Mavericks Doncic Could Be Back For Game 3

 

There is growing optimism that Mavericks' superstar point guard Luka Doncic will return from injury for Game 3 or 4 of the team's first-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania. He has been sidelined for the first two games of the series with a calf strain.

Doncic suffered the injury in the third quarter of the Mavericks final game of the regular season against the San Antonio Spurs. With the Mavericks already having locked up the 4th seed in the Western Conference prior to the game, Dallas' coaching staff was scrutinized for playing their star player in a meaningless game, let alone all the way into the third quarter.

Luka Doncic had to leave the Mavericks game with a calf injury pic.twitter.com/5kVqPeQQxB

— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) April 11, 2022

Jason Kidd ruined his team’s chances of winning a playoff series by playing Luka in a meaningless game

but, hey, at least he’s a good pers—LMAO

— Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) April 16, 2022

Fortunately for Luka (and Head Coach Jason Kidd's sake), the injury was not severe, and is already improving. Doncic's return will reportedly be determined based on his performance in workouts in the next few days.

It's no secret that the Mavericks desperately need Doncic back to have a chance at winning what has already been a tight series with Utah. After dropping Game 1 99-93, Dallas fought back to even the series last night, winning 110-104 on the shoulders of a career-high 41 points for Jalen Brunson and 8 3-pointers from Maxi Kleber off the bench. They will now travel to Salt Lake City for Games 3 and 4, and if Luka is unable to play, it would be difficult to assume that they will continue to get these performances from their supporting cast, especially on the road. Stay tuned for developments on the situation.

Photo Credit: © Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports