Mavs’ Luka Doncic Speaks on Improved Defense, ‘Most Powerful Legs in NBA’
Despite having several key injuries in the first half of the season, the Dallas Mavericks have fought through it all to have a 22-15 record, good for sixth-place in the Western Conference standings.
The Mavs’ latest win — a clutch 115-108 victory against the West-leading Minnesota Timberwolves, who are also the best clutch team in the NBA — was their best so far. Kyrie Irving led the way with 35 points, and Luka Doncic was right behind him with 34 points.
“Stay the course,” Doncic said after the Mavs posted an 11-0 run after falling down 106-100 with less than four minutes remaining in the game. “We had good shots. We were just moving the ball really well today. That’s what we need to keep doing and trusting it.”
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Although Doncic filling up the stat sheet on offense was great to see, it was his individual defense in certain spots that stood out on Sunday. The 24-year-old star believes his elite lower-body strength is the reason for that.
“I’m strong. People don’t think that, but I think I have some of the most powerful legs in the NBA. I love it. We said we were going to double [Karl-Anthony Towns], but I said, ‘don’t double’. Let’s see if I can get a couple stops. I like playing post,” Doncic said.
Not only did Doncic get some big stops on T-Wolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns in clutch time, but he also rotated onto Rudy Gobert with 1:10 left in the game, forcing him to throw a bad pass into the backcourt for a turnover with the Mavs leading 109-106.
“First, staying healthy,” Doncic said when asked about the Mavs’ recent uptick on the defensive end of the floor. “We’ve had a big problem with that this season. But we still hang in there. The last 10-15 games, we’ve been more active on defense. We’ve been playing better on defense.”
In fact, the Mavs have posted the third-best defensive rating in the league over their last 10 games at 110.8. If that kind of effort is sustained for the remainder of the season, the Mavs will continue to win a handful of games and challenge for home-court advantage in the playoffs.
“Everyone says, ‘your best offense is your defense,’” Doncic said. “We play good defense, we get rebounds, we can run the floor and I think we’re one of the best teams in the NBA to do that. You have to score more points than the other team.”
