Mavericks’ upgrades may boost Doncic
The young star has already shattered NBA records. In only two seasons, Luka Doncic has already become an international icon.
But at 21 years old, Doncic has just started filling out his resume. Therefore, Doncic enters his third season with the Mavericks with enough self awareness that NBA stars are soon expected to add another layer of greatness in hopes they can start delivering some hardware.
“Every year I want to be better,” Doncic said Tuesday following Dallas’ voluntary workouts. “That’s the goal for me.
“I also want to win the championship. That’s the goal we entered last year. And that’s the goal we’re going to enter this year.”
Can the Mavericks reach that goal? Possibly.
But consider that Dallas coach Rick Carlisle announced that All-Star forward Kristaps Porzingis will stay sidelined until at least January after having offseason surgery to repair a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee. The Mavericks have bolstered their defensive potential with key retentions (Trey Burke, Dwight Powell, Jalen Brunson), draft selections (Josh Green) and offseason signings (Josh Richardson, James Johnson, Wesley Iwundu).
Yet the Lakers, Clippers, Trail Blazers and Nuggets are potential Western Conference threats because of their star talent and depth.
As to whether Doncic can reach his goal, however, to improve his own play? It seems inevitable.
After winning the NBA Rookie of the Year award two years ago, Doncic has already prompted Carlisle to compare him to a Hall of Fame scorer (Larry Bird) and a Hall of Fame point guard (Jason Kidd). Doncic also made dramatic shots from any distance during his second season, including a game-winning 3-pointer in Game 4 of the Mavs’ first-round playoff series against the Clippers.
Because of those qualities, Carlisle
argued that Doncic and Lakers star LeBron James are among the few players who can almost do anything they want on the court.
“His game continues to be more and more refined each year in all areas,” Carlisle said of Doncic. “He’s a special player, a special person and a special leader on our team. I don’t know exactly what it’s going to be. But I do think you’re going to see continued development and continued growth.”
Despite Carlisle’s apparent uncertainty, a few clues have emerged on how Doncic will continue to make the Mavericks grateful for selecting him with the No. 3 pick in the 2019 draft. Even if it required trading their No. 5 selection and a 2019 protected first-round pick to the Hawks, which they used to select AllStar guard Trae Young.
After shooting only 31.6% from 3point range last season, Doncic said he
spent lots of his offseason completing various shooting drills “from all over the place.” Despite that routine, Doncic still focused on perfecting the rest of his game.
That mindset explains how he accelerated his development by first playing for Real Madrid, the Slovenian national team and in the Euroleague. It also explains why Doncic improved in almost every statistical category from his rookie season, including points (21.2 to 28.8), shooting percentage (42.7% to 46.3%), free throw shooting (71.3% to 75.8%), rebounds (7.8 to 9.4) and assists (6.0 to 8.8).
“Until you’re the best at something,” Doncic said, “you always got to work on it.”
Yet Doncic’s ongoing emergence does not just depend on his talent and work ethic.
After all, Doncic showed during the playoffs that he could handle the pressure, compensate for Porzingis’ absence and play through his left ankle injury. Although Doncic struggled remembering the details surrounding his playoff game-winner, he pulled that off because of his superb confidence, footwork and shooting mechanics.
Nonetheless, Doncic performed these feats while facing physically relenting defenses. Clippers forward Marcus Morris Sr. pushed Doncic in Game 1, planted his foot near Doncic’s left ankle in Game 5 and hit him above the shoulders in Game 6.
Therefore, the Mavericks spent this offseason adding capable defenders and enforcers to protect Doncic.
“He’s one of the best playmakers to play in the NBA,” Richardson said of Doncic. “He has a really high gravity on the court. He’s going to need guys take pressure off of him. I think I can take some of the defensive pressure off of him.”
Granted, Doncic never shied away from the contact. He stood up for himself when opponents played dirty.
Carlisle also lauded Doncic for his defense on all five positions.
Nonetheless, Doncic won’t have to expend as much energy defending himself against opponents. He also can still charge hard to the basket as he often does without fear that it will result in a few bruises.
Because of that, the Mavs have taken one step closer toward mirroring the 2011 NBA title team that featured a handful of capable defenders, including Kidd, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, Tyson Chandler and DeShawn Stevenson.
“When you establish that you’re a galactically successful offensive team but below average defensively, that’s not going to win you a championship,” Carlisle said. “I don’t believe there has ever been a team that won a title in the NBA that hasn’t been a good defensive team.”
And there hasn’t been a team that has won an NBA title without a definitive star. As Carlisle said, “the identity of this team is really going to be a reflection of Luka.”
Thankfully for the Mavs, Doncic’s reflection will only keep shining brighter and brighter.