Surprise: Doncic could make his Lakers debut on Saturday

The whole basketball nation is waiting for the debut of Luka Doncic with the Lakers.

He could make his debut with the Los Angeles Lakers already this Saturday, coach JJ Redick said Wednesday.

Doncic participated in his first practice with the Lakers since joining the team in a stunning trade with Dallas last weekend. The Slovenian superstar hadn’t played for the Mavericks since he strained his left calf on Christmas Day.

Doncic won’t play when the Lakers open a three-game homestand against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night, but last season’s NBA scoring champion has a good chance to return when the Lakers host the Indiana Pacers on Saturday or the Utah Jazz on Monday night.

“We’re kind of just assessing it day by day,” Redick said. “We hope to have him back within the next few games. We just had noncontact practice today, but we got some good work in for about 45 minutes, and he’ll have a stay-ready game at some point over the next two days. He’ll have some more opportunities to play live basketball, and then we’ll make a decision on Saturday. If it’s not Saturday, hopefully it’s Monday. (But) those decisions will be made on Saturday.”

The NBA’s broadcasters were paying attention: Shortly after Redick spoke, ESPN announced it would televise the Pacers-Lakers game on Saturday, bumping a Jazz-Suns game.

Doncic watched from the bench at Intuit Dome on Tuesday night while LeBron James led a 122-97 blowout of the Clippers for the Lakers’ ninth victory in 11 games.

James is still coming to grips with the trade of Anthony Davis, his close friend and teammate for 5 1/2 years, but already sounded excited about forming a new partnership with Doncic, his self-described favorite NBA player.

Doncic participated in 5-on-5 work in his first Lakers practice. He ended the workout on the court chatting with Redick, James, assistant coach Scott Brooks and forward Dorian Finney-Smith, who was Doncic’s teammate in Dallas for 4 1/2 seasons. Finney-Smith joined the Lakers shortly after Christmas in a trade with Brooklyn.

“Even though I don’t like the way things went down — I feel like he definitely should have got that money — but I’m happy he’s on my side now,” Finney-Smith said.

Finney-Smith also laughed at the Mavs’ reported concerns about Doncic’s conditioning and weight.

“I know him, (and) he wants to play the whole game,” Finney-Smith said. “I think like he played 40 minutes every game last playoffs. That’s one thing about LD. He wants to play. I don’t really look at the noise. I look at his production. If I’m putting up those kinds of numbers, maybe I should be 270 (pounds).”

Whenever Doncic gets back on the court, Redick doesn’t think he will have many problems adjusting to playing alongside James in the Lakers’ schemes on both ends.

“The biggest learning curve is just the language,” Redick said. “He knows basketball. He knows it at a high level. We use a lot of the concepts that he used in Dallas, which a lot of teams use. We haven’t reinvented the wheel or anything. We are trending in the direction of playing really intelligent offensive basketball, and then you add in Luka, who’s a supercomputer on the court, who can see everything and has seen every coverage, every defense, it adds another layer for sure.”

What is Luka’s injury?

Doncic strained his left calf late in the second quarter of the Mavericks’ loss to Minnesota. The injury was serious enough to leave Doncic stuck downcourt while play went on without him before he limped to the locker room.

Doncic missed the Mavs’ next 19 games — and he had been back in Dallas’ lineup for only two games before his latest injury. He had missed the Mavs’ previous two games with a bruised left heel. Doncic has played in 70 games in a season just once since his rookie year in 2018-19.

When should fans expect Luka to play?

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said Doncic will participate in 5-on-5 practice drills Wednesday. After that workout, the Lakers will work with Doncic’s personal training team to formulate a return plan.

Both Doncic and the Lakers seem certain he’ll be in uniform soon, hinting it could be before the Lakers finish their current stretch of four games in Los Angeles over the next seven days.

But Doncic said he has been trying to treat this injury seriously after he routinely played through minor past injuries, sometimes to his detriment.

“For the first time, I took my time (to) get it to heal 100%,” Doncic said of his return. “Other times, I think I just wanted to go back to the court playing basketball, and I really (wouldn’t) be healthy 100%. This time I just took my time, which was the normal amount of time to get back to 100%.”

The Lakers have time to do things right, since there are still 34 games left in the regular season after they visit the Clippers on Tuesday night.

“We’re going to take it one day at a time just to make sure that the calf injury is in a good and safe place,” Pelinka said. “I would truly say at this point that he’s day to day. We’re going to take it one step at a time, but if (everything) goes well and Luca feels good and confident, he’ll be in a game soon.”

What will the Lakers look like with Luka?

Their new superstar is almost certain to start alongside versatile Austin Reaves in the backcourt. He would take the spot recently held by Max Christie, the young 3-and-D wing traded alongside Davis to the Mavericks.

Christie moved into the Lakers’ starting lineup on Dec. 8. Los Angeles hasn’t made extensive use of a traditional point guard since trading D’Angelo Russell on Dec. 29, although veteran Gabe Vincent is usually in the rotation.

James and Reaves initiate much of the Lakers’ offense, but Doncic clearly will have the ball in his hands constantly. Contrary to some pundits’ opinions, that should be quite pleasing to James, who has voiced his desire to play off-ball more this season.

The most obvious place to put James and Doncic together is in pick-and-roll sets. JJ Redick, who played alongside Doncic in Dallas, is undoubtedly salivating at the prospect of scheming plays for these two supreme playmakers and creative scorers.

As for the Lakers’ defense? Without Davis protecting the rim, they’ll take an enormous step backward. It isn’t tough to imagine James and Doncic simply trying to outscore most teams — and this duo will often have the talent to do it.