Mavericks finally provide Luka Doncic injury update with 1 week until season opener

The start of the NBA regular season for the Dallas Mavericks is just over a week away, and excitement is in the air around the DFW metroplex.

Dallas has already had two home preseason games over the last week and a half or so, and fans have gotten to get a sneak peek of what this year's team is going to look like playing together. Klay Thompson had a great debut, Dereck Lively II looks like he has taken the next step in his development, and Kyrie Irving shook away any worry about his hand injury from the summer, but fans still haven't gotten to see Luka Doncic take the floor yet.

Doncic suffered a calf contusion right before the start of training camp, and despite participating for part of the first day of camp, he has been out ever since. Calf injuries haven't been the kindest to Doncic in the past, but it sounds like this injury won't be holding Doncic down for much longer.

Luka Doncic trending towards return for Mavericks' season opener

After practice on Wednesday, Jason Kidd said that Doncic went through a full practice, and that should mean that he is well on his way to playing in Dallas' season opener next Thursday night against the San Antonio Spurs.

Even though Kidd said that Doncic probably won't play in the Mavs' preseason finale against the Milwaukee Bucks tomorrow, this is an extremely positive update. The updates on Doncic's injury from Kidd and the Mavs have been limited over the last two weeks or so, and him going through a full practice is a great sign of his availability for the regular season opener.

There didn't seem to be much concern from Kidd and the Mavs to begin with when it came to Doncic's availability for the season opener, but him being able to go through a full practice shows where his progress is at when it comes to recovery.

The Mavs are obviously a completely different team when he is on the floor, and it would have been tough to start the season without him. Dallas' success highly depends on Doncic's health and availability, and with so many new faces around, it would be ideal for him to be ready to go right when the season tips off.

Players like Lively II and Thompson's offensive firepower will be highly elevated with Doncic on the floor, and Doncic's return to the lineup should help Thompson bounce back from his rough shooting night against the LA Clippers earlier this week. Doncic is going to create plenty of open looks for Thompson when they are sharing the floor together, and the duo seems fired up to play with one another this season.

While we'll have to wait for an official report from Dallas next week when it comes to Doncic's availability for opening night, it seems like the limitations from his calf contusion are a thing of the past and he should be suited up and ready to play at the American Airlines Center on October 24.