Saturday night marks Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic’s return to Dallas to take on the Mavericks for the first time this season. Seeing how emotional last year was, it is hard to imagine there will be much change, if any.
Frankly, the wounds of the Doncic may never dissipate, especially for Mavs fans. Anthony Davis has dealt with five significant injuries since arriving in Texas, battling for a Play-In spot, and L.A. is experiencing struggles of its own.
With the Lakers searching for a sustained winning streak, picking up a win against Doncic’s former team would provide a confidence boost. The Slovenian guard spoke to his emotions leading into Saturday’s marquee matchup, via The Sporting Tribune:
“Obviously, always going to feel like home there. Like I said, I needed that game [last season] to move on a little bit. But obviously, I’ll always appreciate those fans. They were really tight. I think we had a special bond. I really appreciate it all the time.”
Every matchup will carry significant weight, as this trade was the biggest in NBA history. No one could have foreseen a seismic change of that magnitude, and it significantly changed the trajectory of two franchises.
It appears Doncic is in a better headspace now as he approaches a calendar year since being traded. Additionally, Dallas will never turn their back on him because he truly took pride in wearing a Mavericks jersey.
So, not stepping into a hostile environment certainly helps, and it should feel like another home game. Last year in his return to American Airlines Arena, Doncic put up 45 points, eight rebounds and seven 3-pointers.
While the environment should be more positive now that the Mavericks’ general manager, Nico Harrison, has been fired, the newest Laker star will also carry a little extra weight playing against the team that traded him away.
Luka Doncic takes responsibility for lack of ball movement
The Lakers’ recent struggles have been well documented, and they have yet to return to early regular-season form. Injuries are an issue, but they are for every NBA team right now, and L.A. needs to navigate them.
Finding a defensive identity is priority No. 1; however, Los Angeles’ offense has bogged down. Notably against the L.A. Clippers, there was stagnation and a heavy reliance on Luka Doncic providing scoring.
Despite nearly coming back from a 26-point deficit, the Lakers could not get over the hump. Reflecting back, ball movement got them into that predicament, and Doncic took ownership of not moving the ball.
