Luka Doncic gives troublingly honest injury update before Game 1 of the NBA Finals

The Dallas Mavericks have gotten nearly a week off before the NBA Finals kick off this Thursday but their best player's lower-body injury still hasn't healed. As Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News noted, Luka Doncic told reporters that his knee and ankle "didn't get any better" with all the time off.

The star suffered a sprained knee in Game 3 of the first round of the playoffs but played through it to a first-round series victory over the L.A. Clippers. Additionally, the veteran suffered an ankle injury in the second round of the playoffs during Game 2.

Despite suffering the injury early on in the playoffs, Doncic has been able to average 28 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists per game on 43 percent shooting and has not missed a single game due to either injury.

Since Doncic could be the best star in this series, and will likely play all the games unless the injury worsens on its own or gets worse via something that happens on the basketball court.

Luka Doncic still hasn't recovered from previous injury before start of NBA Finals

This injury is not good news for Dallas even if the star doesn't miss any games during the series. Yes, many veterans face ailments like this at this point of the playoffs but some of these injuries aren't as serious as the injury that Doncic is currently facing. If it becomes noticeable on the court, it's easy to see how the Celtics defense will have a much easier job defending Dallas' elite screening actions.

Even though Boston will likely have an easier job than if Doncic was completely healthy or just exhausted at this point in the season, the Celtics will still have much work to do to defend the star. It's also possible that Kyrie Irving will set up as he did in the Western Conference Finals.