The Dallas Mavericks have a lot of fun at the beginning of the preseason, which is mainly due to Luka Doncic and Maxi Kleber. Meanwhile Kawhi Leonard makes a successful debut for the Toronto Raptors, the Minnesota Timberwolves ignore the Jimmy Butler theme and win at the Golden State Warriors.
Of course, it was clear which player had the most eyes on in this game: Kawhi Leonard hadn’t played a game since January, and he was in the Raptors jersey for the first time after being traded by the Spurs to Toronto last summer. The claw should then be quite satisfied with the results of his opening. Although his throw didn’t want to fall (0/4 3FG), he moved well and came to 12 points (3/4 2FG) as well as 3 assists in the clear victory of the Canadians.
It was also interesting at Toronto that Jonas Valanciunas came from the bank, the center was also top scorer with 17 points in 19 minutes. Serge Ibaka was the nominal starting center and Leonard played alongside Kyle Lowry (15 points), Danny Green and C.J. Miles de facto as power forward. In this game it worked quite well both offensively and defensively.
The guests from Portland did not get offensively after a good first quarter with 33 points all too good rhythm any more. The top scorer was Meyers Leonard with 14 points from the bench, the star guards Damian Lillard (12) and C.J. McCollum (9), however, also only ran up twelve minutes each.
The result against overburdened visitors from China is to be excluded, nevertheless the Mavericks might be highly content with this prelude into their Preseason – because Luka Doncic showed directly in the first play, why Dallas had decided by Trade in the draft for him. The Slovenian showed most of his skills and acted mainly as a point forward, who amazed the fans with his passes, his ball handling and also his scoring (16 points, 5/7 FG) several times.
“It was great to be out there”, Doncic was happy about the successful debut afterwards. “It’s been a while since I’ve been able to play, so now I’m all the happier. You’re always a little nervous before the first game, especially with a new team. I think it went well.”
Also the Mavs-Rookies of the last season could distinguish themselves in the meantime. Dennis Smith, just like Doncic, scored 16 points, Maxi Kleber also played a good game from the bench. The German used his 18 minutes playing time to 15 points (5/6 FG, 3/3 3FG), 8 rebounds and 2 assists. As expected, Dirk Nowitzki was not yet available to the Mavs again.
In the Ducks, NBA veteran Justin Hamilton was the most conspicuous player with 29 points and 13 rebounds.
Page 1: Doncic and Glue Shine for Dallas, Kawhi Debuts
Page 2: Timberwolves beat Golden State without Butler