It seems that the four-month layoff wasn't too bad for reigning ROTY Luka Doncic. After an impressive win against the Los Angeles Lakers last Thursday, the Dallas Mavericks star guard dropped a 20-11-9 game against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. Though the Mavericks lost that second scrimmage against the Pacers, that doesn't change the team's lofty goals for this season.

Dallas currently sits at the 7th spot in the West and is still a few games ahead of the the eight-seeded Memphis Grizzlies. But, per Dwain Price of mavs.com, Doncic believes that they can go up to the upper half of the conference standings coming into this season's playoffs.

“We can get higher that we are. We can get up to the 4 spot, and we're looking forward to that, so we want to win all the games.” Doncic said.

Mathematically, the Mavs still have a chance to improve their standing but they'll need to be able to quickly address issues like their defense if they want to climb the ladder. So far in their two scrimmages, their offense has been great, but they've struggled from the other side of the floor. The Mavs are now 1-1 in their first two outings and are looking to end their tune-up games on a positive note with a win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday.

Luka Doncic and his Mavs have to make the most of their time to iron out chemistry issues and get back into game shape. Dallas starts their season against the Houston Rockets on Friday and have seven more games after that to try and improve their playoff position.