Dallas Mavericks Injury Report (January 11): Latest update on Luka Doncic and Grant Williams' availability

The Dallas Mavericks will be without Luka Doncic when the New York Knicks visit on Thursday. The superstar guard is dealing with a right ankle sprain. Dallas will also be without Dante Exum. Maxi Kleber and Dereck Lively II are both doubtful to participate. Grant Williams is questionable due to a right ankle sprain.

With so many core rotation players on the injury report, the Mavericks could struggle against a Knicks team that has won five in a row since adding OG Anunoby to their rotation via trade. Of course, Dallas will still boast the best player on the floor, as Kyrie Irving is set to participate.

Nevertheless, the Knicks will have the size advantage and will have multiple star-level talents at their disposal. The absence of Doncic continues to hit Dallas hard, as their entire offensive system is built around his exceptional playmaking and scoring ability.

Doncic has been playing at an MVP level this season, averaging 33.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 9.1 assists, shooting 48.5% and 38.0% from 3-point range. However, Dallas' defensive issues have continued to hurt its chances of proving itself to be an elite team.

Jason Kidd needs to improve his team's rearguard performances if it wants to be considered genuine championship contenders in the coming years.

Without Doncic and Exum, we will likely see Seth Curry and Tim Hardaway Jr. step into bigger roles as spot-up shooters at the two-guard position so that Dallas can space the floor for Irving's wizardry as a creator.

---

The New York Knicks will be a tough test for the Dallas Mavericks

With OG Anunoby anchoring the wings, the New York Knicks now have a high-level starting five with multiple two-way players who can hurt teams on either side of the floor.

Jalen Brunson's ability to penetrate off the dribble, work off-ball as a catch-and-shoot threat and implement a two-man game with Julius Randle will give the Mavericks a tough time. This is the type of matchup they acquired Grant Williams for, as his physicality would be ideal for limiting the impact Randle can have around the rim and on the elbows.

Still, with so many players on the injury report, the Mavericks will likely move to a heliocentric system designed to feature Kyrie Irving in every possession and use his scoring gravity to generate shooting opportunities for others. It would make sense if Kidd doubled down on a five-out system to give Irving the space he needs to be the All-Star guard we know he can be.

Finding a way to beat the Knicks is going to be tough. However, the Mavericks have the best player on the floor and multiple impact-makers off the bench, so they're not walking into their game against New York with the result already being a foregone conclusion.