Luka Doncic urges the Mavs to get off to a quick start before the season opener: “We’re not kidding”

With a towel over his shoulders, Luka Doncic sat on an elevated chair to answer questions Tuesday afternoon for the first time since media day on Sept. 30.

After taking After taking a sip of Gatorade, the Mavericks star spoke briefly about a bruised calf in his left leg that sidelined his participation in the team’s four-game preseason schedule. He had just completed his fifth straight full practice, part of his preparation for Thursday’s season opener against San Antonio.

Doncic has missed preseason games before, but this is the first time in his seven seasons that he has missed the entire select list. He agrees that this may have hindered the chemistry building between his new teammates, particularly Klay Thompson.

“Probably,” Doncic said. “I haven’t played a game since (July 6). It’s pretty hard. Games are always different than training sessions, we’ll see that on Thursday. I’m sure there will be excitement. I haven’t played a game since the national team, so I’m glad I can play.”

The last time Doncic appeared in a competitive basketball game was during the Olympic qualifying tournament, when he and the Slovenian men’s national team suffered a lopsided loss to Greece in the semifinals. It was almost three weeks after his first appearance in the NBA Finals, which earned him second place to the Boston Celtics.

Doncic spent most of the offseason recovering from several injuries sustained in the playoffs, including a right knee sprain and a chest contusion. He spent a lot of time in the gym shooting and learning to play faster. In which placed the Mavericks sixth in the league last year.

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd and several of Doncic’s teammates have reiterated their intention to move beyond last season’s success simply because they are a new team with new expectations, although the ultimate goal remains the same. When asked if he learned anything from the long postseason, Doncic suggested that the details of each game matter.

“Why not look back? We got to the NBA Finals, which is pretty incredible and very, very difficult,” he said. “When we look back at where we started, we know how difficult it is to get there. Every detail counts and it is very important that we have that mentality at the beginning.”

Dallas suffered several injuries during training camp, most notably Doncic and PJ Washington, but Kidd recently said that everyone except Dante Exum (right wrist) should be available for Thursday’s game against the Spurs. It will be the first look at the new Mavericks trio of Doncic, Thompson and Kyrie Irving. On paper, the adjustment appears to be seamless, with Thompson playing far off the ball, complementing the ball-dominant offensive style of Doncic and Irving.

No one outside of the Mavericks knows exactly how the new Big Three will mesh on the field. Irving and Thompson played two games together, which provided some insight, but Doncic didn’t have any live game replays with his co-stars. He He led the NBA in scoring last season with a career-high 33.9 points, including a 73-point margin against the Atlanta Hawks in January.

In theory, with the addition of Thompson and the Mavericks’ other floor-spacing players, he shouldn’t have to shoulder as much of a scoring load. He agreed Tuesday that he could have just as good a season individually, even if he doesn’t score as many goals.

“It depends on the defense what they give us,” Doncic said. “Every game will be different. Sometimes they double me; sometimes not. Sometimes they take away the praise; sometimes no. So it just depends on the defense what they do and we’ll take it game by game from there.”

Dallas has the luxury of playing seven of its first nine games at American Airlines Center, where it posted a 25-16 home record last season. Five of those games are against teams that qualified for the playoffs (Phoenix (twice), Minnesota, Orlando and Indiana).

Doncic said the Mavericks’ discussions have focused on setting the tone early in the season.

“We’re not kidding,” he said. “Like I said, we worked hard. The new guys who came here showed that they can play. You can help us. So the only thing is we have to play hard. This is 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 distance while leading the Mavericks to a 6-1 start.

After three weeks of talking about the Mavericks’ high expectations, chemistry, training camp struggles and injury timelines, opening week is finally upon us. Kidd said Doncic’s motivation 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 recover from his first Finals loss rather than just talk about it.

“We have to show it every day,” Doncic said. “We have to show what kind of player we are and what we work for. I think we worked really hard this preseason. What people should expect: We will play 100%, show who we are and we will fight every day.”

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