The Dallas Mavericks punched their ticket to the second round to battle the Oklahoma City Thunder with a win over the LA Clippers on Friday night, and the Mavs are officially one of the final eight teams remaining in the NBA Playoffs.
This is definitely something you should be excited about if you’re a Mavericks fan, and Dallas matches up better with Oklahoma City than most people realize. The Thunder are a relatively small team, and the Mavs’ size could be too much for them to handle.
While the Mavericks did lose some of their size through Maxi Kleber getting injured in Game 6 and being out indefinitely, Dallas has a good shot at taking down Oklahoma City.
Luka Doncic gives concerning update on knee injury before Thunder series
Another Mavericks player who has been battling a knee injury and an illness in the playoffs is Luka Doncic, and his self-assessment of his knee after Game 6 against the Clippers could be a little concerning going into the next round of the playoffs.
Luka Doncic on his knee:
“I don’t think it’s going to get better before I get some rest. That’s a lot of minutes. Maybe the summer.” pic.twitter.com/Hots19XVDC
— Dorothy J. Gentry (@DorothyJGentry) May 4, 2024
When asked about his knee during his postgame press conference, Doncic said “I don’t think it’s going to get better before I get some rest. That’s a lot of minutes. Maybe the summer.”
Doncic saying this could put some worry into Mavs fans considering how bad his knee was early in this series combined with the fact that he shot horribly from downtown.
This knee injury not healing could lead to his struggles continuing into the series against the Thunder, and the Mavs need him to get healthy.
A full recovery for Doncic’s knee injury doesn’t seem plausible until the offseason, and it will be interesting to see how he responds in the Thunder series. Oklahoma City won’t be as easy of an out as the Clippers were, and the Mavs will need Doncic at his best to have their best chance to take down the Thunder.
For all the latest on Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks for the entirety of the 2024 NBA Playoffs, stay tuned.
