‘Level-Up Mavs’: Doncic 'Doubtful,' but Dallas Has New Confidence

Although Luka Doncic is 'doubtful' to play against the Houston Rockets on Friday night, the Dallas Mavericks have a newfound level of confidence whether he plays or not, and that bodes well for the rest of this season.

Although the Dallas Mavericks have a lot of things going in their favor right now, one reoccurring concern is the status of Luka Doncic’s ankles.

Today, the Mavs announced that Doncic is ‘doubtful’ for Friday night’s road game against the Houston Rockets due to an ankle sprain he suffered in the closing minutes of Dallas’ 99-82 win over the Golden State Warriors.

“I twisted it a little bit, but not that bad,” said Doncic. “I guess it will be OK. It just hurts a little bit, but I will be fine.”

Before Doncic’s latest 10-game absence due to another ankle sprain and entering the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the Mavs’ outlook seemed bleak, given that his previous four-game absence before that resulted in Dallas losing all four games.

But during that stretch, Jalen Brunson, Kristaps Porzingis and the rest of the Mavs' roster, including 10-day contract guys who quickly got the front office’s attention, ended up goin 5-5 and staying afloat in the middle of the West’s playoff bracket. Currently, the 20-18 Mavs occupy the fifth-seed in the West.

Over the last couple of years, it didn’t really matter who the Mavs were playing—if Doncic was out, most people assumed it would be a loss, and for good reason.

The Mavs have seen some impressive growth as a team lately, though, and they’ve proven to us, and more importantly, themselves, that they’re capable of taking care of business if Doncic can’t suit up.

Even in the losses without Doncic this season, a lot of the margins have been within single digits and against a handful of playoff-contenting teams. And although head coach Jason Kidd should be applauded for turning the Mavs into an elite defensive team lately, one could argue that Doncic’s ankle injuries created a sense of urgency for the rest of the roster to step things up a notch.

The choice was theirs. The Doncic-less Mavs would have to either keep things steady or risk having a lost season, and to their credit, they did the former.

Doncic might play not play on Friday night, mainly, we assume, for precautionary reasons, but whether he does or not, the overall expectations have officially changed for Dallas.

Instead of anticipating a letdown in Houston, we’re expecting the Mavs to extend their season-best four-game win streak to five to start the weekend. And that’s a nice change of feelings to have.