Luka Doncic, with a towel draped over his shoulders, sat in a high chair to take questions Tuesday afternoon for the first time since Media Day on Sept. 30.
After a swig of Gatorade, the Mavericks star spoke briefly about a calf contusion in his left leg that derailed his participation in the team’s four-game preseason schedule. Doncic had just finished his fifth consecutive full-participation practice, part of his ramp-up for Thursday’s season opener against San Antonio.
Doncic has missed preseason games before, but it’s the first time in his seven seasons that he’s missed the entire exhibition slate. He agrees that it may have hindered the chemistry-building process with his new teammates, specifically Klay Thompson.
“Probably,” Doncic said. “I haven’t played a game since [playing for Slovenia in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament]. It’s kind of tough. Games are always different than practices, so we’ll see on Thursday. I’m sure there’s going to be excitement. I haven’t played a game since the national team, so I’m happy to play.”
The last time Doncic appeared in a competitive basketball game was July 6. He and the Slovenian men’s national team suffered a lopsided loss to Greece in the semifinal round of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament. It was nearly three weeks after the conclusion of Doncic’s first NBA Finals appearance, which resulted in a second-place finish to the Boston Celtics.
Doncic spent most of the offseason recovering from his several injuries sustained in the playoffs, which included a right knee sprain and chest contusion. He spent a lot of time in the gym shooting and learning to play with better pace, which the Mavericks ranked sixth in the league last year.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd and several of Doncic’s teammates have reiterated their intentions to move beyond last season’s success, simply because it’s a new team with a fresh set of expectations, despite the ultimate goal remaining the same. Doncic, asked if he learned anything from the lengthy postseason run, intimated that the minutiae of every game matters.
“Why not look back? We went to the NBA Finals, which is pretty unbelievable and it’s very, very hard,” Doncic said. “Looking back at when we started, we know how hard it is to get there. Every detail matters and it’s very important that we have this mentality in the beginning.”
Dallas persevered through several injuries during training camp, which notably included Doncic and P.J. Washington, but Kidd recently said everyone outside of Dante Exum (right wrist) should be available for Thursday’s game against the Spurs. It’ll be the first glance at the Mavericks’ new trio of Doncic, Thompson and Kyrie Irving. On paper, it seems like the fit will be seamless since Thompson plays well away from the ball, which complements Doncic and Irving’s ball-dominant offensive style.
No one outside of the Mavericks knows exactly how the new “Big Three” will mesh on the floor. Irving and Thompson played two games together, which offered a glimpse, but Doncic hasn’t had any live game reps with his co-stars. Doncic led the NBA in scoring last season with a career-high 33.9 points, which also included a 73-point outburst against the Atlanta Hawks in January. In theory, he shouldn’t have to shoulder as much of a scoring load with the addition of Thompson and the Mavericks’ other floor spacers. He agreed that he could have just as good of a season individually even if he doesn’t score as much.
“Yeah, probably,” Doncic said. “It depends on the defense, what they give us. I think every game is going to be different. Sometimes they’re gonna double me; sometimes not. Sometimes they’re gonna take away the lob; sometimes no. So it just depends on the defense, what they do and we just go on from there, game-to-game.”
Dallas has the luxury of playing seven of its first nine games at American Airlines Center, where it finished with a home record of 25-16 last season. Five of those games are against teams who qualified for the playoffs (Phoenix [twice], Minnesota, Orlando and Indiana). Doncic said the Mavericks’ early conversations have centered around setting the tone early in the season.
“We’re not joking around,” Doncic said. “Like I said, we’ve worked hard. The new guys that came here have shown they can play. They can help us. So the one thing is we’ve got to play hard. That’s it.”
Doncic missed last year’s preseason finale due to a minor calf injury in the same leg, but had an explosive start to the season. He averaged 31.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 8.9 assists on 41% shooting from beyond the arc while leading the Mavericks to a 6-1 start.
After three weeks of talk about the Mavericks’ lofty expectations, chemistry, training camp battles and injury timelines, opening week is finally upon us. Kidd said Doncic’s motivation level to win a championship is “extremely high.” And Doncic, a man of few words, appears healthy and ready to show the basketball world how he plans to bounce back from his first Finals loss, instead of simply talking about it.
“We gotta show it every day,” Doncic said. “We have to show what kind of players we are and what we work for. I think we worked really hard this preseason. What people should expect, we’re going to play 100%, show who we are and we’re going to battle every day.”
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