The Dallas Mavericks’ quest for a 2022 NBA championship will likely begin without Luka Doncic, who is expected to miss Saturday’s Game 1 against the Utah Jazz with a calf strain, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Doncic suffered the injury during the second half of the team’s final regular-season game, which comes at the absolute worst time for the Mavs, a franchise that hasn’t made it past the first round of the Western Conference playoffs since Dirk Nowitzki led them to an NBA championship in 2011.
But it’s not all doom and gloom for Dallas. At least, it shouldn’t be.
