Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic is unhappy with his team's lack of effort on the glass in their 115-138 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on Christmas Day. While the reigning champions pretty much dominated the Mavs in all aspects on Friday, it was the glaring disparity in the rebounding department that irked the Slovenian guard.
Post-game, Luka had this to say, per ESPN's Tim McMahon:
“It's everything about mentality and toughness. It's got to be mental. If somebody's rebounding like that, you've just got to box them out no matter what.”
As a team, the Mavericks only corralled 27 boards all night, as opposed to the Lakers' 53-rebound haul. Dallas' frontline failed to give the team second-chance opportunities, as they got murdered on the offensive glass, 17-3. Luka Doncic himself put up a valiant effort of 27 points, seven assists, and four rebounds that ended up for naught.
No Mavericks player had double-digit rebounds, as Maxi Kleber led the team with five boards. The Lakers, on the other hand, were anchored by Marc Gasol and Anthony Davis who had nine and eight rebounds, respectively. Montrezl Harrell also came off the bench and collected seven rebounds. Dallas now falls to 0-2 in the season while the Lakers notched their first win after dropping their opener.
It's apparent the Mavs are sorely missing the services of injured center Kristaps Porzingis, who led the team in rebounds last season at 9.5 a game. They also failed to sign a coveted center in the offseason and settled on re-signing Willie Cauley-Stein. The 7-foot center was a rebounding letdown against the Purple and Gold, grabbing just two boards in 14 minutes.
Dallas returns to action on Tuesday where they'll face another strong rebounding team, the Los Angeles Clippers.
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