2 min read • April 16, 2022
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See our Court View, featuring full SIC health score analysis, here.
No. 4 Dallas Mavericks - SIC Health Score 70.7
Any conversation about this first round series starts and ends with Mavericks’ superstar Luka Doncic. The 23-year-old is listed as doubtful but is expected to miss at least Game 1 with the left calf strain he suffered in the third quarter of the season finale.
Dallas was 44-31 in games Doncic played, including 32-12 since Jan. 2, and the team posted a 55.1% effective field goal percentage with the fourth-year guard on the floor.
Conversely, the Mavericks were 9-8 without Doncic and 1-7 against teams with winning records, a slate that included a 4-point loss to the Jazz on Christmas.
Jalen Brunson stands to see the biggest bump in production: the Villanova guard averaged 21 points and 7.4 assists on 51.3% shooting in the 10 December games Doncic missed with an ankle sprain. That team, however, looked drastically different, as Kristaps Porzingis was still on the team and Tim Hardaway Jr. had yet to suffer his season-ending Jones fracture.
Spencer Dinwiddie will have more shot-creation opportunities, while the absence of Doncic’s elite playmaking will lessen the open looks for wings Dorian Finney-Smith, Reggie Bullock, and David Bertans.
No. 5 Utah Jazz - SIC Health Score 92.8
The Jazz had a disastrous close to the season, losing 7 of their last 11, a run highlighted by two separate blown fourth-quarter leads.
Despite the struggles, Utah comes into the playoffs as healthy as it has been since the start of the year. Reserve center Udoka Azuibuike, who won’t return this season after a knee surgery, is the lone confirmed absence for the contest.
Donovan Mitchell missed the season finale with a non-Covid illness but is expected to play. Mitchell scored 33 points on 26 shots in their Christmas meeting against a very different Mavericks team.
Veteran swingman Bojan Bogdanovic recently returned from his own calf strain, an injury that kept him out for 9 games in March. The 32-year-old averaged 22 points and 4.1 rebounds on .484/.456/.809 splits in the last 9 games he's played.
Injury-based Plays
Jazz -5 - During the regular season, teams with a 10+ SIC health score advantage were 20-10-2
Jalen Brunson O5.5 Assists - The Villanova alum should take over playmaking duties with Doncic out
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