Luka Doncic’s left calf strain during the Christmas Day matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves has put the Dallas Mavericks’ season at risk. Since Luka’s injury, last season’s Western Conference Champions seem to have forgotten how to win games. While the Slovenian recovers and prepares for a comeback, ESPN analyst Tim MacMahon listed a priority chart for the Mavs to follow.
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On The Hoop Collective podcast with Brian Windhorst, the ESPN NBA analyst said that the franchise is going to have to give Luka enough time to recover before they put him back on the floor.
The biggest problem with injuries like this is a higher chance of recurring issues if the recovery isn’t done properly. So, MacMahon believes that the Mavs will not be willing to run that risk and give their star player the time he needs. He said, “They’re gonna take their time with Luka. He’s gonna have to recover and they’re going to have to ramp him back up.”
MacMahon added that Luka has injured his calf four times over the last four years and twice this season. So the Mavs will be very careful with him. But that doesn’t mean they’ll overwork their second star in Luka’s absence. MacMahon added, “[Kyrie Irving is] going to get the number one defenders…you can’t wear him down. So, they’ll be selective about giving him some rest.”
The final step of MacMahon’s priority list would be to ensure that they have Luka ready and Kyrie healthy first, then start aiming for a deep playoff run. The Mavs shouldn’t be too worried about their season record. Last year too, they went to the NBA Finals despite not making it to the top four in the Conference during the season.
So the priority is to inherit a fully healthy side before the playoffs.
However, with P.J. Washington also going through an injury phase, it isn’t going to be an easy road as they’re 1-6 without him.
The impact of Luka Doncic’s injury
There’s no denying that the Mavericks have some of the best players in the league in their respective positions. However, Luka is the face of the franchise and when he’s not stepping up on the floor, the whole team starts appearing disjointed. This is mostly because of Luka’s high usage rate in the Mavs’ offense when he’s healthy.
The impact of not having the Slovenian in the rotation has started showing up already in the results.
Luka got injured during the Christmas Day matchup and had to leave the game after only 16 minutes. The Mavs ended up losing that game 99-105. Since then, they have played four games and have lost three of them. Their last two losses against the Kings and the Rockets have been with a margin of 10 points or more.
In their last three losses, the Mavericks have started the game very slowly, allowing the opposition to take a lead. Jason Kidd will have to figure out the right combination among the available players who can keep his team in the competition until Luka returns.
