Luka Doncic injury: Sportsbooks holding Jazz-Mavericks NBA playoff series odds until Doncic's status clear
Will Mavs star Luka Doncic be ready for the start of the playoffs?
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A very common refrain on Twitter Sunday evening was: "Why on earth (actually, the language was much saltier with Mavs fans) were the Dallas Mavericks playing superstar Luka Doncic in a largely meaningless regular-season finale against San Antonio?" The Mavs' worst fears might have been realized when Doncic exited the game with a left calf injury. Sportsbooks are holding off putting up a first-round series line for Utah-Dallas until Doncic's diagnosis is clear.
Doncic was to get an MRI sometime this afternoon and then the team will know more about the severity of the injury at that point. There is initial optimism that Doncic hasn't suffered a significant injury, and the good news is that fourth-seeded Dallas doesn't open the playoffs until Saturday vs. the No. 5 Jazz. There is an early Game 1 line up with the Mavs at +2, so that makes me think oddsmakers believe Doncic may at least miss the opener. Dallas has no shot of winning the series without him.
For some reason, Doncic was still in Sunday's game with Dallas up 18 in the third quarter. The irony is that Doncic nearly couldn't play Sunday because he had been given a 16th technical foul on the season Friday, but it was rescinded. He finished the season averaging 28.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.7 assists.
"For some reason, I feel like he'll be ready to go," Mavs guard Jalen Brunson said. "Knowing the competitor that he is, I feel like he'll be ready. It's unfortunate, but a competitor like that you can't keep down for long."
Utah and Dallas split four regular-season meetings. Doncic played in three of them and averaged 30.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 7.7 assists. The Mavs have lost in the first round of the past two postseasons, both against the Clippers.
Dallas won 36 of its final 48 games this year to finish a season-high 22 games over .500. It was 29-12 at home this season, the Mavs' most home wins since their championship season in 2010-11 (29-12).
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