As Luka Doncic battles ongoing injury issues, his odds of winning the MVP are slowly lengthening while his window of eligibility for the award is shrinking rapidly.
Luka Doncic injury report
With Luka Doncic missing his second straight game Saturday night due to a persistent heel contusion, the Mavericks were forced to find a way to win without their leading scorer.
That's been the troubling story of their season, but Dallas is 6-2 in the NBA without Doncic.
Quentin Grimes was the unexpected hero in his absence on Saturday night against the Clippers, scoring 20 points off the bench while Kyrie Irving and Spencer Dinwiddie each Score 15 points.
The Slovenian averaged just under 29 points per game when healthy, but a series of uncharacteristic injuries kept him sidelined for much of the early part of the season.
He missed eight games to be exact, which is slowly eroding his chances of winning his first career MVP award.
Luka Doncic MVP odds take a hit
Having missed eight of a possible 28 games so far, that means Luka Doncic's MVP window is shrinking.
He can't miss any more games and needs to play 65 games to be eligible for the award. This means that if he wants to continue to compete for MVP, he will only miss 9 of the remaining 54 games.
It's been a tough season for the 25-year-old, who has been at full health since suffering a calf contusion in training camp and missed the entire preseason with the Mavericks.
Two other contusions on different parts of his body and a sprained wrist significantly hampered his potential this season.
Fortunately, Dallas has a deep enough roster to replace his scoring and keep winning, but from a personal standpoint, Doncic will be eager to avoid spending more time in the medical room.
Doncic still trails MVP favorites Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic, according to NBA Sportsbook, so he has some catching up to do in addition to staying healthy
MVP odds
- Nikola Jokic +110
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander +250
- Giannis Antetokounmpo +500
- Luka Doncic +750
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