Hope springs eternal – Luka Doncic on-court sighting

Luka ditches the scooter and makes his way to the practice court for non-contact action

Mavericks fans received a Grinch-like Christmas present when Luka Doncic injured his left calf in the Christmas day game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The following day, ESPN’s Shams Charania broke news that Doncic left the area on crutches and was due for an MRI.

It was later revealed that Doncic would be out for at least one month before being re-evaluated. We are now 18 days into the countdown to the one-month mark, having been treated to some concerning visuals during that time, namely Luka-on-a-leg-scooter. While such a precaution should be taken with a grain of salt, seeing your team’s superstar putting no weight on his injured calf is always going to generate maximum concern.

While we aren’t yet out of the woods, there are some signs of hope beginning to show. Earlier today, Grant Afseth brought Mavs’ fans some very welcome footage of Doncic, sans scooter, on the Mavs’ practice court. Not only was he there standing on his own two feet, but he was getting up some shots on the court.

This should not be taken as an indication that Luka’s return is imminent, but it is nonetheless a very good sign. The pessimist will immediately notice that Donic is not jumping on these “jump” shots, but the optimist won’t be able to deny this sight for sore eyes. Barring any setbacks, this is really the first big indication of progress.

With just shy of two weeks to go before we hit the one-month mark, perhaps we can allow ourselves just a touch of excitement. Maybe, just maybe, the injury reevaluation set to take place at that time won’t be the very first consideration of a return to action, but rather a reevaluation built on two weeks of steady progress.