{"id":118049,"date":"2025-01-15T09:30:30","date_gmt":"2025-01-15T14:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=118049"},"modified":"2025-01-15T09:02:58","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T14:02:58","slug":"luka-doncic-injury-updare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/01\/15\/luka-doncic-injury-updare\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas Mavericks Star Could Be Returning From Injury Soon"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dallas Mavericks are struggling without Luka Doncic<\/a>. What makes matters worse, is that Doncic\u2019s calf injury is his third calf-related setback in recent years. This recurring issue has kept him off the court for 18 games so far this season. While the Mavericks continue to try and figure out how to win without him, Mavs fans are praying for good news. Recently, an injury update on Luka provided a clearer timeline for his<\/span>\u00a0return to the court.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dallas Mavericks Star Could Be Returning From Injury Soon<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Luka Injury Has Hurt the Mavs<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Mavericks can\u2019t seem to find a way to come out on top often without Doncic. They\u2019ve lost seven of their last ten games. His season stats of 28.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 7.8 assists per game while shooting 46.4% from the field are sorely missed. In January, the team is 22nd<\/a> in offensive rating and 16th<\/a> in defensive rating. Before the month started, they were fifth in offensive rating and 11th in defensive. This slide shows exactly how essential Doncic is.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Adding to the disappointment of the Mavericks’ recent losses, Luka\u2019s missed games make him ineligible for individual accolades<\/a> like MVP or All-NBA honors.\u00a0 A new rule requires players to participate in at least 65 regular season games to be eligible. Luka has made five consecutive All-NBA first teams.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Luka\u2019s Injury Update Provides Optimism<\/h3>\n

During Tuesday\u2019s Mavericks-Nuggets game, <\/span>TNT sideline reporter Jared Greenberg<\/span><\/a> revealed that Doncic is expected to return before the All-Star break.\u00a0 When Luka first went down, the Mavericks had announced that Doncic wouldn\u2019t be re-evaluated until late January. His timeline for recovery was originally unclear. The All-Star break, which is February 14-16, now appears to be a less scary timeline. For a Mavericks squad struggling with consistency, having Doncic back on the court is necessary to get them back into the championship conversation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Luka\u2019s co-star, Kyrie Irving<\/a>, is also dealing with injuries this season<\/a>. This is another reason for the Mavericks’ recent losing spell. In their absences, Dallas has relied heavily on its depth. Players like P.J. Washington<\/a> and Quentin Grimes<\/a> have stepped up in moments, but the team\u2019s overall performance lacked the spark.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Luka Doncic\u2019s Return\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Mavericks have to approach Luka\u2019s recovery carefully. Rushing him back too soon could risk him re-aggravating his calf, which has already been a recurring issue. His injury could spark further Mavericks trade rumors as the team looks for more depth to be better equipped for his absences.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before this injury update on Doncic, <\/span>rumors have linked<\/span><\/a> the Mavs to potential deals for frontcourt depth or defensive reinforcements, with players like Kyle Kuzma<\/a> and Cameron Johnson<\/a> mentioned as possible targets. However, recent reports suggest the team may opt for a quieter trade period. Despite their current struggles, the Mavericks\u2019 management might prioritize internal growth and continuity over short-term fixes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even with trade speculations swirling, the focus for Dallas remains on Luka\u2019s return and its potential to rejuvenate their season. If the team can weather the storm until he is back in the lineup, they will still have an opportunity to make noise in the playoffs.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Dallas Mavericks are struggling without Luka Doncic. What makes matters worse, is that Doncic\u2019s calf injury is his third calf-related setback in recent years. This recurring issue has kept him off the court for 18 games so far this season. While the Mavericks continue to try and figure out how to win without him, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5284,"featured_media":118111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30,1608,62,3],"tags":[1899,1128,406,1133,2111],"class_list":["post-118049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mavericks","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","tag-cameron-johnson","tag-kyle-kuzma","tag-kyrie-irving","tag-luka-doncic","tag-pj-washington"],"modified_by":"Kenny Kluska","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5284"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118049"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118049\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118112,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118049\/revisions\/118112"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}