Mavs superstar Luka Doncic dealing with wrist injury
The Dallas Mavericks are once again without star guard Luka Doncic after he suffered a wrist injury that will force him to miss at least a week.
Doncic will sit out games against the Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, and New York Knicks. The Mavericks will play on the road in four out of their next five contests.
He is putting together another strong campaign averaging 28.2 points, 7.8 assists, and 7.8 rebounds while shooting 43.5 percent from the floor and 32.4 percent from beyond the arc in 14 games.
He has posted four double-doubles while scoring 20 or more points all but twice while hitting four or more 3-pointers six times. The Mavericks’ four-game winning streak has pushed them to a 9-7 record, which puts them ninth in the Western Conference standings.
Doncic’s absence places the onus on fellow star guard Kyrie Irving to lead the charge offensively. Irving is averaging 23.9 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 53.2 percent from the floor and 51.2 percent from 3-point range on 5.6 attempts per game.
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The Mavericks also need offseason addition Klay Thompson to round into form offensively. Thompson is coming off his worst performance scoring zero points on 0-for-8 shooting, including missing all four 3-point attempts in 23 minutes played in Friday’s win over the Denver Nuggets.
The 34-year-old is averaging 13.1 points, which is the lowest output since his rookie campaign while shooting a career-low 38.1 percent from the floor and 35.9 percent from 3-point range.
