Dallas Mavericks All-Star combo guard Luka Doncic suffered a scary hamstring injury late in a game against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, which Dallas ultimately won, 109-99. He finished with a solid if not spectacular 21 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the field (1-of-6 from long range, continuing a season of inconsistency from three-point range). The 25-year-old also dealt nine dimes and downed three boards. Doncic then missed Dallas’ next game yesterday, a 126-119 loss to the Western Conference top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.
It appears, however, that Mavs fans have nothing to worry about when it comes to Doncic’s long-term health. Although the club is only the eighth seed in the West with a 38-29 record this season, Dallas can boast high upside, thanks to the presence of Doncic and fellow All-Star Kyrie Irving, and some wing and fortified frontcourt depth that seems to have helped the club grow from its No. 11 seed position last season. If everyone is healthy, the Mavericks could still make some noise in the playoffs. Athletic’s Shams Charania revealed the results of the latest imaging on Doncic’s pesky hamstring during a segment on the FanDuel TV show “Run It Back,” alongside Michelle Beadle and Lou Williams.
“Good news for the Mavericks, the MRI was clean on that hamstring, we don’t think it’s a serious injury… They have this matchup against the Nuggets on Sunday, there’s obviously hope internally with the Mavericks that Luka Doncic will be fined for this game.”@ShamsCharania… pic.twitter.com/kzcgCxBK7P
– Run It (@RunItBackFDTV) March 15, 2024
“Good news for the Mavericks, the MRI was clear on that hamstring, we don’t think it’s a serious injury,” Charania said. “He will be re-evaluated today [and] tomorrow. They have this matchup against the Nuggets on Sunday, there’s obviously hope internally with the Mavericks that Luka Doncic will be fine for that game on Sunday, but it’s a hamstring. This is really going to be a day-by-day process. But the good news for the Mavericks is that it’s actually more of a day-to-day injury than anything that’s going to cost them significant time. »
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Through 58 games so far this season, the 6’7″ superstar has averaged 34.3 points with .494/.378/.788 shooting times, 9.8 assists and nine rebounds per night. With Doncic on the board against the Thunder on Thursday, Irving hit his stride, scoring 36 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the floor (4-of-7 from distance) and 8-of-8 shooting from the foul line. He also dished out 12 assists, grabbed four rebounds and snagged two steals in the loss.
Dallas should be able to survive without Doncic for the next few games. As Charania noted, the Mavericks are scheduled to face the defending league champion Denver Nuggets in a matinee on Sunday. This was probably going to be a loss with or without Doncic in tow. The team will then have a packed schedule over the following week, with matchups scheduled against a tandem of tanking West teams, the 14-52 San Antonio Spurs and the 28-37 Utah Jazz (twice) .
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