Historically, a 3-0 series lead in the postseason has been nothing more than a prelude to an eventual series win. Consider that in the long history of the NBA Playoffs, all 154 teams that have gone up 3-0 in a best-of-seven series have gone on to finish off the job. Therefore, unless you believe that the Minnesota Timberwolves are about to do the unthinkable, following yet another late-game masterclass from Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in Game 3, it's now a lead-pipe cinch that the Dallas Mavericks will soon enough be NBA Finals bound.

But even before the Mavericks and the Timberwolves took the floor for Game 3 in Dallas, TNT's Charles Barkley was already speaking about the series as if it were a wrap. In fact, Sir Charles was so confident that Dallas would take care of business in Game 3, he was already pitching an unorthodox idea regarding Luka Doncic's availability in Game 4 of the series.

Now on one hand, I do understand what Charles Barkley is saying. It would take an historic, never-before-seen comeback from a largely untested Timberwolves squad to dig themselves out of an 0-3 hole. After all, 154-0 is not nothing.

But on the other hand, why even tempt fate when you're so close to competing for the Larry O'Brien Trophy? Especially considering the fact that both Game's 5 and 7 would be played on Minnesota's home floor, the Mavericks would probably be better suited to try to hit the Timberwolves with a knockout punch in Game 4 instead of running the risk of having to go back to Minnesota for Game 5.

Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd helping Luka Doncic to his feet

A Banged-Up Luka Doncic 

This wouldn't even be a discussion if Luka Doncic had a clean bill of health, but as you likely know by now, that's not the case. The 25-year-old Slovenian superstar has been dealing with lingering injuries all postseason, fighting through the pain of a right knee sprain AND left ankle soreness — plus whatever the hell is going on with that bloody left knee — while helping to lead the Mavericks to the brink of the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011, when Dirk Nowitzki and a plucky group of veterans, including current Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd, defeated the Miami Heat to capture the franchise's first championship.

Based on how Luka has carved up Mavericks opponents this postseason and delivered so reliably down the stretch of close games, you might not even realize how banged up he is. But take a peek at Luka's Basketball-Reference page, and you'll see that while the numbers he's putting up are indeed impressive, he's doing so far less efficiently than we're accustomed to.

2023-24 Regular Season: 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, 9.8 assists, 49/38/79 shooting splits

2024 NBA Playoffs: 28.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 9.0 assists, 43/32/81 shooting splits

Now this is by no means meant to be a critique of Luka Doncic. If anything, this postseason run has strengthened his standing within the league, proving that he's, at worst, probably the 2nd-best player in the world. An NBA Championship would all but secure his place atop the Best Player Alive Mountaintop. But before we get to that point, the Mavericks still need to finish the job against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the most surefire way to do that is to play Luka Doncic in Game 4.