Huge Upgrade: Luka Doncic Signed A New, Long-Term Contract With The….

allas Mavericks All-Star combo guard Luka Doncic suffered a spooky-looking hamstring injury late into a matchup with the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, which Dallas did eventually win, 109-99. He finished with a solid-if-not-spectacular 21 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the field (1-of-6 from long range, continuing a season of inconsistency from three point land). The 25-year-old also dished out nine dimes and pulled down three boards. Doncic subsequently missed Dallas’ next game yesterday, a 126-119 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the top seed in the Western Conference.

It appears, however, that Mavs fans have nothing to fear when it comes to Doncic’s health long-term. Though the club is just the West’s eight seed with a 38-29 on the season, Dallas does boast some high upside, thanks to the presence of Doncic and fellow All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, and some fortified wing and frontcourt depth that seems to have helped the club grow from its finish as the No. 11 seed last season. If everyone’s healthy, the Mavericks could still make some noise in the playoffs. The Athletic’s Shams Charania revealed the results of the latest imaging on Doncic’s pesky hamstring during a segment on the FanDuel TV program “Run It Back,” alongside Michelle Beadle and Lou Williams.

“Good news for the Mavericks, the MRI was clean on that hamstring, it’s not believed to be a serious injury,” Charania said. “He’s going to be reevaluated today [and] tomorrow. They have that showdown against the Nuggets on Sunday, there’s obviously hope internally with the Mavericks that Luka Doncic will be fine for that game on Sunday, but it’s a hamstring. It’s really going to be a day-by-day process. But the good news for the Mavericks is that it’s really more of a… day-to-day injury than anything that’s going to cost them significant time.”

Across 58 contests thus far this season, the 6’7″ superstar has been averaging 34.3 points on .494/.378/.788 shooting splits, 9.8 assists, and nine rebounds a night. With Doncic on the shelf against the Thunder Thursday, Irving took flight, scoring 36 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the floor (4-of-7 from distance) and 8-of-8 shooting from the foul line. He also dished out 12 assists, grabbed four rebounds, and notched a pair of steals in the defeat.

Dallas should be able to survive without Doncic for the next few games. As Charania had noted, the Mavericks are slated to square off against the reigning league champion Denver Nuggets in a Sunday matinee. That was probably going to be a loss with or without Doncic in tow. The team will next have a breezy schedule across the succeeding week, with matchups slated against a tandem of tanking West teams, the 14-52 San Antonio Spurs and the 28-37 Utah Jazz (twice).

hile Stephen Curry is trending in the right direction, the same cannot be said for Golden State Warriors small ball starting center Draymond Green.

Green, who missed their 109-99 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on March 13, is still questionable to play against the Los Angeles Lakers this Saturday, March 16.

“My back has been bothering me for like four or five games and I’ve kind of been going through it like just playing through it and playing through it,” Green said on his podcast on Thursday, March 14. “They’re doing things to get me back to a good space to go in the game and then third quarter or so it just locks all the way back up and you’re grinding through the rest of the game just trying to get to the end.

“Next day, not in a good space, can’t really get on the court even if wanted to get some work in, and then getting it back to a good space to go back out there and play.”

Green, the backbone of the Warriors’ defense, is still hoping he could return sooner rather than later.

“And so the hope is that in not having a game since Monday for myself, not playing in the Dallas [Mavericks] game, that those extra couple of days will allow it to go away because it’s just no fun.”

Rookie’s Time to Shine

The 10th-place Warriors were 16-9 since Green returned from his second suspension on Jan. 15 before he skipped the Dallas road game with his back issues.

If he misses Saturday’s crucial match against the 9th-place Lakers, rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis will continue to start while Kevon Looney can earn his way back into the rotation while Dario Saric could see increased playing time.

The 6-foot-9 Jackson-Davis will have his hands against Lakers star Anthony Davis, who is raring to bounce back after drawing flak following another loss to Domantas Sabonis, who is now 10-0 against him.