One of the biggest criticisms of Luka Doncic's game is his isolation-heavy playstyle. Much like LeBron James' teams before, the Dallas Mavericks run their offense mostly through the star. That often leads to Doncic hoisting up step-back threes or finding his open teammates off of pick-and-roll actions. For some, though, this style of play is detrimental to the team. Some have said that Doncic does not trust his teammates enough.
The ending of the Mavs' loss to the Raptors on Saturday night validated every Luka Doncic fan defending their star. Toronto made a conscious effort to double Doncic as much as possible, forcing Dallas to play 4-versus-3 scenarios. Despite the man advantage, the rest of the supporting cast couldn't consistently punish the defense.
This was never more apparent in the final play of the game. With Toronto up by three, they elected to double Luka Doncic again on the pick-and-roll. This time, the Mavs star found Maxi on the short roll. It should've been either an easy two or an open three for Dorian-Finney Smith from the corner. Instead, this happened.
He trusted his teammates. pic.twitter.com/vs20vB8jeK
— Panda Hank (@pandahank41) November 27, 2022
That was arguably the worst way to end the possession. Kleber looked lost on the short roll pass from Doncic, not knowing whether to pass or to attack. In a perfect world, the Mavs should've gotten a clean look for DFS in the corner. Instead, Kleber, Finney-Smith, and Reggie Bullock played hot potato with the ball, eventually leading to a turnover.
Naturally, the Mavs' supporting cast was roasted by Twitter for this atrocious possession.
That possession should be played on loop for the people that say Luka should trust his teammates more
— B-L-M, Anthony is a bully (@advancedstats23) November 27, 2022
Just not enough court awareness. And this was out of a timeout! https://t.co/XYa7ZcDag6
— Kirk Henderson (@KirkSeriousFace) November 27, 2022
That possession should be played on loop for the people that say Luka should trust his teammates more
— B-L-M, Anthony is a bully (@advancedstats23) November 27, 2022
re-watching the final possession, and maxi rolling toward the lane just sticks out like a sore thumb. if he stays behind the three point line, luka can swing it to him and he either has an open three, or you're two passes away from dorian in the corner against a rotating defense pic.twitter.com/va9fwwlU99
— Josh Bowe (@Boweman55) November 27, 2022
Gif of Luka down there in the corner 🙃 pic.twitter.com/dWX4l90wly
— pepe silvia 🦖🎶 (@rexpostfacto) November 27, 2022
Yikes. We'll see how this Mavs team responds to this loss when they play the Milwaukee Bucks later tonight. Based on this stat, though… it seems like Luka Doncic will need to go for 25 or more against the stifling Milwaukee D.
Mavs are winless when Luka doesn’t score 25 points this season.
0-4. pic.twitter.com/3Lnbmsxhmy
— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 27, 2022
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