APRIL 16: Doncic is officially listed as out for Game 1 by the team’s PR department (Twitter link).
APRIL 15: Doncic will miss Game 1 and there’s “significant concern” about his availability for Game 2, reports Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
APRIL 14: Luka Doncic is expected to miss Game 1 of the Mavericks‘ playoff series against Utah on Saturday, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (Twitter link).
A report on Wednesday indicated that there was “a lot of skepticism” that Doncic would be available for the opener after he suffered a left calf strain on Sunday in Dallas’ regular season finale. Muscle strains are notoriously tricky to deal with and there’s a risk that the star guard could further injure the calf if it’s not fully healed.
As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski relayed on Wednesday, Doncic’s injury is “more than just a mild calf strain” and he might miss Game 2 on Monday as well. Game 3 starts next Thursday, so Doncic will have a couple extra days rest after Game 2 before the series shifts to Utah.
The 23-year-old averaged 28.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 1.2 steals on .457/.353/.744 shooting in 65 games this season (35.4 minutes per night), so his absence will have a major impact on the four-five matchup. In 13 career playoff games from 2020-21, Doncic put up 33.5 points, 8.8 points, 9.5 assists and 1.2 steals on .494/.392/.600 shooting, but Dallas fell to the Clippers in the first-round both seasons.
The Mavs figure to heavily rely on guards Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie with Doncic expected to be sidelined for at least the first game against the Jazz.
This may actually help Dallas in gm1 tbh. Dinwiddie & Brunson are obv more than capable as lead guards & the role players that will be leaned on in Luka’s absence (JGreen & Bertans especially) should be more comfortable playing in front of an exuberant playoff opener crowd. For anybody that saw the Taylor/Catterall fight from a few weeks ago the Brunson vs Conley southpaw matchup in gm1 should be reminiscent
They just cant really compare. They dont draw doubles the way Luka does to generate open looks. Luka is also much better in the short to medium midrange at generating shots in traffic. His midrange game will be missed against playoff defenses.
If he misses enough time I think Utah may win, and I thought them making it out of the first round was a real long shot before this.
Idk man I feel like dallas isn’t a threat without luka regardless of the venue.
lmao, no it won’t. I get the inclination to put out a take like this, but Dallas being without Luka will not ‘actually help’ them.
The calf is a crazy thing. About 10 years ago my calf kept straining and prevented me from running. Couldn’t stretch it out couldn’t relieve it with massage it was very frustrating.
I’d sit out a month and try to play ball again and it would cramp up after half a game. Then a buddy told me to use arch supports in my hoop shoes. Definitely made a major difference and no calf problems since. I’ve been telling other guys with same results.
Just FYI for you hoopers out there. I don’t think I could still play ball today without the arch supports. Unrelated to Doncic but if it helps anyone then this post is cool, right?
I have inserts in all my hoop shoes. Its imperative if you play on concrete to have really good support and cushioning.
Also while you really want good lockdown if you tighten your shoes to much it will cause pain in your calf and lower leg.
So the lesson here is, at least if calf pain exists, to buy shoe inserts for exercise whether or not the shoe manfacturer promises arch support— because they all do. Even sockmakers do, which I think is funny to claim for a sock.
The chincy little thin insoles that every basketball shoe I have including Nike, Adidas, and UA are useless. It gives you so much more cushioning and fit to get good athletic inserts.
The only time to go thin is if your playing on a really soft wood court and you want more court feel.
I use Powerstep plantar fasciitis inserts in my gym/daily shoes and basketball shoes now. Achillies, calf, and a plantar fasciitis injuries led me to finally look at my shoe inserts instead of going stock. The plantar one was the last straw. Ironically I don’t feel the need to wear them in my work or hiking boots, the composite toes for Keen and Timberland Pro have good inserts.
But NBA athletes should be wearing customized shoes and inserts anyway they’d be fools not to.
I like to wear platform shoes for a little extra height but it hurts my feet
The reality is that he/ the starters really shouldn’t have played to begin with. I know there was seeding implications with Golden State, but I’d imagine the players/staff for the most part would have liked to stay as the 4th seed and play Utah anyways. Freak accident at a costly time, yes, but it could have been avoided since it wasn’t a must win game.
I think gaining the 3rd seed was important due to the 2nd round. Mavs match up much better with Memphis than the Suns. Of course, no guarantee they get out of the first. Especially now.
There is no way any team is looking past round 1 to strategize their best course for round 2. You don’t even need to look in hindsight to come to the conclusion that the starters should have never touched the court in the last game. They were cemented as the 4th seed at worst, so at that point you minimize the risk of injury, and let your bench play. Having Doncic play nearly 30 mins against San Antonio is just mindless.
Milwaukee definitely looked past rd 1
Of course teams are going to notice the round 2 opponent. The choice is wide in this case.
PHX- the best team in the NBA by far, based on W-L, and who went to the finals last year, and improved, and are missing nobody, OR-
MEM- A young team with limited playoff experience.
I’m not even sure MEM has it all over MIN, and that’s a 2vs7.
A 3 seed is a big deal.
Why not rest Doncic in the nexttolast game also? Or last week, if saving is the point? Longer?— DAL is four games up on #5.
Notice who may be in round 2, yeah I guess. But teams aren’t trying to seed based on who they might match up against in round 2. That might fly in a city rec league, not in the pros.
It JUST did last Sunday Breezy
At the time of his injury the GSW were way ahead with the game further along, so it was pretty high odds it was garbage time and win or lose they were the 4th seed.
Doncic could have injured himself in game 1 … You never know when injuries strike
I think that is especially true with a guy like Doncic who has missed time on many occasions with a sprain here, a little strain here. Never a massive amount of time, but those incidents have happened enough where I might have erred on the sign of caution.
And like Chapman alluded to, it wasn’t like they were trying to defend their seeding. They needed some luck to make that happen, which makes taking that risk all the more silly. Why risk his health for what probably amounted to a 10% chance with the Pelicans starters resting? Just bad math there.
Availability is the best ability…
Yes exactly. Looking at last year it seemed like the teams with the fewest injuries were advancing.
Deep thoughts.
Doncic shouldn’t have played the last game. It was a meaningless game. The seeding was already decided by then.
Injuries really water down the competition. This sucks.
Revisionist history is pretty boring
It’s the same fellers that went ape on KL for load management probably
Theme- A certain type will complain no matter what if you give them a forum
Bad Things happen, sometimes you can’t and don’t need a direction to point a finger at, it just is what it is
Let’s make some lemonade tho, Dallas has some pressing issues in the backcourt this offseason (*or maybe not if Cuban wants to pay a top 5 team EVER in the NBA ledger wise) , lets turn up the heat on Brunson and Dins to help those near-future tough evaluations out a little bit.