The Dallas Mavericks are locked in a very tough first-round matchup in the 2024 NBA Playoffs with the Los Angeles Clippers. The first four games have been very competitive, with each team winning one game on the road and one at home.
One of the major storylines from the series has been injuries. The Clippers are 2-0 in the two games Kawhi Leonard has sat out because of inflammation in his surgically repaired knee, and 0-2 when he has attempted to play.
Leonard has already been ruled out for Game 5 on Wednesday night, but he isn’t the only injured player that people are keeping an eye on. Mavericks’ star Luka Doncic has also been hobbled, as he is battling through a knee injury.
How bad is the injury that he is dealing with? When talking to reporters earlier on Wednesday, he made a shocking admission about his injury. As shared by Grant Afseth of MavericksGamDay.com and NBA Analysis Network, Doncic revealed he probably would not play if this were a regular season game and not the NBA Playoffs.
Doncic originally injured his knee in the first quarter of Game 3. The injury hasn’t kept him on the sidelines, as he played 40 minutes in that contest followed by 45 in Game 4. But, he did admit that a lot of treatment has been done over the last two days to get him as ready as possible.
He added that he hasn’t made any explosive movements since Game 4 ended, as his only basketball activity in the time between then and Game 5 has been some shooting. The injury is certainly impacting his performance on the court as Doncic is shooting 17-of-49 in the last two games, including 4-of-23 from 3-point range.
Despite the limitations, he still managed to record a triple-double in Game 4. But, he has admitted that he needs to do more to help Kyrie Irving, who has been spectacular in keeping the Mavericks afloat with Doncic ailing.
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