Luka Doncic has not played for the Dallas Mavericks since suffering a left calf strain on Dec. 25 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The superstar guard has dealt with a handful of calf injuries over the course of his career, which is why Dallas braced for Doncic to miss a large chunk of time.

Aside from now being ineligible for postseason awards since he won't meet the 65-game minimum threshold, Doncic's absence has resulted in the Mavs struggling to live up to their potential. After losing 118-99 on Tuesday night to the Denver Nuggets, the Mavericks are now 22-18 on the season. They have lost eight of their last 11 games, including their Christmas Day game against the Minnesota Timberwolves when Doncic got hurt.

When Luka will return to the court is still a mystery in Dallas. Doncic is still “weeks away” from returning, but the Mavericks are “confident” that he will be back before the All-Star break, according to TNT's Jared Greenberg.

Dallas will play their final game before the All-Star break on Feb. 13 against the Miami Heat, so Doncic has roughly four weeks to ramp up his activities and recovery if he is to rejoin the team ahead of their week-long break.

Originally, when the team first announced Doncic's MRI results, it was said that the star would be re-evaluated within one month. Dallas has yet to provide any formal updates on Doncic's status, as they will likely do so before the conclusion of January.

Without Luka on the floor, the Mavs have seen their offensive efficiency drop significantly. Before this injury, Dallas ranked fourth in the league with a 117.4 offensive rating, and they were averaging 118.8 points per game, the fifth-most in the NBA.

Over their last 11 games, Dallas is a bottom-eight team in offensive rating, and they are only averaging 107.2 points per game, 25th in the NBA. It also doesn't help that Kyrie Irving has been dealing with a back injury and missed five straight games before returning on Tuesday night against Denver.

As a result of Doncic and Irving being out of the lineup, Quentin Grimes and Spencer Dinwiddie have seen elevated opportunities. Grimes has led the team in scoring in three of their last seven games.

With three weeks until the NBA trade deadline, the Mavs may be in the market for a secondary guard who can help fill the gaps in scoring behind Kyrie and Luka. General manager Nico Harrison was aggressive in pursuing Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington ahead of the deadline last season, two moves that resulted in Dallas earning a spot in the NBA Finals. He will likely be aggressive in his pursuit of more talent this year.

Doncic is still set to be sidelined for a few weeks, but this is a step in the right direction regarding his potential return to the court before the All-Star break.