Each Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks as a complete have been a bit underwhelming coming off their Cinderella run to the 2024 NBA Finals. Doncic has struggled with inefficiency, capturing simply 42.9% from the sector and 32.1% from deep, and maybe unsurprisingly because of this, the Mavs are simply 5-7 total this season.
Nevertheless, it’s honest to say the seventh loss on that document is perhaps probably the most embarrassing but for each the Mavericks, and extra particularly for Doncic. As a result of with an opportunity to maneuver to .500 towards the woeful, now 3-8 Jazz, the Mavs handed Utah perhaps the simplest game-winning basket you’ll see this season, if not ever, attributable to Luka simply… standing round, doing no matter he’s doing right here:
After a missed Naji Marshall three on the opposite finish, that simple dunk would show to be the sport’s deciding basket. And whereas Doncic has by no means been often called a lockdown defender… come on. That is simply an embarrassing lack of focus from any participant, even a famous person who has to hold as a lot of a load offensively as Doncic does.
And as you may count on, habits that torpid aren’t simply restricted to crunch time for Luka — there was additionally this possession earlier in the identical sport:
To his credit score, Luka took some accountability for the lapse after the loss…
Luka Dončić takes the blame for the defensive breakdown that led to John Collins’ go-ahead dunk: “It was a misunderstanding. I believed I used to be going to go hit, and Grimes thought he was going to go hit. And it was a lob, so we misunderstood the bench. That is on me.”
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) November 15, 2024
…however didn’t precisely exude a way of duty when requested about his crew’s struggles to shut out video games usually:
Luka Dončić on what’s prompted the Mavericks’ fourth consecutive single-possession loss: “If I might know, we would not be, proper? So I would not know.”
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) November 15, 2024
Looks as if it is perhaps standing round on protection, dude, however what do I do know?
It’s all been a part of the identical development of normal unseriousness for these Mavericks this season, and whereas it could begin with their star and chief, our personal Kirk Henderson made it clear over at Mavs Moneyball that these kinds of lapses aren’t restricted to only Luka.
From their recap of the 115-113 loss:
It’s inexcusable, but in addition shockingly widespread from these Mavericks. Luka will make headlines together with his boneheaded play and his constantly atrocious physique language, however the Mavericks performed like a crew out of kinds for the eleventh time in 12 video games. They solely appeared awake and coherent towards a reeling Orlando crew. Each different sport has featured an abundance of psychological lapses and uninspiring play and each fan that tunes in to observe this could demand extra.
And in some unspecified time in the future, irrespective of how a lot they’re asking Luka to do offensively, you’d count on the Mavericks to demand a bit extra from him, too.
