West Notes: Mavs, Luka Doncic, Grizzlies, Pelicans, Zion Williamson

Mavericks

Guard Luka Doncic was limited to five minutes in the preseason loss to Real Madrid, as the Mavs wanted to be extra cautious with his left calf strain. 

Doncic told reporters the injury was “nothing serious.” The fact he scored nine points in his limited time makes that statement fairly believable.

• Doncic played for Real Madrid five years ago and made it clear he would not be against returning to the Spanish power someday. “If I do come back, it would be to play for Madrid, for sure,” he said.

Grizzlies

Former Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said he believes the team will survive just fine while point guard Ja Morant serves his 25-game suspension.

“One of the strengths for the Grizzlies over these last few years has been their depth, that next man up,” Hollins said, via Jonah Dylan of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “And they missed players at different times and they still kept rolling, they still had a good record. So I think that they’ll handle the challenges.”

• Power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. and shooting guard Desmond Bane showed they can be the Grizzlies’ new dynamic duo in a preseason win over the Bucks, wrote Damichael Cole of the Commercial Appeal.

Pelicans

Power forward Zion Williamson took the court to score 12 points in a preseason loss to the Magic. But the fact Williamson was healthy and played was a win for the Pelicans.

“You can condition. You can lift. You can do a ton of cardio,” coach Willie Green said, via Christian Clark of NOLA.com. “But the best basketball shape is to play basketball.”

Green added he thought Williamson did a nice job overall.

“He looked good,” Green said. “He does what he does. He gets on the floor. He creates contact. His gravity creates open looks. Like I said, I thought the first half looked pretty solid for us.”