Luka Doncic will play in Game 4

Brad Townsend: Luka Doncic will play, Kidd says.
Source: Twitter @townbrad

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Andy Larsen @andyblarsen
Starting lineups the same, save for the Mavericks starting Luka Doncic over Spencer Dinwiddie.
Kane Fitzgerald, James Williams, and Michael Smith refereeing today. – 4:15 PM Nick DePaula @NickDePaula
Luka Doncic just debuted the Jordan Luka 1 👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/oTOzChxR76 – 4:03 PM Chuck Cooperstein @coopmavs
Mavs starters: Bullock, DFS, Powell, Brunson, Doncic
Utah starters: Bogdanovic, O’Neale, Gobert, Mitchell, Conley
3:35 tip @theeagledallas – 4:02 PM NBA Kicks @NBAKicks
🌟 @Luka Doncic debuts the Jordan LUKA 1 in Utah! #NBAKicks
Game 4: 4:30pm/et @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/g9UBHGVUhc – 3:53 PM Eric Walden @tribjazz
After avoiding him for the first three games of their first-round playoff series, the Utah Jazz will be facing superstar Luka Doncic on Saturday afternoon when they play Game 4 against the Dallas Mavericks. sltrib.com/sports/jazz/20… – 3:27 PM Callie Caplan @CallieCaplan
Luka Doncic finished his Game 4 warm-up with a swish on his first half-court attempt.
Might’ve gotten a little overambitious with the follow-up dunk, but looks like he’s feeling comfortable on his left calf. pic.twitter.com/mgyMFo279V – 3:16 PM CBS NBA @CBSSportsNBA
Luka Doncic injury update: Mavericks star guard set to play in Game 4 vs. Jazz
cbssports.com/nba/news/luka-… – 3:13 PM Tommy Beer @TommyBeer
Good news for Utah… Luka will play (which means possibly less mins/shots for Action Brunson) – 3:10 PM Dwain Price @DwainPrice
Kidd said Luka will not play the entire 1st quarter, which is something Luka normally does. And he will be under a minutes restriction. – 3:04 PM Brad Townsend @townbrad
Kidd won’t specify what Doncic’s limits limitation might be “because you guys will hold me to that.” Says minutes will be dictated by how Doncic feels. – 3:04 PM Eric Walden @tribjazz
Kids notes that Doncic normally plays the entire first quarter. “I don’t expect he’ll play all 12 minutes. We’ll see how he feels.” – 3:04 PM Eddie Sefko @ESefko
Luka’s back, per Jason Kidd. – 3:03 PM JD Shaw @JShawNBA
Luka Doncic (calf strain) will return for Game 4 against the Jazz today, team says. – 3:02 PM David Locke @DLocke09
Luka Doncic will play today – 3:02 PM Tim MacMahon @espn_macmahon
Jason Kidd on Luka Doncic’s minutes restriction: “He won’t play all 48. We’ll see how he feels and go from there.” – 3:02 PM Ryan Miller @millerjryan
Jason Kidd makes it official: Luka Doncic will play.
On a potential minute restriction: “He won’t play all 48.” – 3:02 PM Chuck Cooperstein @coopmavs
JKidd makes it official. Luka is back!! 3:35 or so tip @theeagledallas – 3:02 PM Mark Followill @MFollowill
From Jason Kidd, Luka will play today in Game 4. He declined to address a specific minute range – 3:02 PM Eric Walden @tribjazz
Mavs coach Jason Kidd confirms that Luka Doncic will play. Asked if he’ll be on a minutes restriction, Kidd said: “He’s not going to play the whole game.” – 3:02 PM Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
Dallas Mavericks announce that Luka Doncic will be available in Game 4 vs Jazz – 3:01 PM Ben Anderson @BensHoops
Jason Kidd confirms Luka Doncic will play today for the @Dallas Mavericks.
#TakeNote | @kslsports – 3:01 PM Dwain Price @DwainPrice
Jason Kidd just said Luka Doncic will play today when the Mavs play the Jazz. – 3:01 PM Andy Larsen @andyblarsen
Luka Doncic will play in Game 4. – 3:01 PM Marc Stein @TheSteinLine
Luka Dončić will play, Jason Kidd says – 3:01 PM Brad Townsend @townbrad
Doncic will play, Kidd says. – 3:01 PM Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Mavericks’ Luka Doncic listed as probable for Game 4 on Saturday nba.nbcsports.com/2022/04/23/mav… – 2:56 PM Tas Melas @TasMelas
Luka is probable and the Jazz are probably Duncic. – 2:48 PM Eurohoops @Eurohoopsnet
Mavs upgrade Luka Doncic’s status to “probable” for Game 4
eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/13… – 2:15 PM Emiliano Carchia @Sportando
Mavs’ Luka Doncic probable for Game 4 vs Utah
sportando.basketball/en/mavs-luka-d… – 2:09 PM Michael Dugat @mdug
I don’t know. Sort of feel that if Luka’s minutes have to be limited then he shouldn’t be playing, but I also know far less than the Mavs medical people. – 1:55 PM Tony Jones @Tjonesonthenba
Dallas superstar Luka Doncic has been upgraded to probable for Saturday afternoon’s Game 4 against the Utah Jazz – 1:51 PM Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
Mavericks say that Luka Doncic has been upgraded to probable for Game 4 today vs Utah. Doncic has missed the first three games with a left calf strain – 1:49 PM Mark Followill @MFollowill
As of 1245p CDT, the Mavs have announced Luka Doncic is upgraded to probable for today’s game 4 vs Utah. (330p CDT, BSSW) – 1:49 PM StatMuse @statmuse
Rookies to average 15/7/3 since 2000:
Blake Griffin
Ben Simmons
Luka Doncic
Scottie Barnes
All of them won ROTY. pic.twitter.com/ERvYZLRw5F – 1:19 PM Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespn
ESPN story on Mavericks star Luka Doncic progressing to a (limited) return for Game 4 vs. Jazz today: es.pn/3L9iOZ5 – 1:03 PM Callie Caplan @CallieCaplan
Good morning to everyone still looking for updates on Luka Doncic’s calf strain. Jason Kidd will talk pre-Game 4 at 1:45 p.m. Dallas time, and maybe I won’t have to do this much longer. – 10:51 AM Jeff Stotts @InStreetClothes
ICYMI: On the latest In Street Clothes Podcast @BrianSuttererMD and I breakdown NBA Playoff injuries including Khris Middleton, Devin Booker, and Luka before talking early trends in the MLB. open.spotify.com/episode/1BSUsr… – 9:36 AM Chuck Cooperstein @coopmavs
Mavs, with the likely return of Luka, try for 3-1 series lead, something they’ve not had since 2011 WCF & hoping to continue recent trend of visitors winning in playoffs. Visitor has won 8 of last 10 Mavs playoff games. @PeasRadio pre at 3. tip w/Brad & me at 3:35 @theeagledallas – 9:35 AM Eric Patten @EricPatten
Zion and Luka both got their teams BALLING this postseason – 11:40 PM Brad Townsend @townbrad
From @KSherringtonDMN:
Going Luka-less was the best thing that could have happened to the Dallas Mavericks dallasnews.com/sports/maveric… – 8:25 PM Marc Stein @TheSteinLine
The latest from on the ground in Salt Lake City as Luka Dončić nears his return to the Mavericks’ lineup: marcstein.substack.com/p/luka-doncic-… – 7:31 PM Mark Followill @MFollowill
On the just released injury report for Game 4 tomorrow (330p CDT, BSSW), the Mavs are again listing Luka Doncic as questionable. Also Frank Ntilikina who recently had a tonsillectomy and has been out for the opening three games has been upgraded to questionable. – 7:06 PM Callie Caplan @CallieCaplan
Jason Terry on @dfwticket on Mavs’ 2-1 series lead without Luka Doncic: “It’s the culture in which Jason Kidd has come in and created. … They’ve laid a culture of winning, a culture of togetherness and a culture of team basketball. It’s just a masterful job of coaching.” – 5:27 PM Callie Caplan @CallieCaplan
When Boban opted to not defend Luka too hard during a rehab scrimmage, Luka snapped back at his best friend:
“You could’ve blocked me. Stop making excuses.”
Sounds like someone ready for a real opponent.
More on Luka’s ‘optimistic’ Game 4 outlook: dallasnews.com/sports/maveric… – 4:51 PM CBS NBA @CBSSportsNBA
Luka Doncic injury update: Mavericks star doing 5-on-5 work in practice, status uncertain for Game 4 vs. Jazz
https://t.co/5n8MtfHqDo pic.twitter.com/7nmD3KWaMH – 4:20 PM Brad Townsend @townbrad
Dinwiddie on his dunk over Gobert. Before speaking to reporters Dinwiddie was exchanging trash talk with Doncic about Doncic’s best dunk as a Mav. pic.twitter.com/97OfjPeXv6 – 4:05 PM Callie Caplan @CallieCaplan
Some Mavs love on ESPN this afternoon:
Kendrick Perkins: “The Jazz should be scared if Luka doesn’t come back. If Luka does come back, they’re dead birds in tall grass.”
Zach Lowe: “Jalen Brunson looks like some combination of Michael Jordan and a running back.” – 3:46 PM Henry Abbott @TrueHoop
With the absence of Luka Doncic, Devin Booker, Khris Middleton (and the return of Stephen Curry) the playoffs have given betting markets a chance to assess the value of an NBA star.
@JeffFogle on what we’ve learned: https://t.co/MF1HiFnVor pic.twitter.com/Q8LM4vAkaN – 3:45 PM Eddie Sefko @ESefko
Luka Doncic told reporters in Utah that he’s not sure if he’ll play Saturday afternoon, but planned to play some 5-on-5 at practice after the media session. He added that it wasn’t worth the risk to play Game 3. @Dwain Price will have all the details at mavs.com – 3:17 PM Dwain Price @DwainPrice
The Mavs are up 2-1 on the Jazz in this series — without Luka. So does that mean the Mavs will use that as a barometer on whether or not to play Luka in Game 4. Jason Kidd: “Where we are today in the series does not have any effect of if he plays or he doesn’t play.” @NBA pic.twitter.com/UYVaNTzigs – 3:15 PM Christos Tsaltas @Tsaltas46
With Luka Doncic out due to injury the Dallas Mavericks looked for a leader. Jalen Brunson took a step up and put the Mavs on his back over 3 Playoff games vs the Jazz. He covers Doncic’s absence and shows his mentality into a leadership role. #dALLasIN
sdna.gr/mpasket/958236… – 3:12 PM

More on this storyline

JD Shaw: Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic (calf strain) has been upgraded to probable for today’s Game 4 against the Jazz, team says. Doncic hasn’t played since April 10. -via Twitter @JShawNBA / April 23, 2022 Adrian Wojnarowski: There’s increasing optimism Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic will play vs. Utah in Game 4 today, sources tell ESPN. The plan is that his minutes will be limited in his first game back since suffering a calf strain on April 10. -via Twitter @wojespn / April 23, 2022 Marc Stein: Luka Dončić (calf) will be cleared to play in today in Utah after one last pre-game check, sources say, and with a likely minutes restriction after missing the first three games of the series. More series coverage from me via @BallySportsSW Full column: marcstein.substack.com/p/luka-doncic-… -via Twitter @TheSteinLine / April 23, 2022