Dallas Maverick's Luka Doncic Expected to Return Wednesday Against Golden State Warriors

The Dallas Mavericks should have their young superstar back in action soon enough. The team upgraded Luka Doncic to probable on the NBA Injury Report for Wednesday's matchup against the Golden State Warriors, indicating they expect him to make his return from a five-game absence due to a strained left thigh.

Luka Dončić (thigh) is probable for tonight's game against the Warriors.

Doncic, who averages the most PPG against the Warriors in NBA history, is looking to become the first player with 3 straight 40-pt games against the Warriors since Jerry West did it in 1970. pic.twitter.com/cEAlcG3PwL
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 22, 2023

Doncic has been unavailable since injuring his thigh in a March 8th 113-107 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. He labored for nearly 28 minutes and finished with one of his worst lines of the season, tallying 15 points, three rebounds, and eight assists on four of 14 shooting.

The Mavs will hope Doncic's return will reverse the downward trajectory the team has taken in recent weeks. Doncic has missed nine of 19 games since February 4th, and the Mavs have gone 8-11 over that span. He remains one of the NBA's truly elite offensive threats; he's averaging 33.0 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 8.0 assists per game with a career-high .613 true shooting percentage through 57 appearances this season.

The Mavs are 36-36 and eighth in the Western Conference. Their playoff hopes rest on Doncic combining with trade deadline acquisition Kyrie Irving to form one of the NBA's deadliest scoring duos. It hasn't manifested so far: the pair have appeared in only nine games together, leading the Mavs to a 3-6 record. With only ten games left in the regular season, the Mavs are running short on time if they're going to gel into a genuine contender.