Dallas Mavericks phenom Luka Doncic has been frustrated with the way he's been officiated lately. The Mavs star is getting to the line 9.2 times per season in his second year in the league, but even that isn't enough in the eyes of head coach Rick Carlisle.
Carlisle has talked to the NBA how Doncic is being officiated, and the Mavs coach just wants things to be fair:
“The officials aren’t trying to miss stuff,” said Carlisle after Doncic struggled in a 109-91 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, according to Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News, “so we want the calls to be accurate going both ways. That’s the way I would like it.”
Doncic has made a sizable jump from Rookie of the Year to MVP candidate, and defenses are now giving him such respect, putting their best defender on him and ensuring he doesn't get off to a fast start.
While he's putting up a near-triple-double of 29.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 9.0 assists per game, he has also been a turnover machine, averaging 4.3 per game on the year. Rick Carlisle has acknowledged on multiple occasions how physical opponents are being with the Mavs youngster:
“He’s going through a lot this year … some phenomenal performances and other nights where people have taken some physical liberties on him and beaten the [expletive] out of him,” Carlisle said. “He’s learning how to deal with all that stuff.”
Luka Doncic shot only 4-of-15 from the field on Saturday against the Sixers, but made most of his damage from the foul line, canning 10-of-12 from the stripe.
The 20-year-old will eventually start to earn the respect of the officials and garner more calls over time, but 9.2 attempts per game isn't a bad place to start for a well-rounded player who can score at all three levels.
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