The eyes of the basketball world will be on Dallas on Wednesday night when Luka Doncic visits for the first time since the Mavericks and Lakers pulled off a blockbuster trade on Feb. 2 to send the superstar guard to Los Angeles.
Anthony Davis, the other centerpiece of the trade, will make his Mavericks debut against the Lakers. He was out with an injury when the teams met in Los Angeles on Feb. 25.
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd initially tried to downplay the buzz surrounding Doncic’s homecoming before becoming more expansive in his comments.
“Wednesday? Just another home game,” he started before pausing and continuing. “It should be electric. I think the fans will be excited to see Luka, and we’ll be excited to figure out how to protect home.”
Dallas (38-41) won the Western Conference title last season but is in 10th position in the standings this season after being blown out twice in two days by the Los Angeles Clippers at Inglewood, Calif.
A win against the Lakers (48-31), who sit in third place in the conference, would clinch a spot in the play-in tournament for the Mavericks.
Doncic enters the game after being ejected on Tuesday when he received his second technical foul of the game, a 136-120 road loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Doncic quickly put that disappointment aside as he described what he is feeling ahead of his return to Dallas, where the five-time All-NBA selection spent the first six-plus seasons of his career.
“Of course, there’s going to be a lot of emotion for me,” said Doncic, who is averaging 27.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.6 points a game for the Lakers. “I don’t know what to expect, I don’t know what I’m going to feel. Looking forward to being back in Dallas, (seeing) the fans and my ex-teammates. It’s going to be very emotional for me, for sure. I’m excited to be back.”
The Lakers’ LeBron James is no stranger to visiting an old basketball home for the first time, having experienced it in Cleveland and Miami after signing free-agent deals elsewhere.
He said he expects Doncic will feel the love from the fans, who protested outside the Dallas arena after the trade and continue to voice their displeasure.
“I think he’ll get a standing ovation,” James said. “People will clap and cheer, and he’ll hear his name a lot … a lot of emotions will go through Luka, both interior and exterior. If we do our job on the floor, that will help him tremendously.”
As for Davis, he sat out Friday’s 114-91 loss for the Mavericks with a left adductor strain. He returned the following night to score 27 points in 27 minutes in a 135-104 loss to the Clippers.
He is listed as probable against the Lakers.
Davis has averaged 20.6 points a game since joining the Mavericks but was injured in his Dallas debut and missed the next 23. He has played only seven games with Dallas, and the Mavericks are 5-2.
Davis kept it brief when asked about his feelings entering his first meeting against his former team. “No emotions,” he deadpanned.
The 10-time All-Star was sidelined with a groin injury for the only post-trade clash so far between the Mavs and Lakers, on Feb. 25 in Los Angeles.
Davis received several standing ovations and a lengthy tribute video from the Lakers’ organization, but Los Angeles won 107-99, with Doncic posting his first triple-double in the purple and gold.
The Lakers need to win two of their final three games to secure the third spot in the West after splitting a road double against the league-best Thunder.
