Is Luka Doncic playing tonight against the LA Clippers in Game 5 of the 2021 NBA Playoffs?
Luka Doncic's availability for the Dallas Mavericks' crunch game five against the LA Clippers could come down to the wire on Wednesday night.
The Slovenian has been struggling from a cervical strain suffered in Game 3 against the Clippers at the end of last week. Doncic was electric that night with 44 points and 9 rebounds, though the Mavs lost by 10 points as the momentum of the series swung toward their opponents.
He was questionable to play for Game 4 a couple of days later, however there was no way he would miss out. Despite playing 36 minutes, the 23-year-old clearly didn't look right and was grimacing in pain on several occasions.
Since then, there has been a lot of speculation about his availability for Wednesday night and, at the time of writing, the Dallas Mavericks have listed Doncic as probable for the matchup.
What can the Dallas Mavericks do if Luka Doncic is not 100% for Game 5 in their 2021 NBA playoffs matchup?
Wednesday night is going to be an uphill struggle for the Dallas Mavericks, regardless of whether Luka Doncic plays. Everybody saw how he struggled at the weekend with his neck, scoring 14% of threes and shooting at 37% from the field. When asked about his superstar, Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle had this to say to the media on Tuesday:
"He seems to be doing better, so that's good news. I'm not sure how much better, but he's definitely better."
Doncic revels in the energy of the arena and has a lot of confidence in his immense ability. Hampered by this injury, however, means we may not see him back at his best in game five or for the rest of the series.
Therefore, the Dallas Mavericks' other stars are going to have to step up. Although Luka Doncic shot the ball poorly, so too did his teammates. In fact, apart from his one made three, the Mavs scored only four other treys, scoring a measly 5-30 attempts. They also shot at just 34% from the field as a team.
Overall, it was a really poor performance from the Mavericks who will want to put it behind them as they head back to LA. In the first two games of this series, Dallas won both at the Staples Center and were extremely efficient from the floor. Luka Doncic was unplayable in those matchups, averaging 35 points, 9 assists and 8.5 rebounds.
In what has been a topsy-turvy series, there could yet be one chapter left to write for the young Mavs superstar. If he is able to play through the injury and receive effective help from his teammates, Luka Doncic may yet get revenge on the LA Clippers for last year's playoff elimination.