The shooting guard for the Dallas Mavericks, Luka Doncićhas recovered its best version. If at some point it ceased to be excellent. With absolute authority and some numbers that catapult him as the fittest player in the NBAthe former Real Madrid player has led Jason Kidd’s men to the play-off and It could be the first time since they landed that they have done so with home field advantage.
The Slovenian, who has had two stellar seasons with the Texas franchise and He is on his way to being one of the most historic players in the American competitionhas averaged 33.6 points in the last three games against the Jazz, Lakers and Cavaliers. In addition to an average of 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Three key victories to consolidate at the top of the table after the almighty Suns and Ja Morant’s brazen Grizzlies.
Forgotten the injury that kept him off the slopes throughout the month of December, Doncic has assumed all the prominence of a board where Kristaps Porzingis is no longer: His averages this season exceed those of his first two seasons. In this 2021/22 he has signed 1.8 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists more per game and he has also raised the accuracy of his three-point shooting percentage: it has grown from 33.6% to 35.1%.
An insatiable scoring pace
Beyond the incidence and direct and indirect determination in the victories of his team (48-29 of the team and 40-20 with him on the track), the shooting guard has signed 41 double-doubles in 60 appearances this course and a total of 10 triple-doubles. It is significant that on five occasions it remained between 40 and 49 points and on one it exceeded them: against the Clippers, in a victory that marked a before and after in the season and that definitively catapulted the Mavs as one of the best teams in the Western Conference.
The Balkan does not know what it is to sign a single figure score, since he always managed 10 points or more: 10-19 (7), 20-29 (29), 30-39 (18), 40-49 (5), and +50 (1). The three-time All-Star and Rookie of the Year (2019) remains as the fourth-best average scorer of the season with a total of 28.1 points, just behind LeBron James (30.1), Antetokounmpo (29.9) and Joel Embiid (29.9).
Time to get excited?
Doncic recognized after the victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers that his team has improved especially defensively and the propitious context in the table of the Western Conference, where is ahead of superlative teams like Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz or Los Angeles Clippersinvite us to be optimistic about the play-offs that will be played from April 16.
The Slovenian was clear in his speech: “This year we are obviously better at a defensive level and I have a lot of confidence going into the playoffs, regardless of the rival that touches us. Hopefully we will get home court advantage, but with all the confidence we are going to play every game and try to win”. “Many times in many plays they want to double us and we are doing better and better in each game (with the passes). It is what we have to continue doing every day”, he sentenced.
Repeat the success of 2006 and 2011
The Texas County Conference has built a competitive team around the figure of Doncic as happened in the past with Notwizki with a single objective: to be back in the fight for the ring as it happened in the editions of 2006 (runner-up) and 2011 (champion). Since then, the Mavs have never passed the first round (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020 and 2021).
Gone is a complex future: Despite not qualifying in 2013, 2017, 2018 and 2019, the Mavs have been a regular with the arrival of the 21st century and their growth as a franchise has been exponential. Between 1990 and 2000, the Texans did not appear in the first eight positions of the table and lived, without a doubt, their darkest period since their founding in the 80s.