Mavericks Say Luka Doncic Will Be Reevaluated In One Month

Luka Doncic will be reevaluated in a month for a left calf strain he suffered during a Christmas Day game, the Mavericks announced in a press release, confirming a series of Friday reports.

Although there was no contact on the play, Doncic appeared to suffer the injury on a drive to the basket in the second quarter while being defended by Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels. Doncic underwent an MRI on Thursday and consulted with doctors to determine the best course for his recovery.

The left leg continues to be a problem area for Doncic, who has strained his left calf three times in recent years. He also missed the entire preseason with a left calf contusion and recently returned from a left heel contusion.

The Mavericks were impressive Friday night in their first game since Doncic’s injury, leading nearly the entire way in a 98-89 win over Phoenix.

“An injury is an injury,” coach Jason Kidd said. “He’s had a couple of them this year and we’ve played without him. Next man up mentality. That’s what we’re facing right now. Not just with Luka, but with Dereck Lively out. The depth of our team is being tested and those guys in the locker room are up for the test.”

Naji Marshall took Doncic’s place in the starting lineup on Friday, but he won’t be an option for a while. He was suspended for four games for an on-court altercation with Phoenix center Jusuf Nurkic that continued in the locker room area.

The Mavericks have 16 games on their schedule over the next month, including tonight’s contest at Portland. Kidd plans to be careful about not overtaxing his starters to make up for Doncic’s absence.

“The big picture is always in focus,” he said. “Running (Kyrie Irving) up over 40 minutes, that puts us in a different situation. We have to lean on our leader here to help us, but that doesn’t mean running his minutes up to 40, 42 minutes as the final way to win. We believe we have other guys that can eat minutes and play at a high level. We’ll have that opportunity with Luka out.”

In a related matter, Kidd told reporters before tonight’s game that Doncic is “doing fine” after his house was broken into on Friday, per Christian Clark of The Athletic. Approximately $30K worth of jewelry was taken from the residence, but nobody was home at the time of the incident. It’s at least the sixth home invasion involving a professional athlete since September, Clark adds.