When the NBA season restarts later this month under the bubble in Orlando, Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle is anticipating the same high-powered results he got from Luka Doncic that the ultra-talented point guard produced during the season’s first 67 games.

That means Carlisle expects Doncic to continue stuffing the stat sheet and creating havoc for defenders the way he consistently did before the season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In leading the Mavs to a 40-27 record before the 2019-20 season being halted, Doncic was first in the league in triple doubles with 14, fourth in assists with 8.7 per game, sixth in scoring with 28.7 points per contest, and 19th in rebounding with 9.3 per outing. In essence, whoever drew the short straw and had to guard Doncic probably had a few sleepless nights prior to playing the Mavs.

And that’s exactly how Carlisle hopes things go in the remaining eight regular season games and the ensuing playoffs. So far, that’s the way things have played out during the Mavs’ three practices in Orlando.

“I love the way he’s practicing, working, competing,” Carlisle said. “He’s the on-court leader of this team, there’s no two ways about it.

“He has the ball and he’s going to be the central focus of a lot of things. It’s a job that he wants to have.”

Doncic is hopeful that the Mavs will be able to move up in the Western Conference standings so they can enhance their chances of advancing deep into the playoffs. Currently, the Mavs are the No. 7 seed, but are only one-and-a-half games behind the Houston Rockets (40-24) and Oklahoma City Thunder (40-24), and two-and-a-half games behind the No. 4-seeded Utah Jazz (41-23) in the Western Conference standings.

By the time the Mavs restart the season on July 31 against the Rockets, over four-and-a-half months will have passed since Dallas defeated the Denver Nuggets, 113-97, on March 11, after which the season was suspended.

“It’s been a long time since we played together,” Doncic said after Sunday’s practice. “Today and yesterday we played just a little bit. We’ve got to practice more. And the chemistry – get it up. It’s going to be good for us to play some games.”

Doncic has been having more than his share of fun under the bubble. That includes showing his soccer skills by kicking in a 40-foot “shot” that hit nothing but net and made the rounds on social media.

“I see a basket, then I shoot it,” he said. “It just comes to mind when I come to the court.”

Doncic also brought his fishing gear to Orlando.

“In the summer I go fishing a lot of times in Croatia,’’ he said. “Almost every day I go out there and fish.”

Has he reeled in anything in Orlando?

“Yeah, some fish,” Doncic said. “Not a crocodile yet. Or an alligator.”

With 22 NBA teams staying at just three hotels in Orlando, Doncic explained that this brought back some fond memories.

“For me it’s like the European championships,” he said. “Every team is in the same hotel – not every one is here (at the Mavs’ hotel).

“But the European championships, you see a lot of players. I’m used to that, and we’re going to be together a lot, so it’s not bad.”

And it’s not bad, from the Mavs’ vantage point, to have a 21-year old superstar who started in the All-Star Game last February in just his second year in the NBA.

“He wants to be that guy,” Carlisle said. “He’s working real hard and playing great too, so after three days I love where he’s at.”

Twitter: @DwainPrice

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