NBA Abu Dhabi Games: Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving hope to find their groove for Dallas

After an admittedly “horrible” season for the Dallas Mavericks, the team’s two big stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are keen to make a statement during this new NBA campaign and prove they can be the deadly combo everyone expects them to be.

The Mavericks made a move for Irving mid last season, in February, and his arrival at American Airlines Centre from Brooklyn was meant to help a team that heavily relied on Doncic.

Striking up a successful partnership on the fly proved difficult and Dallas went 5-11 in the 16 games the duo played together before missing out on the play-offs, and the play-in tournament altogether.

“Last year was horrible, we didn’t make the play-offs. So there is for sure something that we need to prove and we are all motivated by that,” Doncic said on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, ahead of the Mavericks’ upcoming two pre-season games against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Etihad Arena.

The world is excited to see how two powerhouses like Doncic and Irving can combine on the floor and the latter concedes it is a challenge, but one he is capable of tackling.

With the added benefit of having a full training camp and pre-season together, Irving feels “at peace” entering the new season, and has been enjoying his time in Abu Dhabi so far, going camel-riding and dining in the desert with his teammates.

“I’ll tell you it’s so much more peaceful when you start from day one and you could honestly set your expectations of where you want them to be,” said Irving.

“Just use training camp to grow with the teammates, grow with the coaches. When you’re in international waters you kind of have no choice but to connect and get to know each other in a deeper way. I’m just grateful for that opportunity. Dallas showed me