Former Dallas Maverick Blasts Criticism of Luka Doncic in NBA Finals

One of Luka Doncic's former teammates is not happy with the way these NBA Finals have been covered

May 8, 2022; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Theo Pinson (1) greets guard Luka Doncic (77) as Doncic comes out of the game against the Phoenix Suns during the fourth quarter during game four of the second round for the 2022 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Luka Doncic's defensive effort has been the hot topic of the NBA Finals through three games despite it not being the biggest reason the Mavericks are down 3-0. Just about every analyst on ESPN has been using their platform to discredit the Mavs' run and Doncic's status as one of the best players in the world.

Some former Mavericks are not happy with that, one of them being Doncic's former teammate Theo Pinson.

Pinson spent the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons in Dallas in a reserve role, appearing in just 59 games and never averaging more than 2.5 PPG. He seemed to be a great guy for the locker room and was constantly coming to the defense of his teammates. He's still doing that by lashing out at the critics of Luka Doncic on X/Twitter (some vulgar language used).

READ MORE: Knicks' Jalen Brunson Defends Mavericks' Luka Doncic Against 'Unfair' Criticism

The Luka slander is flat out BULLSHIT right now. Everyone was praising this man before the finals started and now he needs to be better. His defense has been the SAME all damn playoffs and they are IN THE FINALS‼️ This man and Kyrie have took this team to the FINALS‼️

— Theo pinson (@tpinsonn) June 14, 2024

The REAL question is where can he get some help scoring other than Kyrie‼️ Because Boston is a better Basketball TEAM that’s why they are losing and potentially going to get swept‼️ Damn the defense and all that shit in this league it’s about putting the ball in the BASKET‼️

— Theo pinson (@tpinsonn) June 14, 2024

The switch up from people of TV talking about Luka is absolutely insane‼️ The man also is clearly hurt taking a damn shot just to be on the court and put his body on the line for his team‼️ If you don’t score guess what you lose they haven’t broke 100 points in 3 games‼️

— Theo pinson (@tpinsonn) June 14, 2024

Let’s sit back and actually watch the damn game‼️ It’s not damn rocket science to see Boston is the better team and that’s okay. But calling this man out shape and blaming him is flat out BS‼️ Becasue THEY AREN’T SNIFFING THE FINALS WITHOUT HIM‼️

— Theo pinson (@tpinsonn) June 14, 2024

"The Luka slander is flat out BULLS--- right now," Pinson started on X/Twitter." Everyone was praising this man before the finals started and now he needs to be better. His defense has been the SAME all damn playoffs and they are IN THE FINALS!! This man and Kyrie [Irving] have took this team to the FINALS!! The REAL question is where can he get some help scoring other than Kyrie!! Because Boston is a better Basketball TEAM that’s why they are losing and potentially going to get swept!! Damn the defense and all that sh-- in this league it’s about putting the ball in the BASKET!! The switch up from people of TV talking about Luka is absolutely insane!! The man also is clearly hurt taking a damn shot just to be on the court and put his body on the line for his team!! If you don’t score guess what you lose they haven’t broke 100 points in 3 games!! Let’s sit back and actually watch the damn game!! It’s not damn rocket science to see Boston is the better team and that’s okay. But calling this man out shape and blaming him is flat out BS!! Because THEY AREN’T SNIFFING THE FINALS WITHOUT HIM!!

This is how the conversations around Doncic should be. He's clearly hobbled, but some NBA fans think he's faking injuries because he's losing. The Mavericks' role players have been scared to score or shoot for most of the series, but Doncic's defense has been the focus of the discourse because talk about the NBA has become about who can have the biggest viral moment or who can have the hottest take. It's more about questioning legacies than appreciating basketball.

Doncic sat down with ESPN on Thursday and took a lot of responsibility for the loss in Game 3 but he'll have to try and pull the impossible as his team sits down 3-0. Game 4 starts Friday at 7:30 p.m. CST.

READ MORE: Mavericks' Luka Doncic Admits He Must 'Go Away' from Referee Interactions

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