With first-time NBA All-Star wing Luka Doncic sidelined for roughly two weeks, it's been up to one-time All-Star power forward Kristaps Porzingis to lead the Dallas Mavericks. This past week marked one year since the 24-year-old Latvian native was traded to the Mavs, and Porzingis is showing how valuable he is on the court with Doncic out with an ankle sprain.
That there has been slight eyebrow-raising with Porzingis playing so well without Doncic is only natural, but either way one of these European stars was going to be the team's leader, whether playing at the same time or not.
Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle dismissed the criticism of Porzingis' best games occurring without the face of the franchise and last year's Rookie of the Year in 20-year-old phenom Doncic (via Callie Caplan in the Dallas Morning News).
“We’ve done this enough now where guys are really getting a feel for how to play with each other when Luka’s out,” Carlisle said, “which is good for when Luka’s out, but we need Luka back.”
“They’ve played enough great basketball together to where I know that they’re great together,” Carlisle said. “Just because one guy’s not getting huge numbers every night — one guy is, one guy isn’t — that doesn’t mean anything. It’s all about winning.”
Porzingis, who missed the entire 2018-19 season with the New York Knicks and later with the Mavs after he was dealt, signed a max contract with the Mavs in the offseason despite not setting foot on the floor yet. In two games with Porzingis healthy and Doncic inactive this week, the seven-footer has put up a pair of 35-plus-point games—both double-doubles.
In reality, it's probably a good sign the Mavs have both of these stars on the team, even if one plays better without the other.
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