Mavericks vs. Jazz Thursday NBA injury report, odds: Luka Doncic status has sportsbooks hedging Game 3 spread, holding Dallas props

Just like it was for the first two games of the Western Conference first-round series between the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz, the big storyline for Game 3 on Thursday as the series shifts to Salt Lake City is whether Mavs superstar Luka Doncic will play. Caesars Sportsbook had the Jazz as high as 8-point favorites but that's down to -6.5 (was -6) because Doncic might go – he'll be a game-time decision. Click here for model picks. 

Doncic participated fully in the team's practice Wednesday for the first time since straining his left calf in the regular-season finale. He said he was "feeling good" when he played some 1-on-1 Wednesday, but the Mavs did not do any live scrimmaging. Dallas player and health performance director Casey Smith will have significant input on whether Doncic plays Thursday – i.e., if he can aggravate the injury and be ruled out for the rest of the playoffs. Dallas is 9-10 this season without Doncic following the Game 2 win.

"If there's going to be risk, I don't think I'm going to play," Doncic said. "I don't know if I'm going to be 100 percent. But if I'm ready and there's no risk of [aggravating the] injury, I'll be out there."

As a point of reference, the average absence for a calf strain for NBA players this season has been 16 days and Doncic was hurt on April 10, so we are at day 11.

If you are going to bet this game, well, best to be ready to push the button because if Doncic is potentially ruled out early in the day the spread could get back up to -8. If he can play, it could drop to -5. That's where Utah closed Game 2, losing 110-104 in Dallas as Jalen Brunson went nuts as the No. 1 option with Doncic out, putting up 41 points on 15-for-25 shooting (6-for-10 from deep) along with eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and zero turnovers in 42 minutes.

Brunson was the first player in Mavericks history with 40 points & zero turnovers in a playoff game. It marked his most career points and three-pointers in any game, regular season or postseason. Brunson, who is going to get PAID as a free agent this summer, joined Dirk Nowitzki (seven times), Doncic (five times), Rolando Blackman (twice) and Nick Van Exel (once) as one of five Mavericks to score 40 points in a postseason game overall.

Big man Maxi Kleber had the game of his life, too, by going 8-for-11 from deep for a playoff career-high 25 points off the bench for Dallas. The Mavericks connected on a playoff franchise record 22 three-pointers while committing a playoff franchise-low three turnovers in Game 2. A lot of those three-pointers were uncontested – the Mavs made 17 uncontested three-pointers, the most by any team in last 10 postseasons.

"Our (defensive) rotations weren't as sharp as they need to be," said Jazz coach Quin Snyder in an understatement.

Because the books aren't sure whether Doncic will go, there are no individual Mavericks props up as of this writing. Needless to say, Brunson's Over/Under totals would all drop quite a bit if Doncic is active. There are props up for Utah: After a shockingly scoreless Game 2 on 0-for-7 shooting, Mike Conley is set at Over/Under 13.5 points. 

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