Report: Doncic, Irving might get shut down for final three games of season

On Sunday night, the Dallas Mavericks lost another game after falling to the Atlanta Hawks on the road 132-130 in OT. With the loss, the Mavericks remain the 11th seed in the Western Conference and are one game behind the 10th-seeded Oklahoma Thunder, who also lost on Sunday night. 

OKC(38-41) holds the tiebreaker over Dallas, so they basically have a two-game lead over the Mavs for the 10th seed, the final spot in the Play-In Tournament.

However, OKC’s final three games are against the @Warriors, @Jazz, and Grizzlies at home, while the Mavs’ (37-42) last three games. all at home, are against the Kings, Bulls, and Spurs. The schedule favors Dallas, but it might not matter based on how they’re playing.

Dallas, who allowed an average of 130.5 points per contest in the last two, has lost three straight and seven of their last eight. 

Based on a report, the schedule and how Dallas is playing may not even matter.

According to Shams Charania, there are reports that the Mavs could shut down Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving for the final three games of the season, which means the Mavs have closed the door on the 2022-23 season and set their sights on next season.

If the Mavs lose out, more than likely, they will keep the pick that they owe to the Knicks, which is a top-10 protected pick(2023). If the pick lands after 10, it goes to New York. According to Charania, getting a top-10 pick in the draft will give Dallas more assets to go after talent that could help Doncic and Irving. 

The trade for Irving has been bad at this point, but it’s not Irving’s fault. Injuries have plagued this team since the trade, and Doncic and Irving have missed multiple games, and still battling injuries right now. 

No one expected the Mavs, who made it to the Western Conference Finals last season, to be in this position when they traded for Irving, but they are; we’ll see what their next steps will be this season.