Each Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks as an entire have been a bit underwhelming coming off their Cinderella run to the 2024 NBA Finals. Doncic has struggled with inefficiency, taking pictures simply 42.9% from the sphere and 32.1% from deep, and maybe unsurprisingly in consequence, the Mavs are simply 5-7 total this season.
Nevertheless, it’s honest to say the seventh loss on that file may be essentially the most embarrassing but for each the Mavericks, and extra particularly for Doncic. As a result of with an opportunity to maneuver to .500 in opposition to the woeful, now 3-8 Jazz, the Mavs handed Utah possibly the simplest game-winning basket you’ll see this season, if not ever, resulting from 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 referred to as 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 would possibly 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 assumed 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 accountability when requested about his workforce’s struggles to shut out video games basically:
Luka Dončić on what’s triggered the Mavericks’ fourth consecutive single-possession loss: “If I’d know, we would not be, proper? So I would not know.”
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) November 15, 2024
Looks as if it may be standing round on protection, dude, however what do I do know?
It’s all been a part of the identical pattern of normal unseriousness for these Mavericks this season, and whereas it might begin with their star and chief, our personal Kirk Henderson made it clear over at Mavs Moneyball that a lot of these lapses aren’t restricted to only Luka.
From their recap of the 115-113 loss:
It’s inexcusable, but additionally shockingly frequent from these Mavericks. Luka will make headlines along with his boneheaded play and his persistently atrocious physique language, however the Mavericks performed like a workforce out of types for the eleventh time in 12 video games. They solely appeared awake and coherent in opposition to a reeling Orlando workforce. Each different sport has featured an abundance of psychological lapses and uninspiring play and each fan that tunes in to look at this could demand extra.
And sooner or later, 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.
