The upsets have become a trend in the 2024 playoffs, as the Dallas Mavericks, even after having bigwigs like Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Though Thunder was the #1 seed in the Western Conference, their crushing victory was unexpected. However, the turmoil went to the next level for the Mavs as six minutes into the first quarter, Luka Doncic was wobbling because of potential pain in the knee.

Mavs Reporter, Brad Townsend, confirmed with Jason Kidd that the chances of Luka playing in Game 2 are severely questionable. When Brad asked about Doncic’s movements in Game 1 and his injury’s consequences, Kidd suggested asking the Mavs guard directly. However, Doncic had already answered the question in the post-match presser, stating, “It’s just hurting.” When Brad revealed the Mavericks guard’s response, the team coach answered, “OK, then. It hurts,” in what seemed like a response out of frustration. How has this injury really affected him?

After Doncic’s clash with Terence Mann, he hasn’t been able to play the same. In the last match, he couldn’t match SGA’s step-backs, despite possessing the same skill. In the injury-affected game, Doncic scored just 1-of-8 from beyond the arc. Overall, he managed to get 19 points for his team while shooting 6-of-19 from the field. With such an underwhelming performance and the threat of a serious injury, Kidd might look out for one of the same caliber as Doncic to hold the fort in Game 2.

If not Luka Doncic, who will be the offensive pillar of the Mavs?

In the absence of Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving might have to take charge of the offense of the Mavericks, as Luka was too important to lose. However, the player that might fill Luka’s place on the court is Grant Williams because coach Kidd gave him a chance last year in December when Kyrie Irving was recovering from his heel injury. However, the official status of Doncic’s injury is yet to go public for the NBA community.

No matter what Kidd puts into the mix, Doncic’s absence from the team will dig a deep hole in the Mavs roster. The Mavericks guard averaged 33.9 points in the regular season, but the shooting slump has reduced this to 28.3 points in the playoffs. On top of that, the Mavericks have got a very short stretch to give Doncic for recovery.

Scaringly, their record without the Slovenian is an under-par 4-8 this season.

He was quite straightforward after the Game 1 loss, saying, “Who cares, we lost, man. We’ve just gotta move on to the next one. I gotta be better, we’ve gotta be better. We’ve gotta focus”. In the game, OKC successfully narrowed the court and trapped Doncic behind the arc, which severely affected his output.

Ultimately, the most probable situation for the Mavericks is to play with an injured Doncic like he did in Game 1. The knee sprain has been troubling Luka for quite a while, and he has refused to give up despite the suffering. It will be worth watching how the Mavs point guard will manifest his ‘no-excuse’ mentality on the court for Game 2.