Jason Kidd challenges 2 Mavericks to 'pick up the slack' after Luka Doncic injury
11/21/2024 01:19 PM
DALLAS — It was revealed on Thursday that Luka Doncic suffered a right wrist sprain. He sustained the injury during the Dallas Mavericks’ 132-91 victory against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. He will be re-evaluated in a week, meaning he will not play during the Mavericks’ upcoming three-game road trip. Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson will lead the way amid Doncic’s injury absence, but Mavs head coach Jason Kidd also expects Quentin Grimes and Jaden Hardy to help “pick up the slack,” something he told reporters after practice on Thursday.
Grimes and Hardy both feature intriguing scoring potential. Doncic is an elite scorer, but the Mavericks are hopeful that Grimes and Hardy can provide important depth with Luka out. Defenses will focus on Irving and Thompson which could lead to open shots for Grimes and Hardy.
Doncic acknowledged the injury after Tuesday’s game but said it was not too serious. His comments initially shut down any concern over the issue. Although Thursday’s update is far from ideal, there is still a chance that Doncic will not miss a significant amount of time. Dallas will have more updates after Doncic is re-evaluated next week.
Luka Doncic’s 2024-25 season with Mavericks
Doncic has only missed one game this season as of this story’s writing. That will change during the upcoming road trip, however.
Luka has averaged 28.1 points per game on 43.5 percent field goal and 32.4 percent three-point shooting up to this point in the season. Doncic is averaging 7.6 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game as well.
Luka has not been incredibly efficient from a scoring standpoint so far in the 2024-25 season. Nevertheless, he is still finding ways to find the bottom of the net enough to help the Mavs win games.
For now, Irving and Thompson will lead the Mavericks. Dallas will need contributions from other players, though. Grimes and Hardy will try to meet Kidd’s challenge and make a big impact.
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