Lakers Injury Report: All-Star Mavericks Guard Questionable For LA Game
All-NBA Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic has missed Dallas' last three contests with a sprained right ankle. During that run, the Mavericks have gone 2-1.
Now, Marc Stein reports that Doncic may be in jeopardy of missing LA's forthcoming bout against your Los Angeles Lakers, slated to tip off tomorrow night at 5:30 p.m.
Should he return in a relatively timely way, the 6'7" Slovenian superstar seems well on his way towards notching his fifth All-Star and All-NBA appearances this season. He's averaging 33.6 points on .485/.380/.778 shooting splits, 9.1 assists, 8.1 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 0.6 blocks a night.
An absence for Doncic Wednesday would necessitate that more of Dallas' offense should flow through the team's other All-Star, Doncic's backcourt compatriot Kyrie Irving.
Losing Doncic would make game planning against Dallas a much simpler proposition for LA head coach Darvin Ham and his bench, as the freewheeling tandem of Doncic and Irving has proven dynamic and difficulty for opposing defense to stop, thanks to their creativity with the rock and abilities as both scorers and passers.
Floor-spacing Mavericks shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. has played alongside Irving in Doncic's stead. While Hardaway isn't the same heliocentric offensive force Doncic is, he also lacks Doncic's ball-stopping tendencies, and has thrived in more of a catch-and-shoot capacity next to Irving. In his last three games starting for Doncic, Hardaway has been averaging 32.3 points on an insane slash line of .483/.500/.917, four rebounds, two assists and a steal.
