Just when you are fairly certain things can’t get any worse, they do.
The Mavericks had hoped they would get Luka Dončić back from his left ankle problems Thursday night against the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks at American Airlines Center.
That won’t happen because the Mavericks’ superstar point guard has entered the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, the Mavericks said Wednesday afternoon. He has been ruled out of Thursday’s game.
He follows Tim Hardaway Jr., Reggie Bullock, Josh Green, Maxi Kleber and Trey Burke, another new addition on Tuesday, to the ever-growing list of Mavericks who will have to sit until they can test negative twice, or for 10 days, whichever comes first, to try to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
On the bright side, Dončić will have some extra time to let his sore ankle improve.
However, this also puts his status very much in doubt for the marquee Christmas Day game at Utah.
One of the league’s showcase days of the season is quickly losing some luster as star players have been every bit as vulnerable to COVID-19 as everybody else.
Dončić, who has missed five consecutive games because of the ankle, was added to the COVID-19 list Wednesday, as was backup guard Burke, bringing the total number of Mavericks to six who are at various stages in the league’s safety protocols.
This is in addition to Eugene Omoruyi (right foot surgery) and Willie Cauley-Stein (personal) who are out for the Milwaukee game.
Meanwhile, Kristaps Porzingis has been upgraded to questionable with his sore right toe.
All this comes at a particularly tough juncture of the season as the Mavericks play the defending champs Thursday, then hit the road to Utah, Portland, Sacramento twice and Oklahoma City on a trip that will take them into 2022.
Losing Luka is a serious blow, obviously, particularly after Kidd said Tuesday that a return on Thursday was possible.
“The first thing is the ankle, working on that,” Kidd said. “And then working on his conditioning. The way things are right now, with very little practice time, he’s doing the best that he can. Hopefully, we’ll get him back for Thursday. So that means things are going well.”
Unfortunately, things at this time are moment to moment with the COVID-19 uncertainty.
Dončić is averaging 25.6 points, 8.5 assists and 8 rebounds per game and the Mavericks have struggled mightily without him since the ankle injury happened in mid-November. They are 6-11 since Nov. 15.
Twitter: @ESefko
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