Luka Doncic Out, Kyrie Irving Questionable vs LA Clippers

The Mavericks are already going to be shorthanded tonight without Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving could also be inactive with shoulder soreness. See here for a full injury report for the Clippers vs Mavericks.

Will Luka Doncic & Kyrie Irving Play vs Clippers?

Luka Doncic has already been ruled out of Thursday night’s game but this comes as no surprise, with the five time All-Star not practicing on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Doncic is struggling with a left heel contusion that prevented him from playing this week and the Clippers game will be just the sixth game he has missed all year.

In the six games without Doncic, Dallas has still performed well and they have only lost one without their top points scorer on the court.

🔸 Warriors 3-1 without Steph Curry
🔸 Mavericks 5-1 without Luka Doncic
🔸 Grizzlies 6-4 without Ja Morant
🔸 Magic 11-5 without Paolo Banchero

These teams embrace the ‘Next Man Up’ mentality when their stars are out 💪 pic.twitter.com/Qqiv5jrhFw

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 1, 2024

Of course in Doncic’s absence it is usually Kyrie Irving who takes over as the team’s leader, but the eight time All-Star is officially questionable for Thursday.

With Irving’s shoulder soreness the sole reason that he may not play, it seems likely he will push through the pain in Luka’s absence and lead the way against the Clippers.

Although he also didn’t practice on Tuesday, Irving was present at practice on Wednesday and the Mavericks are expecting him to be available.

Kyrie is averaging 23.9 points per game this season, his lowest since he was in Boston in 2019. There is of course plenty of the season left to go and Irving won’t mind his scoring taking a dip with the Mavs 17-9 for the season.

Despite their impressive record this year, the Mavericks are still only as good as fourth in the West with the Thunder, Grizzlies and Rockets all in a better position.