Mavs' Josh Green Ready for 'Fun' Luka Doncic FIBA Matchup
OKINAWA, Japan — The Dallas Mavericks will be well represented in the second round of group play at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Luka Doncic's Slovenia squad will face Josh Green and Dante Exum in a matchup against Australia on Friday.
"Obviously, Luka is an amazing player," Green said of facing Doncic. "I like playing with him, but at the same time, we are both competitive players, and both of us will be ready to go and compete against each other in the next game."
Green was moved into the starting lineup for Australia's 80-64 win over Japan. The team had originally planned for him to start before during the preparation process caused a temporary change for the team's first two World Cup matches.
In his first World Cup start, Green is coming off his best performance, recording 15 points, three rebounds, one assist, and four steals in 21 minutes. He was tenacious as an on-ball defender, while taking advantages of chances to attack in a complementary offensive role.
The matchup involving Doncic and Green is particularly intriguing considering the two have been teammates since 2020. Green is relied upon to be the team's top on-ball defender and will surely require him to check Doncic.
"Of course, it's always fun playing against competitive guys. It's going to be good," Green said. "I watch every game here [in Okinawa]. I think he worked on his body a lot, he's looking good, but I can't give you a full breakdown, we have a game [coming up]. He's an amazing player, I'm lucky enough to go against him in practice most days. Looking forward to it, should be fun."
"He's one of the best players in the world, so we will definitely have a lot of work with him," Green explained. "Coaches will come with the gameplan that I'm gonna follow, and I'll do what I can do."
FIBA
Before Slovenia lost 107-93 to Australia at the Tokyo Olympic Games, Doncic and Green made a bet that required the loser to arrive to a Mavs home-game wearing the rival's national team jersey. The two haven't established a new bet yet, but the focus remains on following the game plan to continue to win.
"I haven't come up with a bet yet, so that's still there," Green said. "At the end of the day, both of us are competitive. We're ready to go. No matter really who it is, we know who Luka is and you know how good of a player is, but at the end of the day, we're going to do our work and make sure that we do our film and we're going to follow the game plan.
"Obviously, there is history, but at the end of the day, that's in the past," Green explained. "It's about what's going to happen on Friday and I think we'll be ready to go."
While Australia achieved the victory against Slovenia in the previous match involving both teams, Green made clear that he expects Slovenia to come highly prepared.
"It's a new year. Obviously, they'll be ready to play, and we are going to be ready, too," Green said. "It's a competitive game and a competitive atmosphere. I don't expect anything less, but at the end of the day, it's in the past [the Olympics game]."
