The Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic is suffering from a thigh injury which has had the fans worried as the new season is coming up within a few weeks. Doncic featured in the FIBA World Cup but clearly was nowhere near his best.
However, Doncic is expected to be a part of the Mavericks side in their 2023-24 opener. During a recent interview on “97.1 The Freak,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd was asked about Donicc’s injury status and his availability for the upcoming season.
While Kidd did not clearly answer the question, he said that athletes are never 100% fit every time. According to him, they play more games and they get better physically. “I think hopefully, as we go forward here, that he will be ready to go,” Kidd said. “I presume that sometimes in our career we are not 100 percent, maybe we’re 99 or 95 percent. The more games you play, the longer your career, I think you can ask anyone. No one’s really 100 percent.”
The Mavericks coach is relying on the depth that they have in their roster and believes that he won’t need Doncic to play 40 or more minutes. “Now, looking at our roster, hopefully, we don’t have to play him 40 or more minutes per night,” Kidd said. “With the depth that we have, I thought Nico [Harrison] did an incredible job this summer, but I’m excited with Luka and Kyrie Irving, and having Luka ready to go and achieve his goals and that’s to win a championship.”
During the offseason, Dallas made sure to secure their future of Kyrie Irving and also added Grant Williams from the Boston Celtics. So there are players who can share the load of Doncic early on in the season. Given the depth and the talent present on the roster, the Mavericks will be one of the primary contenders to bag the NBA Championship.
The Mavericks have also removed players that didn’t fit their style of play, like Christian Wood. But still, the team has added plenty of young talents Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper. They have also brought back Dante Exum to provide backup ball handling to Irving.
The Mavericks have youthful exuberance, veteran leadership and star talent. Therefore they are a force to be reckoned with heading into the new season. They will hope that Doncic is at the best of his health as they are one of the favourites to land the NBA Championship.
