Mavs Star Luka Doncic Refuses to Concede on Season: ‘Still a Chance!’
DALLAS — No matter how it's viewed, the Dallas Mavericks' season has been nothing short of a disappointment. Some could even describe as being a disaster. Trading for an impending free agent, Kyrie Irving, to become the only team with multiple NBA All-Star starters just to potentially miss the play-in tournament is concerning.
With a 37-42 record, the Mavs' stand little chance to qualify for the play-in tournament. Doing so would require the assistance of another team like the Oklahoma City Thunder having a disastrous close to the season while the Mavs finish with perfection.
After Tuesday's practice, Luka Doncic made clear that he wants the team to compete, as long as there still is a chance to win games. When asked if he's considered shutting his season down, he put that idea to rest quickly.
“No, I’m playing tomorrow (against Sacramento),” Doncic said. “When there’s still a chance, I’m going to play. So, that’s not going to happen yet.”
There are a few scenarios where the Mavs could still be finishing out the regular season, but will do so while knowing they are already eliminated from potential play-in qualification. Doncic understands the outlook of pulling off a run to get into the mix is bleak. He wants to compete as long as it's still mathematically possible.
"There's little chance," Doncic said. "We all know that, but like I said, as long as there's a chance, I'll play."
As far as how the season has gone, Doncic described as being "very disappointing," especially given they were fourth in the standings just a season ago, and are coming off a Western Conference Finals run.
“It’s disappointing, obviously, being in the conference finals last year to be trying to get into the play-in, it’s a very disappointing season,” Doncic said. “After All-Star, I think we were, like, fourth in the West. I think it was pretty good. Since then, things (went) a little downhill. There’s plenty of reasons, but we’re still trying to get in.”
A lot has to go wrong for a team to plummet from such a result in the span of less than a calendar. The front office lost Jalen Brunson for nothing, then had to trade for an All-Star while not making subsequent moves to patch newly created holes on an already flawed roster. Doncic, of course, wouldn't say that. He took ownership of the failed result as the leader of the team.
“A lot. I’m the leader of this team," Doncic said. "The one to blame is me.”
It's no secret that Doncic has struggled to sustain his defensive effort since the NBA All-Star break. We even highlighted this, calling for him to participate more on that end with an extensive film breakdown. He took ownership of his lack of defensive impact, attributing it to playing basketball almost non-stop between the condensed NBA schedule due to COVID and international basketball obligations with Slovenia.
“I’ve been playing basketball for three straight years,” Doncic said. “Four weeks home in between was free. Sometimes it’s really hard for me to play really hard on both ends. But obviously the defensive end, I got to be way better.
“I was playing a lot of minutes. But that’s not an excuse. I’m still young, age-wise. But it’s a lot of basketball. I got to be way better.”
Doncic also acknowledged that chemistry has taken time to build, but that was to be expected. The Mavs have experienced no shortage of clutch losses since acquiring Irving despite having two dynamic closers. Doncic isn't concerned about the fit with Irving, he reiterated that defense is the problem — as he has repeatedly for months in his post-game comments.
“Not right now,” Doncic said. “You can see where we are, (1-7) in the last games. So you don’t see the chemistry we had before, especially last year. The chemistry was at the top. Chemistry builds and not right away. It’s a long process.
“I don’t think offense is the problem. It’s our defensive end. Anybody can score on us, whoever it is. Anybody can score on us.”
The Mavs' next season to keep their dwindling play-in hopes alive will take place on Wednesday when they face off against the Sacramento Kings. What can they do to turn things around?
“I always say: win games,” Doncic said. “Sounds easy. But it’s not. There’s a lot of talent in the NBA. Every team is trying to win. It’s hard to win.
“I’ll say it again. As long as there’s a chance, I’m going to believe. That’s me.”
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