On Thursday, the Charlotte Hornets succumbed to the Washington Wizards even after the team held a players-only meeting several days before. In other news, the NBA world was surprised by the report that Luka Doncic would miss a significant amount of time due to a left calf strain.
The Dallas Mavericks superstar sustained the injury during his team's Christmas Day matchup versus the Minnesota Timberwolves. It's a similar ailment that caused LaMelo Ball to stay on the sidelines for two weeks. However, Doncic's case is probably more severe because it will take a month before he gets re-evaluated.
The Slovenian phenom's absence will directly affect Charlotte, as the Hornets and Mavs are scheduled to face off a little over three weeks from now. On the other hand, the league might not be too thrilled to hear about the news because the face-off sans Doncic will be nationally televised on NBA TV.
Doncic will be ineligible for an All-NBA award
Ball might also stand to benefit from Doncic's unfortunate predicament. Being out that long will disqualify the five-time All-Star from major end-of-season awards. Last year, the league implemented the 65-game rule that limits the MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Most Improved Player awards and All-NBA and All-Defensive berths to players who don't miss more than 17 contests.
"Luka Magic" has been a fixture on the All-NBA First Team for five straight years and looked primed to extend his streak by the end of this campaign. While his numbers are subpar by his lofty standards, they would have still been likely enough to secure enough votes from the panel.
However, having already missed eight matches and now projected to sit out Dallas' 16 games in the next month, Doncic's bid for any major award is down the drain.
Interestingly, that could open up one more slot for other All-NBA hopefuls, including Ball.
The Hornets star is a dark-horse candidate to claim one of the spots for the first time in his career, as his 30.1 points per game have him ranked fourth in average scoring behind Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Nikola Jokic. In addition, he leads the league in average 3-pointers with 4.5 makes per contest and can soon crack the top 10 in average assists.
The 2022 All-Star might have his work cut out for him, though, due to Charlotte being near the bottom of the standings. The voting panel doesn't follow any criteria in making their selection, but team record has historically factored into their decision. So, the Hornets should try to help Ball's candidacy by trying to rack up the wins.