The idea of NBA teams sitting players down the stretch is not a new concept, but the idea of a team that is still in the hunt for the playoffs seemingly taking that approach is simply mind-blowing.
On Friday night, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd came clean regarding the team’s plan for All-Star Luka Dončić for the remainder of the season. Prior to the game against the Bulls, Kidd revealed that Dončić would only play in the first quarter against Chicago in a must-win situation for the club before sitting out the remainder of the season.
“I can’t speak for him. But I think when you look at it, we all said that we want to have the opportunity to find a way to get in,” Kidd told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “And we were gonna play until told otherwise. And today is the day that we’ve been told that we’re gonna do something different. And so he’s gonna participate in the first quarter and then he’s done for the season.”
Here’s Jason Kidd’s answer on how Luka Doncic reacted to the Mavs’ organizational decision to pull the plug three days after the All-NBA guard declared he wanted to play as long as there were even the slimmest postseason hopes: pic.twitter.com/9hUUBqts4m
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 7, 2023
The Mavericks (38–42) are currently just a half-game behind the Thunder (39–42) for the final spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament. However, Dallas would need a win in both of its final two games and an Oklahoma City loss to leap up to the No. 10 spot in the standings.
Kidd’s shocking admission will find result in Dončić making way for the bench after the opening quarter, where he will join fellow key contributors Kyrie Irving, Tim Hardaway Jr., Maxi Kleber and Christian Wood. Earlier in the day, the team announced that the other four players would all sit out Friday’s must-win game.
One possible explanation for why Dončić will be taking the court Friday—at least briefly—is because the Mavericks will host “Slovenian Night” at the American Airlines Center. MacMahon shared that he was told the Slovenian native does not want to disappoint fans who paid to come watch him.
Luka Doncic is following through on his vow to play as long as Mavs have even the slimmest postseason hopes.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 7, 2023
A bit more motivation for Doncic to perform vs. Bulls: It’s “I Feel Slovenia” night at the AAC, and I’m told he doesn’t want to disappoint his countrymen who are here. pic.twitter.com/6yv3Cv4zR7
