The Dallas Mavericks are set to play against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday in their third preseason game, but the big question on everyone’s mind is when star Luka Doncic will return to the court. After Saturday’s practice, the Mavs head coach Jason Kidd gave an important update whether we’ll see Doncic on the court.
Despite participating in team training, Doncic and PJ Washington have yet to feature in a preseason game for Dallas. Kidd addressed their situations in a media session: “PJ went through practice, he was good. And then Luka participated in non-contact today, so he was good.”
However, when asked if either player would suit up for Monday’s game, Kidd remained cautious. “I would not say Monday, but we will see how everything is going when we come back from LA,” Kidd said. “We will probably have a better sense of what’s going to take place on Thursday,” he added.
Despite stating these last weeks that “Luka is feeling great“, Kidd is reluctant to the idea of him taking part in a game for now. However, Doncic has not been ruled out for the Mavericks’ preseason finale against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.
The matchup against the Bucks will be the Mavericks’ final tune-up before the start of the 2024-25 NBA season, where they will face the San Antonio Spurs. Time is running out for Doncic to make his preseason debut, but his involvement in non-contact drills is a good signal.
What happened to Luka Doncic?
On October 2, the Mavericks announced that Doncic suffered a left calf contusion during a training session, sidelining him for at least a week. Neither this nor TJ’s injuries are considered to be severe, but the Mavs are being extremely careful with their situation, trying to avoid any long-term issues.
This is not the first time for Doncic. The Mavs star dealt with a calf injury last preseason as well, suffering a strain during the Mavericks’ trip to Abu Dhabi and Madrid. He got to recover in time to play in the team’s regular-season opener, and we’ll see if he’s able to do so this year.