBA's health and safety protocols.

The 7-foot-3 Porzingis, who missed a season and a half while recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee suffered in February 2018, sustained the most recent injury in the opener of the Mavs' playoff series against the LA Clippers in August. He played the next two games -- including a 34-point, 13-rebound performance in Game 3 -- before the pain and stiffness in the knee forced Porzingis to sit out the remainder of the series.

Porzingis, 25, averaged 20.4 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks during his first season with the Mavericks in 2019-20.