Is Luka Doncic playing tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves? Latest on MVP's availability (Dec. 14)

Luka Doncic will be in action for the Dallas Mavericks when they face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday, December 14. However, Dallas will be without Josh Green, Kyrie Irving and Maxi Kleber, who are all dealing with injuries. Seth Curry and Derrick Jones Jr. are questionable heading into the game.

Without Irving in the rotation, Dallas will likely look to feature Doncic on the offensive end heavily. After all, they will be facing the league-leading defense when they go toe-to-toe with the Timberwolves and will need all of the star power they can muster.

Fortunately for Dallas, Doncic is one of the most talented offensive players in the NBA. He will undoubtedly create problems for Minnesota on the defensive end, both as a scorer and as a playmaker.

Nevertheless, the Mavericks will need to figure out how to slow down Minnesota's offense. Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns are both elite talents and should thrive against a Dallas roster that continues to struggle when tasked with playing lock-down defense.

With Irving out of the rotation, Doncic will be forced to revert to a heliocentric brand of basketball, where he is the center of everything the Mavericks look to do. The ball will move through Doncic whenever he's on the court, and Jason Kidd could look to push heavy minutes onto his superstar player to keep them competitive.

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The Minnesota Timberwolves usually struggle with Luka Doncic

In the 13 games Luka Doncic has played against the Minnesota Timberwolves, he has usually made his presence felt. The MVP candidate averages 23.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 6.9 assists when facing Chris Finch's team. He is also shooting 42.6% but struggles from deep, hitting just 27.6% of his 3-point attempts.

The Dallas Mavericks will need another big-time performance from their star player on Thursday. Minnesota has been one of the more surprising teams this season, with both their offense and defense operating at an elite level. They're first in the Western Conference for a reason.

If Dallas wants to derail the Timberwolves season, Doncic will be at the core of their plans. Whether his presence alone is enough to dismantle one of the more organized rosters in the NBA will be an interesting situation to watch playout.

Generally speaking, the Timberwolves will likely look to contain Doncic while shutting down his teammates. That way, it doesn't matter how effective Doncic is; if his teammates can't score, Dallas can't win.

Jason Kidd's team will have their work cut out for them when they go toe-to-toe with Minnesota on December 14.