Rivals See Luka Doncic's Mavs Supporting Cast as 'Limited'
The Dallas Mavericks rely on Luka Doncic at a level perhaps greater than any NBA team relies on a single player to create plays for their offense. The toll that such a significant workload takes throughout a season is already back at the forefront of the conversation after the team's winless two-game road trip.
"The difference is a little bit of everything," Doncic said after the Mavs' 113-105 loss to the Washington Wizards on Thursday. "I had a really busy summer, I think a little bit came after me. I’m just feeling more tired on the court these last two games than anything, but that’s not an excuse."
Many rivals view the Mavs as being led by a superstar who lacks much for capable threats in his supporting cast. Doncic is often surrounded by a lineup that features wings that are not necessarily sharpshooters or off-the-dribble threats, with a big man that relies on him spoon-feeding passes for finishes. Spencer Dinwiddie is a helpful secondary ball handler, but without Christian Wood available, as was the case for their road trip, the problem worsens.
The plan for opposing teams often is to switch against screens to prevent an advantage from being created for the rim roller. In the process, the off-ball defenders that are responsible for balancing keeping tabs on shooters and helping against a drive can stay home more on their assignment — making it more challenging for solid, but not elite, spot-up shooters to execute.
Doncic had one of his worst performances of the season in the Mavs' loss to the Wizards. He recorded 22 points, nine rebounds, and six assists but did so while shooting 8-21 from the floor despite being 3-8 on 3s. He also shot 3-9 from the free throw line and turned it over five times.
"We just did a good job. We know their team is very limited outside of him," Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma said of the team's defensive efforts against Doncic. "With Christian Wood out — big-time player — the ball was going to be in his hands the whole time. For us, we wanted to make sure, certain situations, whether it was him posting up — making sure we were doubling at the time, making sure our rotations were really crisp.
"When we didn't double, playing him on the perimeter, guard 1-on-1 by ourselves without fouling. Playing on a string defensively, that was huge, especially with a player like that. If you just play 1-on-1 with him on an island, it's going to be a long night. We did a great job, entire team, everyone, came in with attention to detail on the game plan."
Doncic is more than talented enough to still create advantages by getting by the defender that made the switch. He still forces the defense to get out of rotation by attacking, but it gets tiring to have to attack in this way over and over throughout a full game — resulting in reduced results in later moments.
When asked about whether he'd like to have the same usage rate as Doncic, who leads the NBA in that department by a substantial margin, Kuzma expressed doubt that doing so could lead to winning a championship.
"No question I would love to do that, 100 percent," Kuzma said of being a primary ball-handler. "I love challenges. Maybe not [39.7 percent], that's a little aggressive. I don't think you can win NBA championships of that nature with that. That's a lot. But I have that type of ability to where I can make others better, I can score, I can do a lot of different things."
There was a clear sense of frustration from Doncic during the Mavs' 94-87 loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday to begin the two-game road trip. There is a target on Doncic's back for the defense when it comes to frustrating him, knowing it could lead to him taking 'hero shots' that he doesn't want to take. He finished with 24 points on 9-29 shooting overall while going 2-11 from 3-point range and 4-7 on free throws.
"My mentality was to just get up in him," Magic forward Chuma Okeke said of the team's job defending Doncic. "Play solid defense without fouling, even though I got a couple of fouls along the way. Just knowing that I got help side on the back, just try to frustrate him. He's a great player, one of the best in the league, but it was a team effort.
"When I got subbed out, someone on the team said he was shooting frustrated shots. That's not the shots he really wanted to take. So just keep going at him and keep making it hard on him. We know he was going to score, but he's also a facilitator at the same time. Just play solid defense, and that's what got us the win."
Even after the Mavs defeated the Brooklyn Nets 96-94 to wrap up their five-game homestand, there was a clear sentiment from Kevin Durant that Doncic has a limited supporting cast. Doncic totaled 36 points, six rebounds, and six assists with strong efficiency despite Durant aggressively trying to deny him the ball in the second half by often face guarding.
"We were denying him," Durant said of the team's defensive focus against Doncic. "That's what you do to good scorers. The other guys don't really know how to dribble, or create for themselves. I felt like that slowed the game down for them as well, so any chance we got, try to deny him the ball and make his life tough. He's such a great player, they'll figure it out."
It would be remiss not to mention the Mavs' bizarre travel itinerary that was required of them for their two-game road trip, featuring a back-to-back. The Mavs tipped off against the Nets at 8:45 p.m. CST on Monday due to the NBA trying to get all 30 teams playing to have Election Day off on Tuesday. It was the start of one of the more obscure itineraries an NBA team will have throughout the whole season for Dallas.
After flying into Orlando ahead of Tropical Storm Nicole, the NBA moved up the tipoff time to 4:30 p.m. CST. The Mavs had to bus to Tampa Bay after the game before flying to Dulles International Airport, which requires an hour bus ride to where NBA teams stay when playing the Wizards. It's likely these circumstances had an impact on the team's energy level, as is the case in 'schedule losses' that tend to occur throughout an 82-game season.
Regardless of how travel circumstances may or may not have impacted the Mavs during their road trip, the team relies too much on Doncic's orchestration in the half-court. There is a clear need for more shot creation threats on the floor, especially when teams are getting out of their base defensive coverages to load up and pressure Doncic as games progress.
It appears the best solution on the roster currently is Wood. He can thrive in the two-man game with Doncic in addition to being more than capable of generating his own offense. Given how JaVale McGee has been essentially a non-existent paint presence anyway, there is nothing to lose by deploying Wood and working through any issues on the fly.
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