It's been a long time coming, but Kristaps Porzingis finally made his debut with the Dallas Mavericks in a preseason game against the Detroit Pistons. And from the looks of things, it seems like the long wait was worth it for Mavs fans.

Head coach Rick Carlisle himself was happy with how Porzingis' first minutes as a Mav turned out. In a post-game interview with Brad Townsend and other members of the press, the long-time head coach talked about what he saw in the Unicorn.

He noted that Porzingis was just happy to be playing basketball again. While he limited the big man to only 20 minutes of play and Porzingis himself was strapped with two quick fouls, he was happy with the Latvian big man's performance.

Porzingis had a good time on his first game back. He finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, and two assists. While the Mavs lost to Blake Griffin's Detroit Pistons, there was a lot of positivity surrounding the team.

Moreover, he showcased a new stepback three that can put plenty of big men defenders on skates. It was a particularly nasty stepback that would easily remind fans of Luka Doncic.

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It's only the first year of the team going without Dirk Nowitzki, however, Porzingis has high expectations out of this team. According to Forbes' Doyle Rader, he's already looking into making the playoffs with this Mavs team.

“In our mind, we have to make the playoffs,” Porzingis said. “That’s the goal for us. There is no other goal for us, just to make the playoffs as a team. We’re going to put in the work necessary to get to that point. The Western Conference is extremely tough. We already know that. We believe that with this group we’re capable of doing it.”

With the way he's been playing in the preseason so far, that's not far from becoming a reality.