With Mavs Near Top of West, Luka Doncic is Making an MVP Statement
Before this recent flamethrower stretch of games for Luka Doncic, he was already having stellar fifth season in the NBA despite the Dallas Mavericks' record being average at best. Now, after his recent scoring outburst, not only has Doncic added to his already-impressive stats, but he's spearheaded a Mavs win streak that has the team currently sitting in the fourth seed in the Western Conference.
Here is a breakdown of Doncic's last five performances:
- Dec. 23 at Houston Rockets – 50 points (17-30 overall, 6-12 from deep), eight rebounds, 10 assists and three steals in 42 minutes.
- Dec. 25 vs. Los Angeles Lakers – 32 points (9-16 overall, 2-3 from deep), nine rebounds, nine assists and two steals in 39 minutes.
- Dec. 27 vs. New York Knicks – 60 points (21-31 overall, 2-6 from deep), 21 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals and one block in 47 minutes.
- Dec. 29 vs. Houston Rockets – 35 points (11-21 overall, 4-9 from deep), 12 rebounds, 13 assists, one steal and two blocks in 34 minutes.
- Dec. 31 vs. San Antonio Spurs – 51 points (18-29 overall, 6-10 from deep), six rebounds, nine assists, four steals and one block in 37 minutes.
And the most important part of those video-game numbers is that the Mavs won all of those games. Just two weeks after being as low as 10th in the Western Conference standings, Dallas' season-high six-game win streak has it currently sitting at fourth in the West by a half-game. That could change on Sunday night if the Sacramento Kings defeat the Memphis Grizzlies, but the Mavs would still be fifth in the standings if that happens.
“[Luka's carrying us], no matter if we need that or not. Everyone else has to do their part when he’s not in the game. And that’s where we have to get better," said coach Jason Kidd after the Mavs squeaked out a 126-125 over the Spurs on Saturday night.
“We’re a little bit on the injured side right now, but we got to get a little bit more from our bench. But our bench is being covered by Luka. We can’t expect him to have 50 every night.”
When Doncic was putting up crazy numbers at the start of the season, many pushed back on the idea of him being a serious MVP candidate with the Mavs having a mediocre record. Now, if things keep trending the way they are, Doncic could run away with the award before it's said and done.
With all due respect to the seasons Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum and Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokić are having, those two players have more of a supporting cast than Doncic does with the Mavs. That's not to say the Mavs don't have good pieces ... it's just saying they don't have enough good pieces, especially with key pieces like Josh Green, Dorian Finney-Smith and Maxi Kleber all missing significant time.
“It keeps the streak going and we keep the excitement at a high for sure late in the game. A couple mistakes we can clean up. But it’s not easy to win here," said Kidd.
"Luka was incredible. He bails us out again.”
Everyone keeps saying Doncic can't keep up this historic pace, and yet, he simply responds each time by pushing the ceiling higher. Coach Kidd says we can't expect Doncic to score 50 points every night, but until the Mavs get healthy again ... maybe we should.
Doncic, who came into this season in the best playing shape of his career, hasn't been phased by it yet, and he's making a big MVP statement as the Mavs keep racking up wins.
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