NBA

Luka Doncic expects to fix chemistry issues with Kyrie Irving during Mavericks’ training camp

Antonio Kozlow Sports Editor

Updated28 Sep 2023

Last season, Luka Doncic’s partnership with teammate Kyrie Irving didn’t go as planned, as they were only able to share the court together in 16 games and the Mavericks missed out on the playoffs. Although there are many reasons for this, the most obvious was the lack of time to build chemistry between each other.

Just as Dallas traded the veteran point guard from Brooklyn in February, the team fell in the standings. As both stars lost time due to injuries, they went 5-11 in the matches they played together. The roster returned to training camp this past Wednesday and Luka guaranteed that now they should have enough time to bond.

“Last year he came in the middle of there season and we didn’t have much time. We immediately started playing games. It takes time to create chemistry, especially on the field, so we haven’t had the entire training camp and I mean preseason. So I think it’s going to get a lot better,” Doncic assured.

Luka Doncic x Kyrie Irving connection 👀🔥 pic.twitter.com/o2G6ukmvEI

— Backcourt Alerts (@BackcourtAlerts) September 27, 2023

In his fifth campaign in Texas, the Slovenian star averaged 32.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and a career-high 8.0 assists per contest. As for Irving, he appeared in 20 games for the Mavs and achieved 27.0 points and 6.0 assists per game.

Despite the fact that the squad averaged over 119 points pero 100 possessions when they shared the floor, Dallas lost 18 out of their last 25 matches of regular season. Their coach Jason Kidd is well aware that good things take time.

“We like things to happen right away, but we’ll grow that relationship,” he shared. “There is a relationship, and so they’ve had the summer and now they have a preseason to bond. But that’s the big question: can they coexist? And it’s that they don’t coexist, it is the group around them. I think that sometimes we are misinformed. If you have the right pieces in place, they will coexist, and after the first day they coexisted at a high level”.

Doncic, on the other hand, knows that he must lead by example for the rest of his teammates.

“The two leader of the team, what we do, the two of us, other people will follow. We have to set an example, and that’s everyone. It’s not just us. We have to play. there are five players on the field. We’re going to play against everyone, so everyone has to help each other,” he said this week.

The Slovenian guard addressed his injury and revealed he’s waiting for a more precise diagnosis, but didn’t seem to worried about it

This Wednesday, on the first day of the Mavericks’ training camp, Doncic revealed that he’s still seeking a more exact diagnosis for the thigh injury that has affected him since March.

“It’s better, but we still have some appointments,” the 24-year-old promised to keep the press posted as soon as he’s aware of his situation. However, neither him or his coach Jason Kidd seemed to worried about it, even though the season is only a month away.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eba55fcefg

“He’s probably not 100%,” his coach said. “Anytime you play, it’s hard to be 100%. I think he looks great. His first day was great. “And so the topic of getting him stronger, and getting him close to 100% before the first game is the goal.”

The club is about to embark on a 12-day trip to Abu Dhabi, where Dallas will play two preseason matches against the Timberwolves next week, and then will travel to Spain to compete against Real Madrid, Luka’s former team.

“Our schedule is a little different than just a normal pre-season,” Kidd said. “We’re gone for 12 days. So we’re going to try to get as much (training) as we can before we leave on Sunday.”