Luka Doncic will miss this Saturday the first game of the first round playoff series against the Jazz and in the Mavericks They cross their fingers that there are no more. The base is doubtful also for the second. He strained the calf of his left leg during the third quarter of the final regular-season game against the Spurs. One wonders what he was doing playing in an already inconsequential clash.
The tests he underwent confirmed the injury, with an uncertain recovery period. Doncic has been working with the Mavs’ medical services since he was injured and has been seen walking on a treadmill and pedaling a stationary bike. “He is in good spirits and seems to be improving. If he is injured and cannot play, we are not going to put him in danger or put him in a situation that makes things worse.”says the Mavs coach, Jason Kidd.
It would not be the first time that the Slovenian player has returned to action brilliantly in the playoffs after overcoming physical problems. In 2020, he was a doubt until the last moment of the fourth game against the Clippers due to a ankle sprain and finished with 43 points, 17 rebounds and 11 assists in a victory capped off with a step-back 3-pointer at the buzzer. And in 2021, I suffered a distensin cervical in the third game against the same Los Angeles team and a few days later he added 42 points, eight rebounds and 14 assists in the fifth shock.
The loss of the Slovenian player at the opening of the tie is a heavy blow to the Dallas franchise who, with home court factor in his favour, seeks to pass the first round of the playoffs after two premature eliminations against the Clippers in the last two courses. And this despite Doncic’s great performances, which have made him the best scorer in NBA title series history. Yes, ahead of Michael Jordan himself.
One tenth above Jordan
The Mavericks point guard has played 13 games in the playoffs in which he has averaged 33.5 points. The myth of Bulls They remain 33,4 throughout his career, in which he played 179 matches in the fight for the ring. The balances, yes, are very different: 5-8 for the Slovenian, who has not yet passed any tie, and 119-60 for ‘Air’, who added six titles without losing any of the finals.
This season, Doncic has finished as the fifth leading scorer in the NBA (28.4 points) and also the fifth best assist (8.7), in addition to adding 9.1 rebounds. Far from shrinking in the playoffs, the point guard’s performance tends to increase in decisive games. That will be lost by the Mavericks at the start of the tie against the Jazz. Spencer Dinwiddie y Jalen Brunson they will have to gain prominence to fill the gap for the Slovenian prodigy. The average time off for NBA players who suffered this injury during this course was 16 days., according to InStreetClothes.com. In Dallas they trust that in this case it will be less.
