As Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks are facing off against the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 7-game series, a recent anonymous report came out that questions Doncic’s leadership abilities. To the few who may not know, Luka is the franchise star for the Mavericks and is the biggest reason that the team has established itself as a postseason contender in recent times.
Although Doncic is one of the best players in the league and a frontrunner to win the MVP award this season, he has also been subject to quite a lot of criticism. While the official who was the source of the report has not made his identity clear, a closer look at his thoughts on Luka may interest fans.
An assistant coach believes that the Mavericks feel relieved when Luka Doncic is not on the court
An unnamed assistant coach from any possible team in the league recently sent out a report indicating that the members of the Dallas Mavericks feel relieved when Luka Doncic temporarily exits the game and goes to the bench. This implies that there are some aspects or traits about Doncic that his teammates do not find appealing.
“It’s a sense of, ‘Hey, now we get to play.’ It’s difficult to have any rhythm if you’re not touching the ball.”
An anonymous veteran assistant coach, says you can almost sense a “sigh of relief” among Luka Doncic’s teammates when he checks out of a game
“It’s a sense of, ‘Hey, now we get to play.’ It’s difficult to have any rhythm if you’re not touching the ball.”
(Via… pic.twitter.com/KHpAEvBIcS
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 9, 2024
While Luka is certainly the best player on his team, there is no denying that his high usage rate prevents others from his squad from getting into a sense of momentum. However, it is also important to keep in mind that Luka is also known to facilitate teammates and is a capable playmaker when he is not scoring.
Therefore, it would be unfair to claim that the Mavs are unable to play when he is not on the court. If this report is to be taken as legitimate, the members of the Mavericks should ask themselves where they would be if they did not have Luka on their team.
Where would the Dallas Mavericks be without Luka Doncic on their roster?
It is quite difficult to create a hypothetical world in which Luka was not on the Dallas Mavericks. Be that as it may, it would be easy to claim that they would be a play-in team at best if Luka never joined the Mavericks. Even if the team had Trae Young, it is highly unlikely for them to have done as well in a more competitive Western Conference.