ATLANTA _ To the disappointment of no doubt many State Farm Arena paying customers, Luka Doncic did not suit up for the Mavericks' 111-107 loss to the Hawks on Saturday night.
In other words, there would be no Doncic-Trae Young matchup, as was the case in the teams' only other meeting this season, Feb. 1 in Dallas.
Probably fewer Hawks fans were disappointed that Kristaps Porzingis also sat out for the Mavericks, though likely few were they bothered when Doncic's replacement, Jalen Brunson, sprained his right shoulder 10 seconds into the game and never returned.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he empathized with fans, but said the decisions to sit Doncic (sore right ankle) and Porzingis (load management) were a matter of being pragmatic.
"The worst thing that could happen is us getting to the playoffs and them not being available," he said. "You obviously don't want that.
"We're playing for the big picture. We're trying to get back to the playoffs and win some series."
You read that correctly. Some series. Plural.
The Mavericks were coming off a Friday night victory at Orlando that began their post-All-Star break stretch run. Despite the nine-day All-Star break, the decision to sit Porzingis wasn't surprising.
With Porzingis coming off a 20-month layoff following left ACL surgery, the plan was to at least occasionally sit him in back-to-backs. In three of Dallas' first four back-to-backs, he played both ends. Then he was out with right knee soreness and missed both games of a back-to-back.
In the three back-to-backs since his return, he's yet to play both games.
"The next one we have is an afternoon-night situation, so the thought process could be different," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said of the March 1-2 Minnesota and Chicago road games. "Don't know for sure. We don't have a set formula on this."
Doncic's continued right ankle issues likely are more concerning to Mavericks fans, but Cuban emphasized that Doncic's ankle, which he sprained on Dec. 14 and again on Jan. 30, has not worsened.
"It's always going to be sore until he gets time off," Cuban said. "That's just the nature of the injury. There's being injured and there's being hurt. He's not injured, but it's going to hurt."
After his most recent sprain, Doncic sat out seven games over 12 days, returning on Feb. 12 against Sacramento, the last game before the All-Star break.
Doncic erupted for 33 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists that night, then went to Chicago and played in last Friday's Rising Stars game and Sunday's All-Star Game.
After playing just 17 minutes in the All-Star Game and sitting out the entire fourth quarter, Doncic said the ankle gave him "some problems, but it's OK."
Friday in Orlando, Fla., Doncic had what Carlisle called his second straight "quiet 33 points," along with 10 rebounds and eight assists in 34 minutes. But when he awoke Saturday in Atlanta ...
"My understanding is it's just sore," Carlisle said, adding that he does not believe the soreness will cause Doncic to miss Monday's home game against Minnesota.
That game culminates a stretch of three games in four days coming out of the All-Star break � but it also begins a run of five games in five cities in eight days.
When an athlete sprains an ankle, and especially when he or she sprains the same ankle twice in a six-week span, it becomes a matter of pain and swelling management until there's a chance to rest the ankle for a long term.
Would it have been better for Doncic, and thus the Mavericks, if he had sat out the All-Star break? The reality is that the extra three days' rest would not have been enough to fully mend the ankle.
"We know it's going to swell up from time-to-time, which is why we didn't want him going back-to-back (against Orlando and Atlanta), because you don't want that swelling, particularly when we have so many games coming up," Cuban said.
"We know it's going to be sore. That's part of the process. Luka has got to learn that process. Now, I was glad he didn't play in the fourth quarter (of the All-Star Game). This is new territory. He's got to adapt to it."
