Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic Details Knee Sprain Before Game 5 vs. Clippers: 'Not Good'

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic details the right knee sprain he's navigated through the first-round of the NBA playoffs.

Apr 28, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) controls the ball as LA / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

LOS ANGELES — A significant storyline to monitor surrounding the Dallas Mavericks entering Game 5 of their first-round playoff series with the Los Angeles Clippers remains the injury status of Luka Doncic. He's continuing to play through a right knee sprain.

Doncic has seen a significant decline in the rate he's getting to the rim, with the Clippers' defense emphasizing shrinking the floor and neutralizing pick-and-roll actions. Through four games of the series, Doncic has averaged 29.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 8.5 assists, shooting 38.6% from the floor and 26.5% from deep.

Apr 28, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) controls the ball as LA / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Doncic is listed as probable to play Game 5 but stated at the Mavericks' morning shootaround at Crypto.com Arena that he's still feeling the effects as he gears up to compete against the Clippers.

"Not good," Doncic said. "It's a little better, but it is what it is."

The Slovenian superstar got up more shots on Wednesday morning than he typically does at the team's shootarounds during the open portion for reporters to view. For clarification purposes, the part of an NBA team's shootaround that's open to reporters is a limited segment.

Luka Doncic got up a lot of shots during the open viewing portion of shootaround. pic.twitter.com/cNJ60HVPOC

— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) May 1, 2024

While he stated he would "probably not" play if this was a regular-season game, Doncic wants to help lead his team to break a 2-2 series tie with the Clippers.

When detailing his daily process to prepare for Game 5 with two days off, Doncic explained he's gone through a significant amount of treatment but has largely maintained his regular routine.

"Just treatment," Doncic said. "A lot of treatment. Fitness. But first of all, I shot a lot."

In addition to dealing with his knee sprain, Doncic has been noticeably congested with a possible illness during this series. When asked about it, he mentioned he's taken pills for "five or six days" but it hasn't helped.

"I took the pills, but nothing was helping, so I just got used to it," Doncic said.

After the loss in Game 4, Doncic emphasized how he's doing his best to power through the circumstances, but understands that if he's out there, he demands a greater level of performance for himself.

"I’m out there trying to play a lot of minutes, trying to play hard," Doncic said. "But sometimes you don’t have the perfect situation, so you’ve just got to go through it and play better."

While the Mavericks did overcome a 31-point deficit to take a lead down the stretch in their 116-111 loss in Game 4, Dallas was unable to pull off the victory. Doncic finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists but shot 41.7% from the floor and 11.1% from distance. He expressed the need for him to provide more help for his superstar backcourt partner, Kyrie Irving, who scored 40 points all coming after the first quarter.

“I just got to help him more. I feel like I’m letting him down," Doncic said. "I got to be there. He’s giving everything he has. He’s been amazing for us the whole series.”

A similar sentiment was echoed by Doncic again at Wednesday's shootaround, anwering a question about if the condition of his knee has impacted his shooting execution, stating, "I'm just missing."

Regardless of how well Doncic is feeling for Game 5, the Mavericks will need his superstar impact to overcome a motivated and connected Clippers team that is thriving following the lead of Paul George and James Harden.