Just days after returning from an ankle sprain that sidelined him for a game, Mavericks star Luka Doncic has been ruled out for Saturday’s contest in Golden State after suffering a right heel contusion, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
The injury occurred in the third quarter of Dallas’ Thursday win over New Orleans when Doncic drove to the basket for a layup and collided awkwardly with Brandon Ingram and Jonas Valanciunas, landing hard on his right heel.
Although Doncic didn’t travel with the Mavericks for the start of their five-game road trip and won’t play on Saturday, head coach Jason Kidd told reporters on Friday that the four-time All-Star wasn’t being ruled out for the entire trip.
“It’s too soon today to give an update on that,” Kidd said, per MacMahon. “As we get the MRI, we’ll be able to give an update on status.”
Like Doncic, Davis Bertans (left calf strain) has been ruled out for Saturday’s game and didn’t accompany the Mavs for the road trip, but the team did have a pair of positive health updates on Friday.
Big man Christian Wood, who has been on the shelf due to a fractured left thumb, went through a full practice on Friday for the first time since suffering the injury and said he’ll be “ready to go” after a bit more conditioning work, per MacMahon. He won’t play on Saturday, but believes he’ll be cleared to play on Monday in Utah or on Wednesday in L.A. against the Clippers.
Meanwhile, forward Maxi Kleber has progressed to one-on-one workouts as of Friday, according to Kidd, via Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News. Kleber underwent surgery on Dec. 20 to repair a torn hamstring and has expressed hope that he’ll be able to return at some point this month.
