Mavericks Update Luka Dončić's Status for Jazz Matchup
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The Utah Jazz face the Dallas Mavericks at Vivint Arena on Monday night. Utah will be playing an undermanned Maverick team as the dust settles following the Kyrie Irving trade that occurred on Sunday.
Irving will miss the game in Salt Lake City but is on track to make his Mavericks debut Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers. Also, Luka Dončić (heel), Christian Wood (thumb), and Davis Bertans (calf) will be absent, while Frank Ntilikina (non-Covid illness) is questionable.
The Jazz come into the game relatively healthy, with only Jarred Vanderbilt (back) listed as questionable.
Currently, the Jazz sit as the No. 10 seed but are only one game behind Dallas at the sixth spot. If Utah plans on taking its foot off the gas to make a run at a top lottery pick, it's running out of time. Realistically, the worse the Jazz could hope for in terms of tanking is sixth from the bottom, which would give Utah a 34.8% chance of a top-four draft pick.
With only three days left until the trade deadline, Jazz fans will be taking a wait-and-see approach in regard to any exchanges that may happen. The rumor mill has been active, with the names of Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley, and Kelly Olynyk being linked to potential trades in multiple outlets.
Whether Jazz executive Danny Ainge pulls the trigger remains to be seen, but as it stands, Utah’s roster is a bit unbalanced with a log jam at the shooting guard position.
Tip-off is at 7:00 pm MDT.
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