Since Christmas, the Dallas Mavericks have been without their guiding light: guard Luka Doncic. Doncic strained his calf that day during the Mavericks' 105–99 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Without him,

Dallas has 11 games before the All-Star break, including Saturday night's NBA Finals rematch against the Boston Celtics on WFAA. Seven of those 11 games are against teams with a .500 record or better, so the sooner Doncic is able to come back, the better.

Exactly one month removed from the left calf strain Luka Dončić sustained on Christmas Day, I’m told there is optimism in Dallas about Dončić making his return to the