The Dallas Mavericks have held out Luka Doncic from back-to-back sets for over three months now. The Mavs appear ready to change that on Wednesday.

Doncic is set to suit up against the New Orleans Pelicans, which would mark the first time the Mavs star will play both ends of a back-to-back since December 5 and 6 when Dallas took on West rivals in the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets, according to ESPN insider Tim MacMahon.

Given the gravity of the games remaining and how tightly packed the West standings are right now, Luka Doncic definitely knows what's at stake in each and every game to close the season.

The Mavs are fresh off a win against the Utah Jazz on the first leg of the back-to-back. The three-game gap they built between them with the result represents the difference between holding the 5th seed, where they find themselves now, versus being the 13th seed, where the Jazz plummeted to after the loss. The Pelicans sit just a half game above the Jazz and could get to just a game and a half behind Dallas should they manage to pull off a win on their home floor.

Luka Doncic can ill afford to miss any games, whether for injury or load management, given how critical he is to the Mavs' entire gameplan. The addition of Kyrie Irving definitely helps lessen the burden on the MVP candidate, but there's no replacing Luka's 33 points per game and borderline triple-double average each and every night.