Nothing is official, but Luka Doncic “unlikely” to play in Game 2

After the Mavericks dropped Game 1 of their series to the Jazz at home without him, Luka Doncic was seen doing some light shooting on the Maverick practice court between games.

Luka Doncic getting VERY light work in between games 1-2…#NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/7O9QIzz8kq

— Matt Winer (@MattWinerTV) April 17, 2022

FWIW during media access of ⁦@dallasmavs⁩ practice I watched Luka shoot for probably twenty minutes and never saw him leave the floor…#NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/5jOTG2aOub

— Matt Winer (@MattWinerTV) April 17, 2022

Does that mean Doncic is back? Probably not.

Officially Doncic is listed as doubtful for Game 2 due to a calf strain, but even that may be optimistic, according to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Their sources say it is “unlikely” he takes the court Monday.

Doncic has yet to be ruled out, but sources said he would have to make dramatic improvement in the next 24 hours to be cleared to play.

Dallas coach Jason Kidd would not close the door on a Doncic return.

“Yesterday was another good day, and today he’s back on the court, so that’s a plus,” Kidd said via the Associated Press. “And we’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”

Dallas’ offense is not the same without the MVP-level shot creation (and scoring) of Doncic. He averaged 28.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 8.4 assists a game this season, and the Dallas offense is 4.4 points per 100 possessions worse when he is off the court.