<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Mavericks-Luka-Doncic.jpeg"><figcaption>Can Dallas turn it around in time?</figcaption></figure><h1>3 reasons Luka Doncic is right to take blame for Mavericks’ slump</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-04-19T10:46:05-07:00">April 19th, 10:46am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-04-19T10:46:05-07:00">April 19th, 10:46am</time><address><a>Julian Fadullon</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Like it or not, Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic is a top 10 player in the NBA, perhaps top 5 offensively. He is a rare breed of talent that automatically makes everyone around him better, and he is one of the most unique players the league has seen in recent memory. Therefore it is all the more troubling to see his team struggle through what should be an MVP campaign that built upon last season. Doncic is young, to be sure, but he has proven his greatness on an individual level, and now it is reasonable to raise the stakes for his success. The Dallas Mavericks have lost four of their last five games, which at this point in the season counts as a bit of a tailspin, especially if they want to avoid this year’s play-in tournament to make the 2021 NBA Playoffs.</p><p>Doncic opened up about his team’s struggles below:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Luka Doncic says energy is an issue for the slumping Mavs. How do you fix that? “I don’t know, but all I know is it’s got to start with me,” he said. “I’ve got to do way better, keeping guys motivated. It starts with me.”</p><p>— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) <a href="https://twitter.com/espn_macmahon/status/1383971188397940738?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">April 19, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Now, the hopes and dreams of an entire franchise are a lot to place on the shoulders of someone as young as Luka Doncic. But he is the unquestioned leader of this team, and as the lion’s share of praise should come his way in the good moments, the lion’s share of shortcomings should be attributed to him as well. These are the three reasons why Luka is right to shoulder the blame for this Mavericks slump.</p><p> </p><p><b>1. He is the leader</b></p><p>Luka Doncic, first and foremost, is the leader of the Dallas Mavericks. Rick Carlisle is the coach, Kristaps Porzingis is the veteran, but Doncic is both the team’s best player and primary ball-handler. He is the on-court avatar for the entire city and whether he likes it or not, he bears the weight that comes with that responsibility. Anywhere the Mavericks go is ultimately dictated by his play and the example that he sets, so if anyone needed to step up to the challenge of stopping this slump, it’s Luka Doncic.</p><p>Doncic might not be entirely to blame for the Mavericks recent struggles, but if he didn’t want to face the music the way he did, no one else would feel obligated to.</p><p> </p><p><b>2. Defense</b></p><p>Ironically, Luka Doncic has been one of the team’s best defensive players through this season which is both good and bad. It’s good in that he is one of the few Mavericks that have an actual positive Defensive Plus/Minus (DPM). The bad news is that his DPM is only 0.8.</p><p>This next point builds on the previous one, in that Luka is the anchor of the Dallas Mavericks in every single way, including on the defensive end. They are still a great offensive team (11th in the league), but are still having trouble on defense (19th). Over their recent slump, the defense has been one of the key issues. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/dallas-mavericks/schedule">They have allowed three of the league’s least efficient offenses to drop almost 120 points on average on their heads.</a> In no world should a defense allow the New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs, and Sacramento Kings to beat them in a shoot out, and yet these Mavericks have.</p><p>That comes down to their defensive woes. Doncic must not only step up for himself, but for the rest of the team as well to set the tone. This is true especially when it comes to Porzingis, who has athletically declined due to injury but, is still averaging nearly two blocks per game while having a negative DPM (-0.7).</p><p>Most of the starters are like this for the Mavericks, which is, right at the border of being positive contributors. The right leader can provide reassurance to help lift them up, and that leader is Luka Doncic.</p><p> </p><p><b>3. Development</b></p><p>Let’s get one thing straight: Luka Doncic is already one of the best players in the NBA, and became that in just his second year as a pro. No one in their right mind really expected him to make the same jump coming into this season as he did coming into his sophomore year.</p><p>But for whatever reason, Doncic’s individual numbers have all just slightly declined. Not by much, but apart from his shooting splits, most of his stats have taken a bit of a dip this season for the Mavericks. That is all alright, of course. This is a player who is still nearly averaging a triple-double while netting a PER in the mid-to-high 20’s. So by development, what he actually needs to grow is his attitude as a winner.</p><p>Doncic is not timid, which is great. He has the mind and heart of a real competitor, and the skills to back it up. But his complaint about this year’s play-in tournament is telling, and a bit troubling for a younger player. Compare his complaint to Stephen Curry, who is leading a depleted Golden State Warriors team to a .500 record, while his co-stars are crumbling around him. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-stephen-curry-disagrees-luka-doncic-draymond-green-over-play-in-tournament/">Curry is relishing the chance to prove himself,</a> while Doncic is pouting for the Mavericks. Not a great look. Instead of despairing at the prospect of proving himself further, Doncic needs to learn to roll with these punches a little more and reawaken the fire that Mavericks fans fell in love with.</p><p>In short, he is no longer the baby phenom we’ve come to love over the past two years. Luka Doncic has now graduated to the big boy tier of the NBA, and if he expects to succeed here, for both him and the Mavericks, there is another level he must achieve.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

3 reasons Luka Doncic is right to take blame for Mavericks’ slump

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Luka-Doncic-Mavs-Kings.jpg"></figure><h1>Luka Doncic absolutely perplexed at Mavs’ lack of urgency</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-04-18T21:48:32-07:00">April 18th, 9:48pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-04-18T21:49:16-07:00">April 18th, 9:49pm</time><address><a>Virgil Villanueva</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Dallas Mavericks were pummeled by the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, leading to questions about the team’s lack of urgency amid the race for the NBA Playoffs. Mavericks star guard Luka Doncic himself seems to be puzzled by their seemingly relaxed mindset.</p><p>On paper, the Mavericks are the better team against the Kings, yet they didn’t seem hungry enough to claim the victory, losing, 121-107. Per <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/2021/04/18/after-another-ugly-home-loss-is-it-time-the-mavericks-looked-in-the-mirror/">Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News</a>, Doncic had no clue as to what was going on with their team when asked about their apparent lack of motivation in trying to avoid the play-in tournament.</p><blockquote>“I don’t know,” he said. “I honestly don’t know.</blockquote><p>From Doncic’s point of view, this lack of energy has been going on for several games now. The Mavericks, who now have a 30-26 record for seventh place in the Western Conference, have <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/dallas-mavericks/records">lost five of their last seven games</a>. For Doncic, everything starts from him.</p><blockquote>“We didn’t come out hard. That’s what happens a couple of games now. Me the first guy, I’ve got to do way better. We’ve got to play way harder. I’ve got to play way harder. It starts with me, so I’ve got to do way better.”</blockquote><p>The obvious goal for the Mavericks is to move up to the sixth spot to avoid participating in the play-in tournament, where they run the risk of not even advancing to the postseason. As such, Luka Doncic’s frustration is understandable. They need to do better with less than 20 games left in the regular season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Luka Doncic absolutely perplexed at Mavs’ lack of urgency

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/image_2021-04-19_093808.png"></figure><h1>VIDEO: Luka Doncic clearly has eyes in the back of his head after insane no-look dish</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-04-18T18:40:39-07:00">April 18th, 6:40pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-04-18T18:40:39-07:00">April 18th, 6:40pm</time><address><a>Dijo Songco</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Luka Magic was in full swing on Sunday as Luka Doncic dazzles his way to another no-look dime as the Dallas Mavericks faced the Sacramento Kings at home. The Slovenian sensation pulled a rabbit out of his hat and found a wide-open Dorian Finney-Smith for a corner three.</p><p>Seriously, Luka can do these things in his sleep (via <a href="https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/1383941540058333186">Dallas Mavericks</a>):</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">WHAT A PASS 🤯 <a href="https://t.co/fHrlPVLlLC" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/fHrlPVLlLC</a></p><p>— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) <a href="https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/1383941540058333186?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">April 19, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>The Mavs were trailing the visiting Kings in the opening half and needed some spark to start a fire. Doncic drove hard to the basket and, as the defense collapsed, took full advantage of the double team and dumped an incredible overhead dish to Finney-Smith who was all alone. Doncic has mastered the drive-and-dish and these crazy dimes have been one of the most lethal weapons in his arsenal. How the hell do you even guard this man?</p><p>In his three seasons in the NBA, the 22-year-old Mavs star <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/dallas-mavericks/stats">has spoiled</a> us with insane heads-up plays like this. At this point, it’ll be surprising if he goes 48 minutes without doing anything crazy on the court. Whether he’s knocking down one-footer buzzers or proving that he has eyes back in his head, Doncic has proven time and time again that his basketball wizardry is on-point.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

VIDEO: Luka Doncic clearly has eyes in the back of his head after insane no-look dish

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/image_2021-04-18_221007.png"></figure><h1>3 social cues that point to Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis’ strained relationship</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-04-18T07:22:20-07:00">April 18th, 7:22am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-04-19T13:04:24-07:00">April 19th, 1:04pm</time><address><a>Kriel Ibarrola</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>It wasn’t that long ago when Dallas Mavericks fans rejoiced when Kristaps Porzingis came over and formed a one-two punch with Luka Doncic. The two European players were expected to get along just fine. After all, they had similar roots growing up and both excel in today’s modern game.</p><p>It should have been a match made in heaven, right? By the looks of it this season, it doesn’t seem that way.</p><p>Some eagle-eyed fans and pundits have already noted what appears to be a growing strain in the two Mavs stars’ relationship. Sure, we’re probably fishing a bit too much, here, since the pair haven’t criticized one another publicly at any point.</p><p>As far as we know, things may not be all rainbows and butterflies, but everything is all good between the two.</p><p>Still, it’s not that hard to see that The Unicorn doesn’t seem too enthusiastic in the Big D these days. It’s not just because he was part of trade rumors before the deadline.</p><p>Porzingis’ body language as of late suggests he might not be too happy with his Robin role behind Luka’s Batman.</p><p>To be fair, the 7-foot-3 Latvian’s numbers are still pretty good, norming 20.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks, while shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 36.6 from deep. The Mavs haven’t met the lofty expectations after their strong run in the bubble last year, but are still in the playoff race in the West with a 39-25 slate (7th place).</p><p>However, the case can be made that Porzingis’ usage in Rick Carlisle’s offense has also diminished a bit. Even Hall-of-Famer Earl Monroe recently suggested that 25-year-old center has downgraded from <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mavs-news-kristaps-porzingis-role-in-dallas-gets-shocking-assessment-from-knicks-legend/">a franchise player to just a serviceable utility man for the Mavs.</a></p><p>He’s still undeniably Doncic’s right-hand man, which might actually be the root of the problem.</p><p>Again, maybe it’s nothing and the supposed feud should not be blown out of proportion. However, the most heated feuds in the league like the Kobe-Shaq beef back in the day all began with just seemingly minor things.</p><p>With that said, we’ll be looking at two social cues that may indicate trouble brewing in paradise between Porzingis and Doncic.</p><h2><b>1. Porzingis’ nonchalant reaction after Doncic’s game-winner</b></h2><p>The entire Mavs team was understandably in a celebratory mood after Doncic drilled perhaps one of the most amazing game-winners in NBA history against the Memphis Grizzlies earlier this week.</p><p>Well, everyone except KP.</p><p>While his teammates mobbed the Slovenian superstar after that improbable shot, Porzingis did not even bother going near Luka to congratulate him.</p><p>Sure, he raised his right hand after Luka Doncic drilled the buzzer-beater, but that’s about it.</p><p>Check out Porzingis’ suspicious reaction, or in this case <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJIWtZ7_0Vs">lack thereof.</a></p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><p>He absolutely did not look happy for his team, nor was he thrilled that it was Doncic who gave them the W.</p><p>Perhaps he wanted to take the shot himself? As you can see, he was wide open at the top of the key and was asking for the ball in that final play.</p><p>Is there more to this than meets the eye? You decide.</p><h2><b>2. Porzingis seems fed up every time he’s asked about Doncic</b></h2><p>As mentioned earlier, Porzingis is still playing pretty well for the Mavericks and still has his fair share of time in the limelight. However, it’s pretty clear that he doesn’t seem too pleased every time reporters ask about Doncic during his interviews.</p><p>It’s supposed to be his time, right? Case in point, KP seems annoyed to answer Doncic-related questions after that win over Memphis.</p><p>At the start of the interview, Porzingis still showed some enthusiasm in his voice. But later on, when he realized that the media just wants his reaction to Doncic’s shot, his body language and tone changed a bit and his answers got shorter and shorter.</p><p>Here’s the interview so you can see it for yourself.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><p>This isn’t even the first time that Doncic and Porzingis’ relationship has been questioned. He practically admitted that their chemistry is not where it should be in this interview.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><h2><b>3. Kristaps could easily shoot down rumors, but doesn’t</b></h2><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">.<a href="https://twitter.com/townbrad?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@townbrad</a> specifically mentioned the frequent lack of interaction between the Mavs franchise cornerstones. Porzingis didn't exactly shoot that down.</p><p>— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) <a href="https://twitter.com/espn_macmahon/status/1380367966911361025?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">April 9, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Again, the supposed rift between these two is still is purely speculative at the moment. Luka Doncic, himself, has yet to address this issue, and he doesn’t seem to have a problem playing with KP.</p><p>But clearly, the signs are all there, at least from Porzingis’ standpoint. After all, it takes time for a relationship to truly blossom, especially for two young superstars who are still learning how to co-exist on the same floor together. Some partnerships take a while to figure things out, while others are special enough to click right off the bat.</p><p>Do you think the Porzingis-Doncic duo will work for the Mavs moving forward? Only time will tell.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

3 social cues that point to Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis’ strained relationship

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/sixers-news-incredible-stat-backs-joel-embiids-mvp-case-over-nikola-jokic-luka-doncic.jpg"></figure><h1>Incredible stat backs Sixers star Joel Embiid’s MVP case over Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-04-17T17:15:17-07:00">April 17th, 5:15pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-04-17T17:15:17-07:00">April 17th, 5:15pm</time><address><a>Paolo Songco</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid has been playing at an elite level right now. As a matter of fact, the Sixers big man has been doing so for pretty much the entire season. This is exactly why he is considered by most as one of the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sixers-news-joel-embiids-mvp-season-is-breaking-the-modern-nba/" rel="noopener">frontrunners</a> to this year’s MVP title along with the likes of Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic.</p><p>Enough of the narrative, though. Here is a pretty incredible statistical fact that speaks for Embiid’s case (h/t <a href="https://twitter.com/NotoriousOHM/status/1383246958890930177">Ohm Youngmisuk</a> of The Athletic):</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Joel Embiid leads NBA in win percentage (.789, 30-8) while averaging 30 PPG. That would be 3rd-most PPG in a season by the leader in win percentage in league history. Only Wilt and MJ are ahead of Embiid per Elias Sports Bureau. Everyone on this list won MVP. <a href="https://t.co/GQrQqcFOmg" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/GQrQqcFOmg</a></p><p>— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) <a href="https://twitter.com/NotoriousOHM/status/1383246958890930177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">April 17, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>As they always say, how your team fares in the season will always have a significant impact on any player’s chances for the MVP trophy. If you look at the chart above, it is clear that Embiid should be handed the trophy if the MVP title was being announced today.  Simply put, it’s all about being the best player on the best team. Embiid is definitely that man right now as he’s led the Sixers to the best record in the Eastern Conference (although technically the Utah Jazz own the best record in the NBA at the moment).</p><p>Make no mistake about it, however. At this point, Embiid is anything but a shoo-in for the MVP award. So many other factors come into play, with some of them being intangibles that cannot be measured by numbers or statistics. Be that as it may, no one can say that Embiid does not deserve to win the Most Valuable Player title this year — at least at this point in the season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Incredible stat backs Sixers star Joel Embiid’s MVP case over Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic

Jamal Crawford

Alex Caruso

Julius Randle

Nicolas Batum

Luka Doncic

Josh Hart

LaMarcus Aldridge

Joakim Noah

Danilo Gallinari

Cedi Osman

2x All Star

2019-20 All-NBA

2018-19 ROY

2018-19 All-Rookie

1x All Star

Dallas Mavericks

Career

https://twitter.com/luka7doncic/status/1369378296983654406/

https://twitter.com/luka7doncic/status/1368320459771547648/

Feliz cumpleaños @RMBaloncesto @realmadrid 🙌🙌 #HalaMadridYNadaMas 

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Just got my official @BioSteelSports email set up, feel free to drop me a line for any hydration tips doncic@biosteel.com 

https://twitter.com/luka7doncic/status/1366180475136585728/

Thank you for all of the birthday wishes. ! 😊😊

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2020-21 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
28.6	8.0	8.6	0.6	1.0

2020-21 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
28.6	8.0	8.6	0.6	1.0