After the Dallas Mavericks' brutal 136-119 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday, the workload on the starters was a major talking point. After all, Luka Doncic and the rest of the Mavs were just a day removed from playing for 50 minutes against the Los Angeles Lakers.
When asked about whether or not he's exhausted heading to the Portland showdown, however, Doncic bluntly answered “No.” He also refused to use the lack of rest as an excuse, emphasizing that they got a one-day rest after the Lakers game anyway.
“No, that can’t be an excuse,” Doncic said about their heavy workload after a double-overtime game last Thursday, per Brad Townsend of Dallas Morning News. “We had one day to rest; we’ve got to be ready to go play the next game. I don’t think that was the case.”
Luka Doncic also emphasized that it's their poor defense that doomed the Mavs against the Blazers. Portland made 49 of their 88 shot attempts, including 17-of-41 from deep. Damian Lillard and co. ad their way on the offense, allowing them to build a comfortable lead early on.
Doncic took time to speak after a difficult loss, stressed that Mavs played poor defense. When I asked whether he was tired, he pointed out that Mavs had a day after LA game to rest. pic.twitter.com/ADzIYgP76U
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) January 15, 2023
For what it's worth, though, the talks about the Mavs being tired are warranted. For one, Luka Doncic himself struggled to make his shots and looked out of sorts as he finished with an uncharacteristic stat line of 15 points, six rebounds and 10 assists.
Doncic was 0-of-5 from deep and 1-of-6 from the free throw line. Clearly, they could have used some more rest and help in the game.
The Mavs play the Blazers again on Sunday, so unfortunately, they aren't getting the rest they need.
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