After dropping five straight games with multiple players out due to illness or injuries, the Dallas Mavericks have finally cracked the win column with a blowout 118-97 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. This win not only solidified that the Mavericks are not in panic mode but it put fans’ worries at ease with an impressive showing on both ends of the floor.
On Monday night against the Memphis Grizzlies, Daniel Gafford suffered a sprained ankle, and Dallas was without him for Tuesday’s matchup against the Lakers. However, despite the team’s slew of bad luck when it comes to injuries, Gafford is considered day-to-day according to Jason Kidd.
In addition to Gafford’s absence, the Mavericks will miss superstar Kyrie Irving for some time as it was announced on Monday that he has a bulging disc in his back. Despite the team’s avalanche of bad news in the last few weeks, the Mavericks may have been saved after Luka Doncic provided fans with an injury update on his calf strain that he suffered on Christmas Day against the Minnesota Timberwolves despite not saying a word.
Doncic was seen on the court without a scooter and taking a jump shot pre-game against the Lakers, and this gave fans a huge sigh of relief. Before tip-off against Los Angeles, Doncic took some time to go speak to an old friend and former fan-favorite forward, Dorian Finney-Smith. While catching up with Finney-Smith, Doncic could be seen without a scooter or a limp as he walked on the court.
Seeing Doncic without a limp is obviously a great sign for fans who saw him last Friday night struggling to get to his scooter. Despite not limping, what got fans really excited was seeing the Slovenian take a one-legged jump shot before heading into the locker room.
Seeing Doncic take a jump shot less than a week removed from his viral video of him limping to get to his scooter is a promising sign he may not need to miss much additional time outside of the original one-month period. Fans are still bracing for Doncic to miss the next few weeks as he continues to rehab his strained calf, but witnessing the Slovenian take a jump shot without hobbling on one leg is a promising sign.
While last night may have seemed like daisies and roses with the Mavericks getting a much-needed win to snap their losing streak, the team will need to prepare for the toughest stretch of their season without their two superstars for the foreseeable future.
Without Irving or Doncic, the team has struggled with finding their identity on either end of the floor, but Tuesday’s win could have proven to be a momentum shift that fans were hoping for.
Over the team’s next three games, they will play the Denver Nuggets twice and the Portland Trail Blazers at home to mark the final time those two teams face off. Assuming Dallas can come out of this stretch looking like the team they once were, they may not be in panic mode like fans once thought.
With Doncic’s health being the utmost important thing, the team will need to continue to win games without their superstar on the floor if they want to have any championship aspirations.
