The Mavericks’ wait to see Luka Doncic’s debut in the playoffs will continue past Thursday night.
A source informed The Dallas Morning News the Mavs star will remain sidelined by his calf injury for Game 3 against the Utah Jazz.
After the team’s morning shootaround — about eight hours before tipoff — Dallas head coach Jason Kidd said that Doncic would go through his normal pregame routine before a decision is made about his availability.
“He’s scheduled to go through his progressions as if there was no injury,” Kidd said. “He’ll go through the workout, get with the trainers and do what he normally does for his workout. He’ll shoot, and then we’ll make that decision.”
The Mavericks upgraded Doncic to questionable on their pregame injury report after they labeled him as doubtful ahead of his Games 1 and 2 absences.
Doncic said Wednesday his relegation to the sideline as the Mavericks split the first two games with the Jazz has been “the toughest thing ever” and made him more nervous than playing in big-time contests.
But, Doncic and the Mavericks have emphasized that he will not return to live action if there’s a risk of re-injury. One notable example — Kevin Durant’s Achilles tear in the 2019 NBA Finals in the game he returned from a month-long, calf-strain absence — has loomed as a reminder for caution.
“If there’s going to be risk, I don’t think I’m going to play,” Doncic said. “But, like I said, today and yesterday, we did some good things. If it’s not risk, I don’t want to play limited minutes. I’d be nervous. I want to be out there the most time as possible.”
