The Mavericks played things close to the vest Wednesday night when it came to offering any medical update on Luka Dončić.
Coach Jason Kidd said there has been improvement, but offered no clue as to whether there was any chance for Dončić to play Friday night in the rematch with the Phoenix Suns.
The superstar point guard suffered a sprained left ankle and knee in the final minute of Monday’s 111-101 win over Denver at American Airlines Center.
“L.D. is getting treatment and we’ll see how he’s doing tomorrow (Thursday),” Kidd said in his pregame chat with reporters.
Kidd also said that Maxi Kleber (strained left oblique) “is progressing. He’s doing better. So we’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”
Kleber has missed eight games since suffering the injury on Halloweeen.
Dončić was able to walk without a noticeable limp on Wednesday. He rode the stationary bike at the shootaround and did some light shooting, but no jumping.
The fact that the Mavericks are treating this as a day-to-day situation rather than coming out quickly and saying an update won’t come later is good news. When Kleber was injured, Kidd said that an update would come in 7-to-10 days.
Jalen Brunson started at point guard, but Kidd said that while nobody can pick up the slack left by an all-NBA first-teamer like Dončić, a team effort would lessen the blow of his absence.
“It’s not just Jalen, we want Jalen to stay in character, be himself, play the game he’s been playing all season,” Kidd said. “He’s started for us so this isn’t something that’s new. When KP (Kristaps Porzingis) was out, Jalen started. Luka’s out, JB’s starting. We’re not asking to do anything more.”
Fishing trip available for Dirk: Dirk Nowitzki has been retired for two-plus seasons now, but his legacy still commands respect.
He was named to the NBA’s 75th anniversary top-75 team and Phoenix coach Monty Williams, who spent many years going against Nowitzki as head coach in New Orleans, said his appreciation for the Mavericks’ icon ha only grown through the years.
“I watched him forever,” Williams said Wednesday. “And then I saw the documentary on him. And that was enough for me. It was authentic and real.
“I went I think the next day and bought a jersey. And I called coach Carlisle and said, you don’t have to do this, but please tell Dirk I have so much respect for him. Just watching all the stories and him kicking my butt over the years with dagger after dagger . . . it used to drive me nuts.”
That’s not all. The story was just getting good.
“And then the very next time we played them, he came up to me after the game,” Williams said. “He didn’t say anything, I didn’t say much, he just came up and shook my hand. And I’m like, that’s my kind of guy because I didn’t know what to say, I didn’t know him. I wasn’t going to start asking about his dog or anything like that, some fake conversation.
“He just walked up to me, shook my hand and I shook his and we kept going. And I thought, that’s a guy I can go fishing with. We can crack open sunflower seeds and just fish.”
From one old-timer to another: Jason Kidd knows a thing or two about playing point guard in the NBA.
And he continues to be impressed with the way Chris Paul is doing the job in his 17th season at age 36.
Paul leads the NBA in assists at 10.2 per game and also in steals at 2.6. He’s tacking on 14.7 points, as well.
“I think it’s great what Chris is doing,” Kidd said. “There probably were whispers in the NBA community that his career was slowing down. But just the competitor he is, he re-evaluated what he had to do to get better. He made those changes and he led the Phoenix Suns to the Western Conference finals and also the Finals, so he’s doing everything at a high level.
“Seventeen years – and I think he’s going to play another 10 the way he’s moving out there . . . I’m a big fan.”
Twitter: @ESefko
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