Jazz gets a crucial break before the game against the Mavericks

The Utah Jazz will play their return game against the Dallas Mavericks. Weeks after their surprising win over the Western Conference champions, the Jazz will face their opponent short-handed as the Mavericks will be without one of their most important players.

Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd confirmed that Luka Doncic will not play against the Jazz, according to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune.

Doncic hasn’t played since November 19th. It appears he is close to playing for the Mavericks again. It just won’t be tonight.

One of the main reasons the Jazz beat the Mavericks so easily was how easily they were able to break through Doncic as a defender. It was almost comical how bad he was at that end of the floor.

The Mavericks actually fared well given Doncic’s absence, thanks in part to Kyrie Irving making up for what Luka would do if he took the floor. So the question will be: Will Luka’s absence be good for the Jazz?

Everything is going well with the Jazz’s intentions to improve the season for a higher selection. Winning games only gets in the way of their plans, and since Dallas has played well without Luka, it’s a good thing he’s out because he was detrimental to Dallas the last time the Mavericks and Jazz met.

Dallas will go into their matchup against the Jazz with every intention of winning, even if Lukas isn’t on the court. At 11-8, they are the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference and are looking to prove that their success last season was no flash.

Expect them not to take the Jazz lightly, especially knowing what happened in their last matchup. The Jazz are dealing with some injuries of their own, but as twisted as it may sound, Luka’s absence in this game could help the Jazz suffer the loss they desire.

On that topic, however, Luka’s regression on defense after their surprising run to the NBA Finals highlights the potential problem with tanking for a franchise player in the draft. As good as Luka is, his defense remains a pressing concern.

The Jazz obviously want someone as influential as Luka, but his red flags are loud and clear, which is why the Jazz need not just a franchise player, but the Right Franchise player.