Update: This story will be updated.
The Mavericks’ wait for Luka Doncic’s debut in this season’s playoffs continued last Thursday night.
The Mavs star will be sidelined for Game 3 against the Utah Jazz because of his calf injury, coach Jason Kidd said during his pregame media availability.
“He’s evolving,” Kidd said. “We said from the start of his injury we would be careful and we feel like sitting him tonight follows that plan.”
Kidd said Doncic “put it all in” during his early afternoon workout and has been feeling good so far. Game 4 is scheduled for Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
After the team’s morning shootaround — about eight hours before the tip — Kidd said Doncic would go through his normal pregame routine before a decision was made, but the decision to seed Doncic was made in the afternoon.
Kidd was on the Vivint Arena court prior to Game 3 for his normal shooting routine.
Luka Doncic is out on the Vivint Arena pitch for a pre-game shoot – and for a good laugh at the expense of Peter Patton as he faked him with a no-look toss and swish. pic.twitter.com/SqwHccEHL4
— Callie Caplan (@CallieCaplan) April 21, 2022
The Mavericks upgraded Doncic to questionable in their pre-game injury report after calling him doubtful ahead of his absences in Games 1 and 2.
Doncic said Wednesday his descent to the sidelines as the Mavericks split the first two games with the Jazz was “the hardest thing ever” and made him more nervous than playing in major competitions.
But Doncic and the Mavericks have stressed he will not return to live action if there is a risk of re-injury. One notable example — Kevin Durant’s Achilles tendon rupture in the 2019 NBA Finals in the game he returned from a month-long absence with calf strain — has posed as a reminder of caution.
“If there is a risk, I don’t think I will play,” said Doncic. “But like I said, today and yesterday we did some good things. If it’s not a risk, I don’t want to play limited minutes. I would be nervous I want to be outside as long as possible.”
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