DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd spoke publicly for the first time since the organization confirmed that superstar guard Luka Doncic suffered a strained left calf in the team's regular-season finale on Sunday.
As expected, Kidd's comments at Tuesday's practice regarding Doncic's status for the first round of the NBA playoffs were fairly vague, as the team continues to play it coy with the media and the fans ahead of Game 1 against the Jazz on Saturday at noon CT.
"We'll see," Kidd said when asked by reporters, including 105.3 The Fan's Kevin Gray, if Doncic has any hope of playing in Game 1. “He’s in great spirits today. We’ll see how his body feels tomorrow. We’ll prepare with him and then we’ll also prepare without him. And we all hope that he's able to go in Game 1.
“If he’s able to go and put on his shoes, then he’s going to go. If he can’t, we’re not going to put him in a situation to jeopardize it and make things worse," Kidd continued.
Doncic's teammates also provided a little bit of insight into the star's health status.
“I’m very optimistic. I hope for the best. I mean, that’s our organization right there," Jalen Brunson said when asked how optimistic he was that his backcourt mate could suit up for Game 1.
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Should Doncic be unable to go, Spencer Dinwiddie, who was acquired in a trade deadline deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Wizards, will step into a starting role. The Mavs are 8-9 in games Doncic hasn't played in this season, and went 2-0 without Doncic after Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans' arrivals.
Additionally, Dinwiddie averaged 22 points per game and helped the Mavs go 6-1 in games he started. But Dinwiddie would prefer to have his normal role as the team's sixth man on Saturday.
“He seemed solid to me. I mean, he don’t seem like a guy that’s going to miss too much time, if any," Dinwiddie said when asked how Doncic's spirits were at Tuesday's practice.
"I think when Luka was out for a while in the middle of the season we were able to kind of stay afloat, so we were able to win games with him not on the court, but obviously, this is a different test," Brunson said of the team's confidence level without Doncic. We're just going to have to see. We're going to prepare for Utah and what we need to do.
The Mavs PR team confirmed Doncic's left calf strain in a statement released before Tuesday's media availabilities:
"Doncic has begun treatment and there is no timetable for his return. Updates will be provided as available."
With around 2:30 left in the third quarter of the Mavs last regular-season game vs. the Spurs on Sunday, Doncic called for a timeout and grabbed his left calf. He limped off the court with director of player performance Casey Smith at his side. A few minutes later, the team announced that he had suffered a left calf strain and would miss the rest of the game.
The injury occurred in what amounted to a meaningless game in the Western Conference playoff standings. The Mavs were up on the Spurs by 18 points when Doncic was injured, while the Golden State Warriors, who were just one game ahead of Dallas for the No. 3 seed in the West heading into Sunday night's games, had a 20-point lead over the New Orleans Pelicans at halftime.
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