Mavs to Stay Afloat Without Luka Doncic at Grizzlies? - ‘We Can Still Win’
MEMPHIS – When the Dallas Mavericks take on the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, they will be doing so without Luka Doncic in the lineup. He underwent an MRI on Thursday on his quad to get a closer look at an injury he's dealt with for weeks.
“He’s day-to-day,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd of Doncic's status. “So we’ll see how he feels. He will not go on the trip (to Memphis).”
Doncic had often sat out on the second night of back-to-backs since December after shouldering such a heavy set of responsibilities without another star to alleviate pressure from him. Dallas had started 0-7 in games played without Doncic, but are 3-7 since that point.
The Mavs' first win without Doncic was led by Josh Green and Jaden Hardy as they both scored a career-high 29 points against the Utah Jazz. It was achieved without Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie since the trade for Kyrie Irving was agreed upon.
Irving joined the team on the road in Los Angeles for his first practice when the team conducted one at USC. One day later, he made his Maverick debut without Doncic and led Dallas to a win against a Los Angeles Clippers squad led by Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
The success continued for the Mavs as Irving conducted the team to a win against the Sacramento Kings on the first night of a back-to-back as Doncic still neared a return, but wasn't quite able to give it a go.
The Mavs' addition of Irving is a clear source for optimism for the team's outlook to at least stay afloat while Doncic is sidelined. However, he may not be in the lineup for the first game of a potential string of games without Doncic.
“I think when you have someone like Kai, if Luka’s out, we still have the ability to win," Kidd said. "But we’ve had both of those guys out, or didn’t have Kai when we were in Utah and we found a way to win (124-111). And Utah had won three games in a row.
“Yeah, I think those guys have confidence that — given an opportunity to play — they can find a way to win (without Doncic).”
Currently, it remains to be seen if Irving will be available to play in Saturday's matchup against the Grizzlies. He was unable to attend Friday's practice due to what was described as being an "excused absence" related to "personal reasons." The hope is that he can join the team in Memphis, but he was later designated as questionable to play on the injury report due to right foot soreness.
"Kai was out [for Friday's practice]. Excused absence. Personal reasons," Kidd said. "Hopefully he will be able to join us in Memphis."
With the possibility of Doncic and Irving not being available to play on Saturday, the Mavs will need to dig deep and find a way to win regardless. It appears likely that Green and Hardy will be relied upon to fill more prominent roles as they did in that win over the Jazz without Doncic and before Irving joined the team.
“Our health is going the wrong way right now,” Kidd said. “We got to get healthy. That’s just the nature of this league is some injuries — not just for us — but other teams, and you’ve got to go out there and find a way to win.
“We’re looking to get healthy, and then understanding if we’re not healthy we’ve got to go with the guys that can play.”
Hardy was helpful in providing a needed spark for the Mavs during the team's loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday. He scored 11 points and dished out two assists in just 17 minutes of action. It was his first game playing at least five minutes since the NBA All-Star Break.
Green has struggled to achieve much success individually as of late. Since the break, he's averaged only 6.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 24.9 minutes per game. The only player averaging fewer points per 36 minutes that has received at least 10 minutes from the Mavs during this stretch is Frank Ntilikina.
There have been some positive developments in the health department for the Mavs. Maxi Kleber, Reggie Bullock, and JaVale McGee, who were all sidelined for the loss against the Pelicans, participated in Friday's practice.
From the 30,000-foot view, the stakes are simply too high for the Mavs in the competitive Western Conference standings to afford to drop a game against a playoff rival. The focus remains on the day-to-day.
“The standings are what they are,” Kidd said. “Our record — it is what it is today. For that, we’ve got to just play the games. At the end of 82 (regular season games) you’ll see what seed you have. You just got to take care of what’s in front of you, and that’s what we’re focused on.”
The Mavs begin the first of a two-part mini-series against the Grizzlies, then face Memphis later this month again on the 20th. Ja Morant will seemingly be out for the first two games but it remains to be seen how soon either team will have their superstars back in the lineup.
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