Jared McCain may be well-loved by TikTok users, but he recently drew backlash from the Dallas Mavericks fanbase. During an interview, the Philadelphia 76ers rookie was asked the famous “start, bench, cut” question. And to make things difficult, McCain was tasked to choose between three elite superstars: Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The 6-foot-3 guard then decided on an answer that riled up Mavs supporters online.
“I'm gonna start SGA,” McCain said. “Dang…and put Ant on the bench. That's crazy, cutting Luka. I'm sorry if you even have TikTok or whatever.”
While McCain did apologize for having to cut last season's scoring leader, it wasn't enough to appease the Dallas faithful, who unleashed their ire on X.
A recap of Luka Doncic's recent playoff victories
The social media users do have a point. During last season's playoffs, Doncic and the Mavericks were able to get the best of both Gilgeous-Alexander and Edwards.
After making it past the opening round, Dallas squared off against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the West semifinals. Game 1 belonged to the Thunder, but the Mavericks were able to steal one on the road and win Game 3 at home. The Thunder were able to tie the series, but it would be their last victory of the season. Doncic and Co. took home Games 5 and 6 to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
In six games against Oklahoma City, Doncic averaged a near-triple double of 24.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and 8.7 assists. While his scoring wasn't as high as people were used to, the continuous 30-point nights eventually returned when the Mavericks took on the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It took just over a week to determine who ran the West. Dallas was able to take a 3-0 lead, and their franchise player was virtually unstoppable. Doncic scored no less than 30 points from Games 1 to 3, putting on a repertoire of offensive moves each night. This was highlighted by his game-winning step-back three on Rudy Gobert during Game 2.
The Timberwolves extended the series by claiming the fourth game, but Doncic's 36-point explosion in Game 5 sealed the deal for the Mavericks. He tallied 32.4 points per game throughout the series, resulting in his first-ever NBA Finals appearance.
Dallas may have ended their campaign without the championship, but things are looking brighter moving forward. The biggest storyline of the Mavericks' offseason revolves around the acquisition of Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson. With more firepower surrounding Doncic, the Dallas fandom has something to smile about in the aftermath of their Finals defeat.
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