The Dallas Mavericks will be without their superstar guard, Luka Doncic, who is out with a left quad contusion per Marc Stein of the New York Times.

Mavs fans aren't very happy about not having their superstar in the lineup, but they shouldn't be too worried about it. Coach Rick Carlisle says that he doesn't think that this is a long-term injury, so Luka can be expected to be back in the lineup sooner than later.

The Mavs are currently 2-3, sitting in 11th place in the Western Conference. Although it is early, Dallas cannot afford to be losing more games and digging themselves an even deeper hole—especially not in the competitive Western Conference.

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It's surprising to see the Mavericks struggle so much early on in the season, and that is mostly because of Luka Doncic's inefficiency on the offensive end.

Doncic's numbers have declined from last season, averaging fewer points, rebounds, and assists, while shooting a lower percentage from the field. Doncic has also been abysmal from deep, shooting only 16 percent from three.

This is not what was expected from the MVP front-runner coming into 2021.

The absence of Kristaps Porzingis has definitely put a hole in the Mavs' roster, however, so when he returns, things should return to normal.

As for Doncic, he's going to need to get out of his slump. The Mavericks' offense is almost completely reliant on the production of Luka Doncic, so if he continues to struggle, the Mavericks will as well.

Hopefully, the Mavs will be able to get away with a win against the 2-4 Bulls on Sunday night.