Luka Doncic out vs. Thunder with Thigh Injury, Mavericks Plan to Be 'Cautious'

Dallas Mavericks rookie phenom Luka Doncic will miss Sunday's road game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena because of a right thigh contusion he suffered after getting hit on the knee during Thursday's clash with the Miami Heat.

Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News provided the update on Saturday from Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle, who noted the team will use a "cautious approach" with the budding star.

Doncic, 20, is the clear front-runner for the Rookie of the Year award this season, averaging 21.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 5.9 assists while shooting 42.5 percent from the field and 32.7 percent from three. He's quickly become the face of the franchise, and the future pairing of Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis—after the latter was traded from the Knicks—is an exciting one for the Mavericks.

Doncic has impressed with his playmaking, clutch scoring and ability to create separation on his step-back jumpers. While he has athletic limitations and his defense and three-point shooting are works in progress, Doncic is far more polished than a 20-year-old rookie has any business being. 

And ESPN's Mike Schmitz even believes Doncic should be a future MVP candidate:

"He has all the attributes of a future MVP candidate so long as he commits himself to working on his body. We were quite bullish on Doncic coming into the draft, given his talent, experience and EuroLeague success, but he has exceeded even our expectations, especially with regards to creating high percentage offense against some of the NBA's elite defenses."

The future is bright, in other words.

As for the present, Dorian Finney-Smith will likely return to the starting lineup with Doncic out of the lineup, while Courtney Lee should see his minutes increase off the bench.