Jason Kidd Calls for Team Support as Luka Doncic Battles Flu & Knee Injury: “He’s Banged Up”

Unlike most one-sided first-round series in this year’s playoffs, the Clippers vs. Mavericks has kept the fans glued to their screens. Due to a tough home loss on Sunday, the Mavs failed to take a 3-1 lead against the star-studded team. Instead, Luka Doncic’s squad is back in Los Angeles for Game 5, tied at 2-2, hoping for a better result. But the Slovenian sensation might not be at 100% tonight as he is battling flu amid other injury concerns. And calling help for his superstar, head coach Jason Kidd asked everyone to support Luka ‘get through’ this tough situation.

Talking about Luka Doncic’s health ahead of Game 5, Kidd said, “Everyone’s different. Some can play with the flu. Some can play with colds. Some it does affect. He’s banged up. His teammates and coaches have to help him through this. As much as he’s helped us get to where we are, we got to help him through this.” Although Luka’s status for tonight’s game was upgraded from probable to available, concerns about him performing at a high level are increasing.

First, Luka sprained his right knee in Game 3 after a collision with Russell Westbrook, which even led to him leaving the game for some time. Still facing discomfort because of that bump, Luka said on Wednesday that his knee is “not great” and if it were the regular season, he would be resting tonight.

On top of that, Luka Doncic has also caught the flu since Game 3, which even led to him coughing through his postgame interview. “Yeah. I took the pills, but nothing is helping, so I just got used to it.” He said when asked about the illness. So, he will need the support of his teammates to come out with a win tonight.

Can Luka Doncic bounce back to regular season form despite the flu?

Even though Luka is averaging 29 points while also dishing out nearly nine assists and grabbing ten boards against the Clippers, he has not been as impactful as he was in the regular season. Just in the last game, while Kyrie dropped 40 to nearly complete a 31-point comeback for the Mavs, Luka struggled to get anything going on offense. He finished with 29 points but missed eight of his nine shots from the three-point line.

Even Doncic was not satisfied with his performance on Sunday. After the game, he said, “I just got to help him more. I feel like I’m letting him (Kyrie Irving) down, so I got to be there. I got to help him more… He’s giving everything he has, and he’s been amazing for us the whole series.”

Therefore, even though Luka Doncic is suffering from the flu, and dealing with knee issues, fans expect him to perform against the Clippers. Having lost to the same team two times in the last four years, another playoff exit would haunt his legacy forever. And he would like to avoid that. Hopefully, as per Jason Kidd’s request, Luka’s teammates will be able to answer that call tonight and take a 3-2 series lead.