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Doncic will be available for only the first quarter of Friday's game against the Bulls, Tim MacMahon of ESPN reports.

With the Mavs shifting into draft-pick preservation mode, it was fairly surprising that Doncic was initially deemed available for Friday's game in the first place, as Dallas will hold out several regulars, including Kyrie Irving (foot), Tim Hardaway (ankle) and Christian Wood (rest). While the expectation remains that Doncic will start and play close to a usual workload early on, MacMachon reports that the Mavs plan to pull Doncic from the game after the first quarter -- ostensibly in an effort to both ease the strain on their superstar while also lessening their chances of winning and, in turn, potentially jeopardizing their top-10 protected pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. With Doncic unavailable for more than 12 minutes, expect Jaden Hardy, McKinley Wright and Frank Ntilikina to be among the beneficiaries.

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