Luka Doncic's Career-Best 3-Point Shooting Posing Major Challenge for Rival Teams
SAN FRANCISCO — The Dallas Mavericks have received tremendous production from Luka Doncic in what has become another career year for the four-time All-NBA First-Team recipient. Leading the Mavs to a 132-222 victory over the Golden State Warriors, he finished with 39 points, eight rebounds, and 10 assists, shooting 14-29 from the floor, 5-13 from the perimeter, and 6-7 on free throws.
"We tried to mix it up on him," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "We single-covered him, we switched, we hit him. We tried a lot of different things, but he is a brilliant player and had a phenomenal game. ... We weren't communicating. We had some good stretches when we were getting stops ... and then our communication broke down."
Kerr highlighted the difficulty of strategizing to contain Doncic when considering how he's converting from 3-point range at a higher clip this season, shooting a career-high 38.4 percent from deep compared to 34.2 percent in 2022-23. As a result, the rest of Doncic's game opens up to attack downhill with a more significant advantage based on the point-of-attack approach.
“He is shooting better. In the past, he was 34 from three, and you’d go into the game, and you’d trust the numbers, it would seem that he would make a bunch of threes, but you could at least lean into, alright, he’s 34 percent we’re not going to chase him off the line," Kerr said. "But now he’s at 38, and that’s a pretty dramatic difference, so this is probably the best he’s ever played because of the consistency of that 3-point shot feeds in so well to set up the rest of his game.”
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Whether breaking down a defender in isolation or playing off-ball and putting up a catch-and-shoot attempt, Doncic's heightened perimeter shooting results allow him to counter various defensive approaches by the opposition and have simpler sequences when spacing the floor or trailing in transition.
"Yeah, I think with Luka being able to shoot the three the way that he has, not just off the dribble, but the catch-and-shoot, too, has only made it a little bit easier for him to get to the rim," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said.
Another element of shooting Kidd highlighted from Doncic is the value of his improved free throw shooting. He's shooting a career-best 79.2 percent from the free throw line despite being at 74.3 percent for his career. With how often teams will be physically and aggressively deploying different defensive coverages, having greater consistency from the line goes a long way.
"Golden State is going to throw a lot of different defenses, pick them up for court, try to wear them down, but I think being able not just to shoot the three, but again, I think he's shooting the free throw well, too," Kidd said. "And that's big when you talk about getting to the line and being able to knock down those free throws."
Doncic takes pride in adding to his game every season and emphasized working on his catch-and-shoot jumper, knowing he'd spend more time off-ball playing alongside Kyrie Irving. He even reached the 10,000 career threshold in his 50-point performance against the Phoenix Suns, making that type of attempt.
“It was a catch-and-shoot, so I was really happy," Doncic said after the win over the Suns. "Like I told you before the season, I was working on my catch-and-shoot.”
What's the key to Doncic's improved perimeter shooting efficiency? Simple: Keeping his legs fresh, he says.
“I just got to keep my legs fresh,” Doncic said. “That’s what’s most important for me right now. I got to make some of those shots. Too many misses for me."
Doncic has goals higher than shooting at his current clip, expressing a feeling he should be converting at a higher rate already.
“I honestly think I could be way better than that," Doncic said. "Some of those shots, I could have made for sure. But just trusting it. Trust is big in this game and having confidence. That’s it.”
As Doncic continues to shoot effectively from beyond the arc, he remains as threatening of an offensive juggernaut as possible since teams can only account for taking away so much. He's produced elite results finishing on drives, and as a general playmaker, once he gets downhill, allowing him to get more into those sequences opens up the offense as a whole.
Doncic has put together quite the dynamic season, averaging 33.9 points, 9.3 assists, and 8.4 rebounds in 30 games this season. He's scored 30 or more points in 23 games this season, the most through 30 games since Michael Jordan's 1986-87 season.
