Welcome to Day 1 of Doom scrolling for updates on Luka Doncic’s potentially playoff-threatening left calf strain.
For the few Mavericks fans who are unaware of the Superstar’s injury, here are the basics:
Doncic put stress on his calf by planting his left leg to change direction after he had a pass on offense with 2:24 left in Sunday night’s third quarter, the regular-season finale against the San Antonio Spurs.
He stooped and then hobbled off the pitch straight into the dressing room, alongside Casey Smith, the player health and human resources director. He did not return to the bench, and the Mavericks failed to provide an update while he received post-game treatment.
The results of Monday afternoon’s MRI scan will show the Mavericks the severity and location of Doncic’s distress and guide their rehabilitation plan leading up to Saturday afternoon’s playoff opener against the Utah Jazz.
But answers about Doncic’s availability and outlook beyond this week probably won’t be that easy.
The Dallas Morning News on Monday interviewed a trio of sports medicine professionals who said muscle strains remain the “trickiest” and “most complex” injuries for athletes because of the variability in severity, location and treatment options.
Doncic’s risk of re-injury amid heightened playoff physicality and his calf’s response to 24-7 treatment in a recovery window shorter than after typical stresses will influence the Mavericks’ approach and influence whether their All-Star will be available to start what appeared to be the franchise’s most promising postseason run since the 2011 championship roster.
“Muscle injuries are very difficult for us to treat because we don’t have a quick fix,” said TO Souryal, team doctor for the Mavericks from 1993-2015 not really made much progress when it comes to a muscle injury.
“Because we don’t have a pill for a muscle strain and because we don’t have a splint for a muscle strain, we literally throw the kitchen sink at them.”
Experts classify calf strains on three levels:
- According to injury analyst Jeff Stotts, Grade 1 involves “microscopic damage” and shows that fibers in the muscle are overstretched and typically take seven to 10 days to heal.
- Grade 2 stands for a partial tear of the muscle and a rehabilitation process lasting several weeks.
- Grade 3 involves complete fractures and months of recovery, which analysts say is unlikely in Doncic’s case, as he walked off the field unaided.
Stotts, who runs sports injury tracking site InStreetClothes, said the location of the strain can affect recovery. Strains in the fleshy “belly” of the calf tend to heal faster due to its proximity to blood flow, while problems in the muscle tendon area can take longer.
Should Doncic’s MRI show a slight tear, experts predict he will initiate a round-the-clock treatment plan with Game 1 on Saturday at the American Airlines Center as the first benchmark.
No time to waste.
According to Souryal, treating muscle strains can include hyperbaric, compression, and muscle stimulation approaches — multiple modalities at play simultaneously.
While getting enough sleep remains a key factor, Souryal said it wouldn’t be uncommon for Doncic to wear a NormaTec leg recovery boot or connect to a stimulation device while resting, or waking up with ice at odd times.
“The most important thing will be: how do you build that calf now so that it doesn’t get injured again when he goes back and plays?” said physiotherapist and sports scientist Rajpal Brar. “A lot of course depends on what you see in the imaging and what you see when you actually do the physical therapy. What do you see when you test some of its movement and power?
“You’ve probably heard the term day-to-day, but it’s really day-to-day because you have to see how he’s reacting and how his pain is, how his function is evolving, literally day-by-day.”
Good news for the Mavericks?
The team’s medical staff has a track record of helping players recover from muscle strains faster than the NBA average.
Stotts said the average time lost for calf trunks in the league this season was 16 days — not specific to class or location.
In his database, which considers every NBA injury since the 2005-06 season, Stotts said Mavericks’ scores with calf strains — minus preseason and late-season injuries, which offer less timeline clarity — average around seven days have returned.
The list includes Frank Ntilikina this season – who is out for four games in November with a right calf strain – and some players later in their careers like Jason Kidd, Deron Williams, Wes Matthews and Shawn Marion.
“Age is a big factor in recovery and it helps,” Stotts said, “so it’s not surprising that some of these veterans are taking a little longer and some of the older guys are coming back a little quicker.”
Mavericks fans have never had more reason to appreciate Doncic’s youthful dominance.
But Doncic’s current parameters still create unique obstacles.
He will face more intense physicality and movement in this seven-game playoff series against the Jazz than he would normally during the regular season.
He averaged 35.4 minutes per game this season — 1.1 more than last year — and 38.2 minutes in his first two playoff series. Doncic clocked at least 38 minutes in all six playoff games last season that ended within 15 points — he surpassed 40 in four.
“Now you’re putting even more weight on that calf,” Brar said, “so it’s really getting weaker.”
The only time Souryal received a ball during his more than two decades with the Mavericks was after Game 3 of their second-round playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs in 2006.
Former coach Avery Johnson wanted to highlight Souryal’s exhausting work in helping guard Devin Harris recover from the quadriceps strain he suffered at the end of the regular season and come back to pin Tony Parker in the playoffs.
No doubt the Mavericks are hoping to reward current employees in the same way soon.
“Casey Smith, [head trainer] Dionne Calhoun, your staff are amazing,” Stotts said. “Truly one of the best in the NBA. Numbers always prove it statistically, [and] They are considered high-level medical personnel in the NBA, so Luka is in good hands.”
For more coverage of Mavericks in the Dallas Morning News, click here.