ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins has once again set his sights on Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić in his latest mini-tirade. 

Perkins aired his comments after the Mavs fell to the New York Knicks, 117-109 last Friday. Dončić had quite the stat line of 22 points, eight boards, and 19 assists, although his shooting percentages all around could have been better.  

 

Perkins commended Dončić and classifies the Mavs franchise face as a superstar, but said he should stop complaining on the court.

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“Cut the whining out…Control your own destiny… Get in the top-six seed in the Western Conference,” the former Boston Celtic said. “You don't need to worry about a play-in tournament and control what you can control and that's winning games in the regular season.”

Perkins has never been shy about voicing his opinions, although he does seem to have a point here. Dončić is starting to develop a reputation as someone who frequently disagrees with referees' calls, per Ernesto Cova of Fadeaway World. One cannot deny Dončić's phenomenal play, which will only get better with time, but he should consider being more accepting of the referees' decisions. 

Of course, the perceived complaining could just be a manifestation of the Slovenian's competitive fire and spirit. Nevertheless, this is a very fixable issue for the Mavs star and Dončić is still very young.

The worst-case scenario is that he be called for a technical foul during one of his interactions with the refs. The Mavs are currently in the seventh spot in their conference with a 30-25 record and can handily reach Perkins' recommended place.