USATSI
Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks is getting closer to returning from his left calf strain, but his status for Game 4 of their first-round against the Utah Jazz is uncertain. Doncic was a full participant at Mavericks practice on Wednesday and is reportedly eager to return, but he missed Thursday’s Game 3 against Utah, which his teammates were still able to win.
At shootaround on Thursday, coach Jason Kidd told reporters that Doncic planned to go through his usual game-day preparation “as if there was no injury.” As Doncic revealed Friday, he is feeling good and will be doing 5-on-5 work in the buildup to Game 4. For now, the risk of reaggravating his injury is what is keeping him off the floor but things are looking more promising as Luka has been officially listed as questionable for Game 4.
Doncic suffered the injury in the regular-season finale against the San Antonio Spurs. He was originally supposed to miss that game due to an automatic suspension triggered by his technical foul count, but when that technical foul was rescinded by the league, he wound up playing. It cost him at least the first three games of this series due to that calf strain.
Fortunately for Doncic, the Mavericks have been able to hold down the fort. They put up a valiant fight in Game 1 before falling just short, but have since won Games 2 and 3 behind Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
The Jazz had a golden opportunity to take control of this series on the road with Doncic out. They failed to do so for many of the same reasons they failed to knock off the Los Angeles Clippers without Kawhi Leonard a year ago. Their perimeter defense failed to contain dribble penetration, and against five-out lineups, that forced Rudy Gobert to either surrender easy driving lanes or sacrifice open 3-pointers.
Things aren’t going to get any easier defensively for Utah when Doncic returns. If they struggled to contain the injured Mavericks, they’re going to have to step up big time if they plan to hold off an MVP candidate like Doncic. Game 4 is Saturday at Vivint Arena.
