The condition of Dallas Mavericks’ star player, Luka Doncic injury, became a point of concern following his performance against Germany in the FIBA World Cup. While competing for the Slovenian national team in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Luka Doncic’s health status has been a topic of interest.
Before the World Cup commenced in Japan, Doncic mentioned that he was still managing an old injury, which he had dealt with after the NBA All-Star break, marking the end of the Mavericks‘ season. He assured me, “Everything is okay.”
Luka Doncic Injury Update
“It is an old injury, which caused me problems in March in the NBA,” Doncic explained in mid-August, just before the World Cup started. “Therefore, we performed an MRI. Everything is okay. Nothing worse.”
During Slovenia’s match against Germany in Okinawa, Doncic had played his fifth game in the span of 10 days. While he scored an impressive 12 points in the first quarter, there was a noticeable difference as the game progressed.
“Yeah, it was just in the second quarter, he told me he’s okay,” Sekulic, referring to Doncic, stated. “In the second half, he didn’t have these problems. I don’t know, I think he played normal.”
As Slovenia continues to compete in the World Cup, the team acknowledges the necessity of providing Doncic with greater protection to reduce the physical toll on him, allowing him to maximize his impact while minimizing the risk of injury. Opposing teams often adopt a strategy of being highly physical with Doncic to wear him down.
“Like I always say, he takes a lot of hits during a game,” Sekulic commented on Luka Doncic injury situation. ” Teams try to play physical with him and there’s a lot of contact and he needs to deal with a lot of contact and it’s not easy and it hurt him a little bit. Hopefully, we are going to find a way to protect him.”
Germany’s head coach, Gordon Herbert, mentioned after the game that Niels Giffey and Isaac Bonga effectively executed the team’s plan to exhaust Doncic throughout the match.
“I thought Niels [Giffey] and Isaac Bonga did a great job on Luka Doncic to really warm him down,” stated Germany’s coach, Gordon Herbert.
Early in the game, Germany opted for single coverage against Doncic instead of employing a hard double-team strategy to force him to pass the ball. Even if it meant potentially sacrificing scoring opportunities against a mismatch, the goal was to make Doncic work hard for his points. Given the high level of physicality, the strategy aimed to push him into taking step-back 3-point shots rather than driving into the paint.
Luka Doncic faces another formidable challenge in the upcoming match against Canada, a team with physically imposing wing defenders like Dillon Brooks and Luguentz Dort. Slovenia had a day of rest on Monday and won’t play again until Wednesday, giving their star player, Doncic, some much-needed time to recover physically after the group stage.
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