Luka Doncic walked onto the Mavericks’ practice court Sunday morning, took a few casual shots close to the basket, turned around and walked away.
Not an issue with his calf.
The Slovenian music in the background just wasn’t loud enough.
Doncic cranked the volume on the bluetooth speakers and then returned to shooting, a development in his mid-playoff rehab process he hadn’t before shown publicly in the week since he strained his left calf in the April 10 regular-season finale.
A sign he’ll return Monday night for Game 2 in the Mavericks’ first-round series against the Utah Jazz?
Not so fast.
Eight times during his eight-minute interview session Sunday, coach Jason Kidd said “we’ll see” about Doncic’s physical response to his increased workload and his availability moving forward. A Game 2 return — eight days after suffering the injury — remains unlikely, as sports medicine experts say minor, Grade 1 calf strains often require at least seven to 10 days to heal.
The Mavericks haven’t revealed the severity of Doncic’s strain.
But the 23-year-old All-Star’s return to basketball work in view of cameras signaled a positive step toward a potential mid-series return — the Mavericks’ best chance at overcoming their opening 1-0 hole.
“He’s been involved,” Kidd said. “He’s talking in meetings, and so again, I’ve said that since Day 1 that he’s in a good spot. A lot of times when you’re hurt, you can be grumpy or frustrated, but he’s not, so we’ll just hope that he continues to be able to do more as each day goes by.”
After working with director of athletic performance Jeremy Holsopple on strength equipment Sunday morning, Doncic shot for about 25 minutes in view of outside media.
He started in the paint with no-jump looks, alternating one-legged looks as if to test his balance with standstill, Dirk Nowitzki-esque post fades.
Just before Kidd spoke to a scrum of reporters, Doncic started to take mid-range attempts, and by the time Kidd finished, his superstar had worked back to the 3-point line.
Doncic took long-range shots from several spots on the wings, jogging between attempts and jumping slightly with each release.
Among Doncic’s trio of assistants, Greg St. Jean served as his defender with a hand up against each look, Igor Kokoskov fed him passes from different angles and Peter Patton grabbed the rebounds.
After Doncic finished his rounds on the far court, he walked to the fridge for a drink and chatted with director of sports psychology Don Kalkstein.
The Mavericks then closed practice as Doncic and his coaching crew moved to a nearby basket, but his Slovenian music continued to blare through the closed media entrance door for about another half-hour.
Kidd said Doncic had also done a shooting session Saturday and responded well after progressing from stationary exercise biking and a treadmill workout earlier in the week.
But he didn’t elaborate on whether Doncic had progressed toward game-like intensity.
“I don’t know what speed he’s gone at,” Kidd said, “because his speed is different, so we’ll see.”
Knocks on Doncic’s self-deprecating slow style aside, had he tested any explosive movements on the court? ”What’s explosive?”
Pushing off his calf, accelerating or quickly changing directions, perhaps.
“Well, he’s 23,” Kidd quipped, “so everything he does is explosive.”
Kidd might’ve considered Doncic a full participant in Sunday’s practice — but only because the team didn’t do any running or live work on the court.
They gathered for a film session and discussed what tweaks to make and facets to improve after Utah outrebounded them by 19 in Saturday’s six-point loss. Players received treatment to help recover from starters’ increased minutes and a shortened, eight-player rotation, and a few took shots individually at the end of the session.
Doncic’s shooting session heightened the “will he or won’t he speculation” as the Mavericks hope to avoid a 2-0 series hole ahead of Games 3 and 4 in Utah. In NBA history, just 34 of the 435 teams that have faced a 2-0 deficit have come back to advance.
But Kidd emphasized the Mavericks wouldn’t rush back their superstar of the present and the future, no matter how significant his team-leading scoring (28.4), rebounding (9.1) and assisting (8.7) averages could be.
“It’s not really a balancing act,” Kidd said. “It’s ‘he can play’ or ‘he can’t play.’ If he can’t play, then we have to go forward. We showed that already in Game 1, and if it happens in Game 2, then that’s the way we have to go.
“That’s just the way sport can be sometimes. Injuries come at the wrong time, and Luka’s injury came at the wrong time, but you can’t cry over spilled milk. We’re all professionals and we understand what the situation is. If he can go, that doesn’t automatically mean we’re going to win games, but we feel better about if he is on the floor, and hopefully he can get on the floor soon.”
