As various members of the Dallas Mavericks were hoisting halfcourt shots at the end of their Thursday morning shootaround at Vivint Arena, superstar Luka Doncic — who’s missed the first two games of the first-round playoff series with a left calf strain — stood a bit off to the side, doing soccer ball-control drills with a basketball.
While the Mavericks have upgraded him from “doubtful” to “questionable” on the injury report ahead of Thursday night’s Game 3 against the Utah Jazz, they did not commit to his playing status one way or another.
“We’ll see how he feels at game time,” said Dallas coach Jason Kidd. “He’s scheduled to go through his progressions as if there was no injury, so he’ll go through a workout, he’ll get with the trainers, do what he normally does as far as his workout, he’ll shoot, and then we’ll make that decision.”
Asked if no definitive decision on Doncic’s availability would be made until his pregame routine is complete, Kidd hedged a bit.
“The time of that is still up in the air, in the sense of it could come earlier,” he said.
Playing without Luka
When Jalen Brunson, who’s been starting in Doncic’s place in the first two games, was asked about the star’s patience and maturity in not rushing to get back, he interrupted with the faux-mocking retort, “Maturity?!”
He then noted that Doncic was factoring in both his long-term future, as well as his faith in his teammates.
“It’s smart — he’s a player that has so much ahead of him in his future. So him being smart about it is definitely key,” said Brunson, who scored 41 points in Game 2. “But I think it just shows the trust he has in us, as well. He trusts us. He’s made a big step forward as a leader, and he’s making the best decision for himself, and as his teammates, we respect that.
“… He is a competitor, and I know he wants to be out there, and it’s hard to be a competitor and be smart [about it] at the same time, but he’s able to do both,” he added.
When Mavs forward Dorian Finney-Smith was asked what the key was to keeping the team going in the games they’re without Doncic, he said it comes down to pushing the pace.
“We’ve got to play faster when Luka’s not there. He can create for other guys and create for himself. Sometimes when he ain’t out there, the offense can get stagnant,” said Finney-Smith. “So we’ve just got to play a little faster and have a little bit more ball movement.”
Making Don work
While Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points in Game 1 and 34 in Game 2, he’s shooting a combined 23 for 59 through the first two games — just 38.9%.
Much of the credit goes to Finney-Smith, who’s been one of the primary defenders on Mitchell.
“Just trying to make it hard for him. He’s a great player, the best guy on their team. So I’ve got to be dialed in every possession, because he’s involved in their offense all the time,” he said. “Just try to make it hard for him [because] he can do it all — shoot the 3, midrange, get to the rim.”
Finney-Smith did allow that his primary concern is not letting Mitchell get going from 3.
Brunson added that the Mavs can’t lose focus, because Mitchell can get going at any time — as evidenced by his 19-point third quarter in Game 1.
“At any time, he can just have a spurt where he’s just unconscious,” he said. “He’s always gonna be a threat, he’s always dangerous, he’s always going to be a problem.
Taking away the Jazz’s 3s
Speaking of taking away 3s, that’s been a big component of Dallas’ success so far, as Utah’s made just 18 shots beyond the arc combined in Games 1 and 2. When asked if the Mavs can keep it up, Kidd replied, “We have no choice.
“They’re built on 3s, so if we don’t take the 3 out, it’ll be a long night,” he added. “So we have to focus on taking the 3s away — we’ve done it through two games, and we’ve got another opportunity to do it tonight. We’ll see if we can.”
Asked if there was anything he was anticipating the Jazz might do to get more 3s, Kidd deadpanned, “Uh, shoot ’em?”
Clearly he was not wanting to give any scheme info away. But he noted that no matter how good the Mavs have looked in limiting Utah beyond the arc, it’s been hard work and is probably going to get harder, because adjustments are definitely coming.
“They’re going to try and get more 3s off — they got more in the second game [than they did in Game 1]. At home, they probably feel like they’ll play faster and they’ll look to probably get more 3s earlier in the shot clock, I suppose.”
