USA Updates Mavericks’ Luka Doncic out for Game 1
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For NBA fans, there’s no better time on the NBA calendar than the start of the post-season season.
With the final two playoff spots scheduled with Friday night’s play-in games, the NBA championship officially begins with four playoff games on Saturday.
And play-in games provided a perfect appetizer. 8 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks in the game that decided a Game 7 experience. and the LA Clippers-New Orleans Pelicans matchup that decided the No. 8 seed in the West. All in all, the Pelicans were finally taking control late in the fourth quarter.
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There are a ton of compelling angles in this season’s playoffs. Can the Phoenix Suns Win Their First NBA Title? Will the Milwaukee Bucks Repeat? Can Stephen Curry return and lead the Golden State Warriors to their fourth title in eight seasons? Could the upstart Memphis Grizzlies surprise you?
As it unfolds, USA Today Sports Network keeps you updated.
Jazz shooters start slow in first quarter vs Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks have restricted Utah All-Star Donovan Mitchell to zero points on a 0-for-4 shooting in the first quarter. The Jazz, the NBA’s leader in 3-pointers, also failed to make a 3-pointer in the first quarter on seven attempts. “If they’re open, we need to shoot them, that’s what we do,” Jazz coach Quinn Snyder told ESPN during a first-quarter interview. “We have good shooters. Hopefully the possibilities run out and we will get something.” The good news is that they are only 23-20 behind after the first quarter.
Big Change Could Happen If Utah Jazz Falls In First Round
Perhaps no team in the NBA playoffs has more rides in the first round than the Utah Jazz, who face the Dallas Mavericks today at 1 p.m. ET. They have failed to advance past the first round in two of the last three seasons. And in three second-round appearances, they have won just three games. With Dallas’ Luka Doncic listed as “day-to-day” and out for Game 1, it appears the route to the second round may be wide open. According to news reports, if they fail, there could be some franchise-altering changes this summer. To put a finer point on this, it could mean the end of the All-Star Donovan Mitchell-Rudy Gobert tandem. Even coach Quinn Snyder can go. And Utah has been limping in the postseason. Their longest winning streak is three games in two months, and they are 23-24 since the start of the calendar year.
Can Jalen Brunson help fill the void with Luka Doncic?
Utah Jazz’s Quinn Snyder said that when you see a team like Dallas play without star Luka Doncic, “you see other guys who are really good players have opportunities. Collectively, their team is at a higher level.” able to find.” For the Mavericks, could that player be Jalen Brunson? In the Maves’ second-round draft pick in 2018, Brunson averaged 16.3 points and 4.8 assists for the Mavericks. He played at Villanova, won two national championships and was named National Player of the Year as a junior.
Luka Doncic out for Game 1
Luka Doncic’s availability is big on the Dallas Mavericks-Utah Jazz series. Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said during his pregame availability on Saturday that Doncic is day-to-day, but will not play in Saturday’s Game 1. Doncic suffered a left calf strain at the end of the regular season. He didn’t practice at all during the week and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski pointed out that there is “a great deal of doubt” within the organization over Doncic’s availability throughout the first round. Jalen Brunson will start in place of Doncic.
Can Ben Simmons make his debut against the Celtics?
When the Brooklyn Nets acquired Ben Simmons at the NBA trade deadline, there was hope that he could provide the kind of defense that could turn the Nets from a play-in participant into a legitimate title contender. According to reports, Simmons has made a significant recovery from a back injury that has kept him off the court. It is now expected that Simmons can start his season in a Nets first-round series against the Boston Celtics, with Game 1 set on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
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