Just three weeks ago several dozen NBA players, according to ESPN, had reservations about the resumption of the season.
Even now, Bradley Beal of Washington and others remain on the fence.
Not so for 21-year-old Luka Doncic, the second-highest NBA All-Star game voter in February.
“I really missed basketball, so I just wanted to play,” he said on Thursday. “There were no questions about me. I’ve always wanted to play. “
Thursday was the first time we listened to Doncic in 113 days. It mattered little that he should be active via the Zoom call on the second day of mandatory tests as the NBA was heading towards a seasonal restart. For Mavericks fans, seeing and listening to Doncic evokes hope, even during a pandemic.
Luka, who faced several injuries in February and March, said that the suspension of the NBA could have benefited some players:
“I think the break helped. I think a lot of people had some minor injuries, they weren’t 100%. “
– Callie Caplan (@CallieCaplan) July 2, 2020
And before anyone else asks, yes, Doncic does seem physically fit, no matter the comments made by his Slovenian coach last month that have been misinterpreted.
“He said ‘like the shape of the game’,” said Doncic with a shrug. “This means five out of five. I saw it, but I honestly didn’t care much because I know what form I am in. I think I’m in good shape. I’ll be better until the start of the Orlando games. “
The first of eight Mavericks seeding games isn’t until July 31st against Houston. Doncic certainly has basketball rust because he didn’t play five to five, choosing to be cautious during a long hiatus in his native Slovenia.
Although Slovenia’s total coronavirus cases are low – as of Thursday afternoon it has had 1,634 positive tests and 111 deaths since the start of the pandemic, Doncic said he mostly played tennis and soccer and lifted weights for keeping fit.
The forced stoppage of the season also allowed Doncic’s sprained left thumb and sprained right ankle to heal. These injuries caused him to lose 13 of the 67 games of the Mavericks, with an average maximum of 28.7 points and 8.7 assists.
His rebound average of 9.3 followed only 9.5 by Kristaps Porzingis. Doncic and Porzingis were eventually developing a relationship on the pitch before the season ended on March 11th. Porzingis averaged 23 points and 11.1 rebounds in nine games after the All-Star break.
“We didn’t play many games together,” said Doncic. “But it will continue to grow every game, every day, by practicing and playing.”
Rick Carlisle acknowledged that the Mavericks will be “a little small” due to Willie Cauley-Stein’s decision to give up the Orlando games to be present at the birth of his daughter. The only players on the active roster higher than 6-7 are 7-3 Porzingis, 7-4 Boban Marjanovic and 6-10 Maxi Kleber.
“But we don’t deal with adaptations and challenges,” said Carlisle. “My 12 years here so far, many have tried to take adversity and turn it into positive aspects.”
The mentality of Doncic is that he will be happy to play again, the coronavirus allows it, even if the idea of playing without fans is a reality that he can hardly understand. The NBA said it will create artificial game noise, but it will not be the same.
“I really like fans in the gym, like opponents or at home,” said Doncic. “There is always noise. It will be strange, so I don’t know how I will feel. “
Doncic was asked about the Mavericks’ chances of moving from their current place no. 7 in the Western Conference ranking during the seeding of eight games of the Orlando bubble game.
Dallas is 11/2 games behind Oklahoma City and Houston and 21/2 games behind Utah. The Mavericks need any combination of two Memphis wins or losses to reach their first place in the playoffs since 2016.
“We just want to win as many games as possible,” said Doncic. “We are going there without pressure, having fun, playing basketball and we hope we can achieve our goal.”
What goal could it be, Doncic did not elaborate. Maybe he will on his next Zoom call.
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