Luka Doncic Speaks on Possibly Sitting Out Amid Mavs' Fading Play-In Odds
DALLAS — After losing seven of their previous eight games, the Dallas Mavericks' outlook for play-in contention has plummeted. As they sit 11th overall in the Western Conference standings, any scenario where the Mavs qualify for the postseason would require assistance from other teams.
There was some speculation about the Mavs benefiting from potentially shutting down their top players for the team's remaining games, including Luka Doncic or Kyrie Irving. Ahead of Wednesday's matchup against the Sacramento Kings, Doncic made clear that he hasn't give nit consideration.
“I’m playing tomorrow [against the Kings]," Doncic said after Tuesday's practice. "When there’s still a chance, I’m going to play.”
The final games remaining on the Mavs' schedule involve three home matchups that tipoff every other day, beginning with the Kings matchup, then are followed by facing off against the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs.
Given the Bulls' hold a four-game lead over the 11th ranked Washington Wizards for the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference, there may not be too much incentive for Chicago to risk injury against the Mavs. However, there is potential draft positioning implications to take into consideration.
The Bulls hold the 12th worst record in the NBA and only a half game separates them from the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 11th worst. Given they have that cushion over the Wizards for a play-in spot, there is more incentive to potentially maximize draft positioning.
As for the Mavs, they hold the 10th worst record in the NBA and will have to send their 2023 first-round pick to the New York Knicks if their position doesn't fall within the top 10 of the draft order. The balance of winning to sustain an rapidly declining play-in outlook in favor of possibly losing a lottery pick has raised questions about the team's potential approach.
Doncic still has incentive to play, regardless of draft positioning or play-in outlook. He's in a tight race with Joel Embiid for the 2022-23 NBA scoring total. Doncic is averaging 32.75 points per game, which trails Embiid by just 0.22. In terms of total points, Doncic's 2,096 overall points scored on the season trails Embiid by just four.
There is still the matter of qualification for one of the three All-NBA teams for Doncic. It's all the more challenging to envision Doncic making it onto the All-NBA First-Team if he's sitting out the final remaining games of his team's schedule that failed to even qualify for the play-in tournament.
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