There’s optimism in Dallas that star Mavericks guard Luka Doncic will be capable to return to motion previous to subsequent month’s All-Star Recreation, stories NBA insider Marc Stein.
Doncic suffered a left calf pressure on Christmas Day in opposition to the Minnesota Timberwolves, with subsequent stories indicating that he was anticipated to overlook at the least a month. The Mavs confirmed that they supposed to reevaluate the five-time All-Star in roughly one month, so a proper replace from the group may very well be across the nook.
Starting with Saturday’s NBA Finals rematch in opposition to the defending champion Celtics, the Mavericks have 11 extra video games earlier than All-Star weekend (Feb. 14-16). Doncic has already missed the membership’s previous 15 video games because of his calf pressure. Dallas is 5-10 throughout that stretch, with a handful of key gamers battling accidents.
Whereas the Mavericks will clearly be inclined to play it protected with Doncic, who has handled a number of calf accidents over the course of his profession, it will present an enormous elevate if they’ll get him again on the court docket within the coming weeks.
The Mavs’ current stoop has dropped them into play-in territory within the Western Convention — the membership presently holds the No. 7 seed, with a 24-21 file, and is only a single recreation forward of the No. 10 Suns.
Previous to his harm, Doncic was averaging 28.1 factors, 8.3 rebounds, 7.8 assists and a career-high 2.0 steals in 35.7 minutes per recreation throughout 22 outings, with a capturing line of .464/.354/.767. Because of this prolonged absence, he gained’t be eligible for any end-of-season awards, since he’ll fall wanting the 65-game requirement. He had made the All-NBA first group 5 consecutive instances coming into 2024-25.
Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal beforehand reported that Doncic was on observe to get wholesome previous to the All-Star break.
