Basketball does not stop for Luka Doncic after the Dallas Mavericks’ NBA Finals loss. He has Team Slovenia duties for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in the coming weeks.
But, his injury remains a point of concern. The superstar was seen hobbling around and grimacing in pain a lot during their series against the Boston Celtics. Will he be fully ready and what’s the plan in case he has to play through the pain?
Luka Doncic is set to undergo evaluations from Team Slovenia before the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, per Grant Afseth of Sports Illustrated. The Mavericks superstar was, at one point, ruled questionable in the NBA Finals against the Celtics but was cleared to play eventually. So, the offseason could be used as his time to rest or get some procedure done such that the Mavericks could hope for another NBA Finals run next year.
Regardless if they have Doncic or not, Team Slovenia will go head to Lithuania where they will have two exhibition games before the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Their first matchup will be against Croatia in the second of July and it will be held in Greece.
After the Mavericks collapsed in Game 5 of the NBA Finals which gave the Celtics an NBA Finals triumph, Doncic was asked about his plans for the offseason. His answer was fairly glib and did not give away too much.
“I don’t want to talk about what’s next, man. I have some decisions to make. I’m just trying to get a little bit healthier… We have interviews in two days, right? So I’ll give you an answer then,” the superstar said.
Painkiller shots were a common treatment used on him, especially during the Celtics series. Doncic suffered multiple hits throughout their postseason run. He played through a right knee sprain against the Los Angeles Clippers and entered the second round banged up already. Then, his left ankle got sore when they faced the Oklahoma City Thunder led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. After that, he had a thoracic contusion which hampered his style of play against the Celtics.
The Mavericks and Team Slovenia star clearly needs his rest. But, he has made the promise to play for his motherland. The conditions were: if he feels right and if the team clears him to do so. With the injuries, Doncic was still able to produce at a high level for Jason Kidd’s squad.
He ended their postseason season run with insane averages. His scoring saw him knock down 50% of his shots from all three levels of scoring while notching 31 points per contest. The playmaking chops he exhibited for the Mavericks also saw him drop 8.7 assists on a nightly basis which was a great help in getting guys like PJ Washington, Dereck Lively II, and Josh Green involved.
Despite these, it might be better to err on the side of caution for Doncic’s sake. Team Slovenia and the Mavericks might need to do that in order to preserve their superstar’s longevity.