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Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic has been participating in light drills since injuring his ankle on Dec. 14, but the team has understandably taken a cautious approach with their new franchise player who has missed their last four games.
The Mavs, who don't have a Christmas Day game scheduled, will have a few days to rest and return to action on Thursday against the San Antonio Spurs at the American Airlines Center.
Pressed about the status of the Slovenian star during Tuesday's team practice, head coach Rick Carlisle had some optimistic news for fans, per Brad Townsend of Dallas News:
“I don’t know what his status will be for Thursday, but he’ll certainly be upgraded,” Carlisle said. “He’s doing well. We’ll see how he feels [Wednesday], and then Thursday we’ll see what’s what, but things are looking better and better.”
The Mavs have had an up-and-down showing since their best player went down to injury, splitting their last four games against formidable Eastern Conference teams. They had impressive wins over Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers, but they stumbled against the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors.
Their last match against the defending champs stung the most after allowing the Raps to overcome a 30-point deficit to steal the victory. Still, the Mavs could have easily gone on a horrible 0-4 stretch given the quality of teams they faced, but they somehow managed to break even after getting solid contributions from the rest of the team.
The Mavs are currently fifth place in the Western Conference with a 19-10 slate.
Doncic, meanwhile, has been having an MVP-worthy start to the season, averaging 29.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, 8.9 assists and 1.2 steals before the injury.
