New Luka Doncic report spoils Mavericks' chance for dream showdown

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic will make his preseason debut tonight against the Phoenix Suns, and this may quietly wreck the Dallas Mavericks' chance to play against him on Wednesday.

Dallas and Los Angeles will play against each other on Wednesday night in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena in a highly anticipated preseason showdown ahead of the regular season beginning next week, but Doncic playing against the Suns likely decreases his chance of playing in a back-to-back against the Mavs one day later.

Mavericks fans were excited to have the chance to see Doncic play against Cooper Flagg, as this would be a heavyweight throwdown between the old face of Dallas basketball and the new face, but fans may have to wait until their NBA Cup game on November 28 for this. The Mavs and Lakers drawing the same NBA Cup group is bound to lead to a great game, but fans didn't want to wait this long to see Flagg and Doncic battle it out.

Luka Doncic playing tonight could lead to him resting against Dallas

The October 15 preseason game against Doncic and the Lakers has been circled on Mavericks fans' calendars for months, and even though this game will still be packed with excitement since Flagg and Anthony Davis will likely be playing, it won't pack the same punch that it would have if Doncic was playing.

Mavericks fans still have a sour taste in their mouths from Doncic's unbelievable 45-point masterclass homecoming game against Dallas at the American Airlines Center on April 9 of last season, and getting to see how Flagg stacks up to the former Mavericks legend would've been must-see television. Mavericks fans will always respect Doncic and everything that he brought to the organization and the city of Dallas, but tomorrow night's game would've given the Mavs the chance to snap back after how rough the April 9 game went.

Diehard NBA fans were on the edge of their seats to see Doncic play against his former team on national TV, even though it's just a preseason game, as this was set to be the world's second chance to see how much Doncic's summer paid off.

Doncic was in the spotlight all offseason long for his intense training regimen and cut frame, and seeing how he fared against Dallas and Flagg would serve as the perfect final preseason game to get fans excited for the regular season.

This isn't to say that Doncic certainly won't play tomorrow, but it seems far more likely that JJ Redick will have him rest rather than play in a meaningless game. The Lakers have rested him all of preseason up until tonight after he spent a long summer of playing for Slovenia at EuroBasket, and this rest could continue until the regular season after tonight's game against the Suns.

Mavericks fans may get blessed with at least getting to see some of Doncic vs. Flagg tomorrow night, but the fact that the Lakers enter this game coming off a back-to-back doesn't fare well for that.