Dallas Mavericks Injury Report:Luka Doncic’s Hamstring Revealed

Dallas Mavericks All-Star combo guard Luka Doncic suffered a spooky-looking hamstring injury late into a matchup with the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, which Dallas did eventually win, 109-99. He finished with a solid-if-not-spectacular 21 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the field (1-of-6 from long range, continuing a season of inconsistency from three point land). The 25-year-old also dished out nine dimes and pulled down three boards. Doncic subsequently missed Dallas’ next game yesterday, a 126-119 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the top seed in the Western Conference.

But it seems like Mavs supporters shouldn’t be concerned about Doncic’s long-term health. With a 38-29 record on the year, Dallas is only the eighth seed in the West, but the club has high potential because of Doncic and fellow All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, as well as strong frontcourt and wing depth that appears to have helped the team improve from its No. 11 seed finish the previous year. The Mavericks might still have a big playoff run if everyone stays healthy.During a segment on the FanDuel TV program “Run It Back,” Shams Charania of The Athletic, Michelle Beadle, and Lou Williams disclosed the findings of the most recent imaging on Doncic’s troublesome hamstring.

Good news for the Mavericks: according to Charania, the hamstring MRI came out clear and the injury is not thought to be serious. He will have a new evaluation both today and tomorrow. Though it’s a hamstring, there is undoubtedly optimism within the Mavericks that Luka Doncic will be OK for that game on Sunday against the Nuggets. It will genuinely be a daily process. The good news for the Mavericks, though, is that this ailment is more of a… daily inconvenience than a major time commitment.

This season, through 58 games played, the 6’7″ superstar has averaged 34.3 points, 9.8 assists, and nine rebounds per game on a shooting split of.494/.378/.788. In the Thunder game on Thursday, Irving flourished while Doncic was sidelined. He scored 36 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the field, 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, and 8-of-8 from the foul line. In the loss, he also recorded a pair of steals, four rebounds, and 12 assists.Doncic won’t be needed for Dallas to win the next few games. The Mavericks will play the Denver Nuggets, the defending league champions, in a Sunday matinee, as Charania had previously reported. That was likely going to end in defeat, with or without Doncic accompanying him. The team’s upcoming schedule is light, featuring two games against two of the worst Western clubs in the conference: the 14-52 San Antonio Spurs and the 28-37 Utah Jazz (twice).