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Luka Doncic May Not Be Ready For Playoff Opener

April 13th, 2022 at 7:17pm CST by Arthur Hill

There’s “a lot of skepticism” that Mavericks star Luka Doncic will be available for Game 1 of their playoff series with the Jazz, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said tonight on “NBA Countdown” (video link).

Doncic suffered a strained left calf Sunday in Dallas’ final regular season game. The Mavericks aren’t required to submit an injury report until Friday, so there may be no official word until then, but Wojnarowski said the outlook seems pessimistic that Doncic will play in the Saturday afternoon game.

Sources tell Wojnarowski that Doncic’s injury is “more than just a mild calf strain.” He’s expected to do everything be can to be ready, but Woj cautions that it’s the type of injury that can be aggravated if it’s not fully healed.

He adds that Dallas is facing the possibility that Doncic may miss Monday night’s Game 2 as well.

“If this was the regular season, you wouldn’t even be talking about him possibly playing this weekend,” Wojnarowski said, while adding that he expects a final decision on Doncic’s availability for Game 1 to go “down to the wire” Friday or Saturday.

The Mavericks and Jazz will have two days off after Game 2, so Doncic will have a cushion to recover before the series shifts to Utah. Any games that Doncic misses could have a profound impact on the series, as he put up All-Star  numbers again this season, averaging 28.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.7 assists in 65 games.

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And-Ones: Monthly Awards, Hollis-Jefferson, Cooper

April 12th, 2022 at 3:32pm CST by Luke Adams

Rockets guard Jalen Green and Raptors forward Scottie Barnes were named the Rookies of the Month for March/April in the Western Conference and Eastern Conference, respectively, the NBA announced on Monday (via Twitter).

Green got off to an up-and-down start this season but finished strong, averaging 22.6 PPG, 3.8 RPG, and 3.2 APG on .484/.395/.763 shooting in 22 games in March and April. Barnes helped the Raptors secure the No. 5 seed in the East by putting up 16.6 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 4.0 APG on 50.5% shooting in his last 22 contests.

The NBA also announced its Coaches of the Month for March/April on Tuesday (Twitter link). Mavericks coach Jason Kidd won the Western award for a 16-5 run to the end of the season; Ime Udoka, whose Celtics finished with a 15-4 stretch, earned the honor in the East.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

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Injury Updates: Doncic, Allen, Kennard, Collins, Niang

April 12th, 2022 at 1:31pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks put out a press release on Tuesday formally confirming that Luka Doncic is dealing with a strained left calf and announcing there’s no timetable for his return.

Dallas won’t have to officially list Doncic on the injury report until Friday, so the club will likely continue to be cagey about his availability for Game 1 vs. Utah. Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd declined to offer any specifics on Tuesday, offering coy responses about Doncic’s ability to practice and the possibility that he’ll play on Saturday, tweets Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.

For what it’s worth, Kidd said multiple times that Doncic is “in great spirits,” while Mavericks guard Spencer Dinwiddie offered a positive assessment of his teammate’s status (Twitter link via Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News): “He seemed solid to me. I mean, he don’t seem like a guy that’s going to miss too much time, if any.”

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

  • The Cavaliers have officially listed Jarrett Allen (finger) as out for Tuesday’s play-in game vs. Brooklyn. An earlier report suggested there’s some hope that Allen would be able to play on Friday if Cleveland loses tonight.
  • Clippers sharpshooter Luke Kennard (hamstring) had been officially listed as questionable for Tuesday’s play-in game, but he didn’t make the trip to Minnesota, according to head coach Tyronn Lue (Twitter link via Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times).
  • Hawks big man John Collins, out since March 11 due to finger and foot injuries, played some 4-on-4 over the weekend, but head coach Nate McMillan isn’t sure whether he’ll be available for Wednesday’s play-in game vs. Charlotte, writes Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He’s been moving a lot more, and today was pretty much shooting. … We’ll see tomorrow,” McMillan said on Tuesday. “We’ll see how he feels after the weekend of play and what he went through today.”
  • After missing the last two games of the regular season with a knee issue, Sixers forward Georges Niang was able to practice on Tuesday and should be ready for Game 1 on Saturday, head coach Doc Rivers told reporters, including Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).
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Luka Doncic Suffers Calf Strain In Mavs’ Regular Season Finale

April 11th, 2022 at 7:29pm CST by Luke Adams

APRIL 11: An MRI confirmed Doncic’s calf strain, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets. The Mavs have not set a timetable for his return and won’t be obligated to provide an update on Doncic’s status for Game 1 until later in the week.

APRIL 10: Star guard Luka Doncic left the Mavericks‘ regular season finale vs. San Antonio on Sunday in the third quarter due to what the team is calling a left calf strain (Twitter link). Doncic limped to the locker room after sustaining the injury and was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game.

It’s certainly not great timing for Doncic and the Mavericks, who have earned the No. 4 seed in the West and are looking to make a deep playoff run this spring.

As Jeff Stotts of In Street Clothes observes (via Twitter), calf strains can result in a wide range of recovery timelines depending on the severity and the location. On average, a player who sustained the injury this season was out for 16 days, per Stotts, but some players returned much quicker than that.

One factor working in Doncic’s favor is that Dallas’ first-round series won’t tip off until Saturday, so he’ll have the better part of a week to try to get healthy. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), there’s initial optimism that the All-NBA guard hasn’t suffered a significant injury.

It looked earlier this weekend as if Doncic wouldn’t even be active for the Mavs’ regular season finale, since he was assessed with his 16th technical foul on Friday night, which would have triggered an automatic one-game suspension. However, the NBA rescinded that technical on Saturday, allowing Doncic to suit up on Sunday.

If Doncic has to miss any playoff games, the Mavs would lean more heavily on point guards Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie for scoring and play-making.

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Joel Embiid, Luka Doncic Named Players Of The Week

April 11th, 2022 at 2:10pm CST by Luke Adams

Sixers center Joel Embiid has been named the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Week for the final week of the 2021/22 regular season (April 4-10), while Mavericks guard Luka Doncic has won the award in the West, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).

Embiid, putting a stamp on an MVP-caliber season, averaged 38.7 PPG, 14.3 RPG, and 2.7 APG on .609/.444/.757 shooting in three games (37.7 MPG) before resting in Philadelphia’s regular season finale on Sunday. The Sixers had a 3-1 week as Embiid earned his second Player of the Week award of the season.

Doncic, meanwhile, put up 30.3 PPG, 10.0 APG, and 9.0 RPG as the Mavs won their final three games of the season by an average margin of 26 points. It was his third Player of the Week award this season. Doncic’s season ended on a sour note though, as he left Sunday’s finale early due to a strained left calf. He’ll undergo an MRI today to determine the severity of the injury.

Embiid beat out fellow nominees Pascal Siakam, Kevin Durant, and Obi Toppin in the East. The other Western nominees were Rudy Gobert and Klay Thompson (Twitter link).

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Injury Notes: Allen, Doncic, Murray, LeBron, Barrett

April 11th, 2022 at 8:52am CST by Luke Adams

Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen, who has been sidelined since March 6 due to a fractured finger, has shed his splint and has his injured finger wrapped with black tape, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. However, sources tell Fedor there’s still pessimism about Allen’s potential availability for Cleveland’s play-in game vs. Brooklyn on Tuesday.

One of Fedor’s sources said it’s “unrealistic” to expect Allen to play on Tuesday, while another said that Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff is preparing to be without his All-Star center.

“I can’t give you an exact timeline,” Bickerstaff said before Sunday’s regular season finale. “He’s doing more and more with that hand. It’s just a matter of time.

“It’s a structure thing first and foremost. You always want to make sure that it’s as healthy as it possibly can be. In his position, the banging that he does, on the rim, like blocking shots, all those things. Then it becomes pain tolerance. Then strengthening and his ability to use that finger. But he’s making steps. It’ll be one of those things where the day will come and he’ll be ready to go.”

If the Cavaliers can’t get by the Nets on Tuesday, they would face either Atlanta or Charlotte on Friday, with the No. 8 spot up for grabs. One source who believes Allen will miss Tuesday’s game thinks it’s “50-50” that he’d return on Friday, according to Fedor.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

  • Mavericks star Luka Doncic will undergo an MRI on his strained left calf on Monday to determine the severity of the injury and a potential recovery timeline, tweets veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein.
  • Appearing on 104.3 The Fan in Denver, Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said it’s “100%” up to Jamal Murray if he returns from his ACL injury this season. “We want him to feel no pressure, want him to know that the organization has his best interests in mind,” Connelly said (Twitter link via Mike Singer of The Denver Post). “… He’s done a great job in rehab, he looks really, really good.”
  • Lakers forward LeBron James underwent an MRI on his left ankle in Los Angeles this weekend and didn’t make the trip to Denver for the team’s regular season finale, Frank Vogel told reporters on Sunday (Twitter link via Dave McMenamin of ESPN). Presumably, the Lakers will be able to share more information on the results of that MRI at today’s exit interviews with the media.
  • Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau confirmed that RJ Barrett avoided a worst-case scenario when he injured his right knee earlier this week and has been diagnosed with just a sprain. The team anticipates Barrett will be back to 100% for offseason workouts in about a month, says Marc Berman of The New York Post.
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Luka Doncic’s 16th Technical Foul Rescinded

April 9th, 2022 at 5:24pm CST by Rory Maher

APRIL 9: The NBA has rescinded Doncic’s 16th technical, and he will be eligible to play Sunday, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.

APRIL 8: Mavericks star Luka Doncic received his 16th technical foul on Friday night against the Blazers and faces an automatic one-game suspension for the team’s season finale, according to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.

There’s a chance that the NBA could rescind the technical, which would allow Doncic to play in the finale, a home game against San Antonio on Sunday. Doncic successfully challenged one other technical this season and had it rescinded after a league review.

As ESPN’s Tim MacMahon relays, Doncic was upset about a non-foul call at the end of the first quarter after he was undercut from behind on a half-court shot attempt. He tried to make his case to the referee closest to him, and when that was ignored, he went to crew chief Tony Brothers and asked about the play, only to be T’d up.

“I asked him, ‘How is that not a foul? How is that not a foul?'” Doncic said, offering an explanation to Mavs VP of basketball communications Scott Tomlin. “He T’d me up. That’s unfair. That’s unfair.”

The impending suspension is significant because it could have a major impact on the Western Conference playoff seedings. Dallas is only one game behind Golden State for the No. 3 seed, but holds the tiebreaker — if the Mavs win their last two games and the Warriors lose at least one, the Mavs would jump up to No. 3. The Warriors have back-to-back road games against San Antonio and New Orleans this weekend to finish their season.

Doncic’s technical fouls will be reset when the playoffs start, so his pending suspension will only impact the seedings, not his availability for the postseason. If the technical holds up and he’s suspended, he’ll lose his game check worth $70,168, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

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Southwest Notes: Doncic, Murray, Sengun, Pera

April 4th, 2022 at 10:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Luka Doncic ranks among the top five in the league in scoring and assists but he’s getting very little Most Valuable Player buzz. The Mavericks guard shrugs it off, according to Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News.

“We’re winning. That’s what I care [about]. Our goal is to get home advantage,” he said. “We’re so close. We’ve got three games left, and that’s our goal right now.”

Assistant coach Peter Patton said Doncic deserves more consideration. “If you watch every game since the All-Star break or just before the All-Star break, it’s been go time,” he said. “I mean, he’s been outstanding. Arguably, you can say he’s the best player in the league. He is the most valuable player in the league, in my opinion, because he can score, he can pass, he can defend, he can rebound. He makes his teammates better, and I think that’s the biggest thing.”

We have more from the Southwest Division:

  • The Spurs will be without their top player, Dejounte Murray, for the third consecutive game when they face the Nuggets on Tuesday, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News tweets. Murray is battling an upper respiratory illness. Currently holding the 10th and final spot in the Western Conference play-in picture, San Antonio has won its last two games without the All-Star guard.
  • Rockets rookie big man Alperen Sengun said he will play for the Turkish National Team at EuroBasket 2022 this summer, Adam Spolane of SportsRadio 610 tweets. Sengun plans to participate in Houston’s Summer League minicamp prior to playing in the international tournament.
  • The Grizzlies’ Robert Pera is the third-richest owner in the league and his deep pockets will help the much-improved team maintain its new standing as a Western Conference contender, Brian Windhorst of ESPN writes. The Grizzlies haven’t spent into the luxury tax since 2005, but Pera is willing to do that, according to Windhorst. The team has also been sending signals that it intends to be aggressive in retaining and acquiring talent, Windhorst adds.
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Wizards Notes: Porzingis Trade, Satoransky, Special Someone

March 31st, 2022 at 12:51pm CST by Rory Maher

With the Wizards set to face the Mavericks on Friday night for the first time since the trade deadline, Tim Cato and Josh Robbins of The Athletic reassessed the deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis and a protected 2022 second-round pick to Washington in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans.

Cato and Robbins agree that it was a win-win trade for the two teams. Porzingis’ time in Dallas had clearly run its course, but he has been productive with Washington, averaging 21.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 3.1 APG, and 1.6 BPG on .472/.305/.866 shooting in 13 games. He has been a willing passer and aggressive in the post, averaging 7.5 free throw attempts.

In addition to his production, Robbins writes that the Wizards are happy with Porzingis’ approach and toughness — the 7’3″ big man played through a couple of ankle sprains in recent games.

Dinwiddie, meanwhile, has thrived in a complementary role in Dallas, where his role is more clearly defined. Through 18 games with his new club, he is averaging 17.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 4.2 APG on .498/.386/.720 shooting.

Dinwiddie has been able to spot-up for threes and drive-and-kick as a secondary or tertiary ball-handler next to Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson. Bertans is still struggling to convert shots, but the team is holding out hope that might change over time.

Here’s more on the Wizards:

  • Porzingis doesn’t expect the game against the Mavs to be as wild as when he played the Knicks for the first time after being dealt to Dallas, writes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. “I think it’s going to be a good game. It’s not going to be like my first game with Dallas in New York. That one was just crazy. This one is going to be a bit more just me competing against my old team. We’ll see,” he said.
  • Tomas Satoransky had a uniquely historic night on Wednesday, as Hughes relays in a separate story. Satoransky had a double-double without scoring a point, becoming just the third player in league history to accomplish the feat. The unselfish guard finished with 10 rebounds and 13 assists against just two turnovers, while shooting 0-of-2 from the field in the team’s 127-110 win over Orlando. “I don’t know if it’s good or bad, you know? I don’t know,” Satoransky joked. “I just let the game come to be a little bit. I was trying to be aggressive, but every time I would drive or was aggressive to the basket, it opened up space for my teammates. So, I tried to push the tempo from the beginning and I got some rebounds.” The 30-year-old veteran will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
  • The Wizards lack a “special someone” to set the team on the path to becoming a consistently winning franchise, according to David Aldridge of The Athletic. Washington definitely has some talented players, but no clear leader or catalyst.
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Southwest Notes: Wood, Gordon, Schröder, Grizzlies, Mavs

March 30th, 2022 at 1:24pm CST by Luke Adams

Rockets veterans Christian Wood (left hamstring tightness), Eric Gordon (right groin soreness), and Dennis Schröder (left shoulder soreness) were held out of Monday’s game vs. San Antonio and seem unlikely to play any more this season, says Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.

As Feigen outlines, none of those injuries are invented, but it’s probably safe to assume Wood, Gordon, and Schröder wouldn’t all be sidelined by “tightness” and “soreness” if the Rockets were in the midst of a playoff race. Instead, the team is invested in securing a top spot in the draft lottery — currently, Houston is in a three-way tie for the NBA’s worst record (20-56).

With Wood, Gordon, and Schröder out, prospects like Daishen Nix and Usman Garuba will likely see more action down the stretch for the Rockets, joining fellow rookies Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, and Josh Christopher in the regular rotation, Feigen writes. Nix and Garuba each played 14 minutes in Monday’s loss to the Spurs.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

  • In addition to having the NBA’s second-best record this season, the Grizzlies are the “sleeping giant” of the 2022 offseason, according to Danny Leroux of The Athletic. As Leroux lays out, Memphis has some cap flexibility and a handful of draft picks available this summer and should be motivated to add talent before Ja Morant transitions from his rookie contract to a more expensive second contract in 2023.
  • The Mavericks strongly considered signing free agent guard Quinn Cook to a 10-day hardship contract earlier in the season, but ultimately chose Isaiah Thomas in part due to proximity, writes Marc Stein at his Substack. Cook, who is currently playing for the Stockton Kings in the G League, said in a tweet over the weekend that he was at “rock bottom” earlier this year and would be thrilled to get an NBA call-up before the season is over.
  • The Mavericks hired Jason Kidd as their head coach in part because of the impact the Hall-of-Fame point guard could have on Luka Doncic, and so far it seems that bet is paying off, per Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News. “He’s been great for us,” Doncic said of Kidd. “He communicates with the players. He’s just been great, helping not just me but everybody, just to see a better picture.”
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