Some amazing positive and unforgettable bonding experiences occurred for the Mavericks during their trip to Abu
Dhabi and Spain.
Still, the Mavs also have to deal with the fact that their two superstar players – guards Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving – have each experienced an injury while on the trip.
Irving played in the first game against Minnesota, but missed this past Saturday’s rematch and Tuesday’s game against Real Madrid with groin soreness. Doncic, meanwhile, suffered a left calf strain in Monday’s practice and only played the first four minutes and 59 seconds of the game against Real Madrid before sitting on the bench the remainder of that contest.
However, coach Jason Kidd didn’t sound like either injury reached the level of serious concern.
“I think for Kai it’s been the soreness of the groin in Abu Dhabi,” Kidd said following the loss to Real Madrid. “Just playing it safe. He’s doing 
everything treatment-wise and work to get back, so hopefully he’s back soon.
“And then for Luka, he got hurt in practice (Monday), so it’s just precaution to make sure we didn’t put him in a situation to get hurt again. So, he played the five minutes (Tuesday) and he looked good.”
Since Doncic’s career started with Real Madrid – he led Real Madrid to the 2018 EuroLeague championship – he obviously wanted to be on the court much longer in his homecoming. But the Mavs decided that wouldn’t be very wise.
“He really wanted to continue to keep playing, but it’s a long season,” Kidd said. “He did everything to get out there and play, and he did a great job.
“So, he’ll continue to do his treatment and we’ll see how he feels as the week goes on.”
Long term, the Mavs know they’ll need Doncic and Irving to remain injury-free if they hope to compete for this year’s NBA title. Last year Doncic was mentioned in the league’s Most Valuable Player conversation, and he calmly finished the season averaging 32.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and eight assists per game, and wound up eighth in the MVP race.
“Luka is one of the best players in the world, so he’s always going to be mentioned as an MVP candidate,” Kidd said. “For him it’s about being healthy.
“Again, last year’s numbers – 30 (points), eight (rebounds) and eight (assists) — those are like video game numbers, and he’s doing it at a high level. Then, he’s
going to have to sprinkle in. . .we’ve got to win. So, if we can do those two things – that’s him being healthy and us winning — he can end up with that MVP trophy.”
Kidd also assessed the play of his two rookies — center Dereck Lively II and forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper – during the first three preseason games.
“You look at O-Max, he’s doing his job, he’s a rookie, he’s going to make mistakes,” Kidd said. “But you look at what Lively has done here on this trip, he’s doing extremely well starting with that group — the starters. He’s doing everything to start (the regular season).
“O-Max, we’re probably going to bring him off the bench if the season was to start tomorrow, but Lively is doing everything. He’s also a rookie, he’s going to make some mistakes. But I think he’s had an incredible three games here learning what the NBA game is all about, so he’s only going to get better.”
With so many new players possibly playing a key role this season, Kidd knows it’s imperative that he quickly has all hands on deck in a season that has the Mavs playing 10 of their first 16 games on the road.
“It’s a new team, we’ve got a lot of new faces, so we’ve got to make sure that we’re all on the same page offensively and defensively,” Kidd said. “The Western Conference is deep, so we’ve got to bring our ‘A’ game each and every night, and we’ve got to be healthy.
“So, when you look at Kai and Luka, we feel we’re in a good seat. We need our role players to play at a high level, and if we can do that, hopefully we’re one of the top teams in the West.”
The Mavs will leave Madrid on Thursday and return home following their epic 12-day road trip, and will play their final preseason game on Oct. 20 at American Airlines Center against the Detroit Pistons. Also, there were no regrets from the Mavs in dropping a 14-point lead and losing to Real Madrid, 127-123, to fall to 0-3 in preseason play.
“I thought we got control of the game there the middle of the second (quarter), and I thought coming out after halftime I thought our defense and offense was at a very high level,” Kidd said. “I love the way that we played. There was a big carryover from (Monday), but just the ball movement.
“We tried to limit the pick-and-rolls, because that’s something that we think we can do well. But we played with the pass, and also with screening. So, for three quarters we were really good. Unfortunately, in that last five minutes Madrid was better. But as a whole as a coach, I’m happy where the team is after 12 days on this trip. Now we go back home.”
X: @DwainPrice
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