Luka Doncic has been out of the Dallas Mavericks‘ lineup since their Dec. 10 clash with the Indiana Pacers due to an ankle injury. On Wednesday, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd revealed that the team is temporarily shutting down Doncic.
The Mavericks will keep Doncic off the court until at least next week. They want to make sure he treats his left ankle injury and doesn’t make it worse than it already is.
“Luka Doncic will be out until next week at the earliest, Coach Jason Kidd says, with Doncic now scheduled to spend the weekend in Dallas while the team is in Minneapolis to stay with the training staff and treat left ankle soreness that has sidelined him for three straight games,” NBA insider Marc Stein wrote on Twitter.
Doncic has been dealing with ankle soreness for roughly a month. He has played through the pain, but that’s not necessarily a good thing.
While this break should allow Doncic to recover from his ankle injury, the fact that Dallas hasn’t released a legitimate timetable for his return is somewhat concerning.
Doncic’s absence will certainly hurt the Mavericks. He’s averaging 25.6 points, 8.5 assists and 8.0 rebounds per game this season.
With Doncic out for at least the next week, the Mavericks will rely heavily on Jalen Brunson, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kristaps Porzingis.