IT’S BACK! So excited about getting back into ranting and raving about it for a while, I hope it lives up to the expectation. In case you were wondering, NBA IS BACK! So in honor of celebrating its 75th anniversary, I thought I’d focus today on shedding light on someone who’s been the source of a lot of controversies: Luka Dončić.

Surmounted with high expectations and agitated with the loss of key role players, the Dallas Mavericks led by Luka Dončić are having an incredibly disappointing start to the new season. After boasting the best offensive rating last season, the Dallas Mavericks fell to the 13th spot according to Advanced NBA Statistics. Having one of the greatest European players the NBA has ever seen, a squad that pushed the dominant LA Clippers team to a seven-game playoff series, it is incredibly surprising to see the Mavs sulking at the bottom of the leaderboard. While this might shock most, there is still enough time for the Mavericks to remedy the situation and solidify their position in the playoffs. From lack of shot creation, Kristaps Porzingis’s shooting woes, missing key roleplayers, and Luka Dončić’s frustration, there are numerous aspects of the offense the Mavericks have to amend if they want to flourish in the playoffs – that is if they manage to make it into the playoffs in the first place. 

This past offseason, the Dallas Mavericks were busy – they traded Seth Curry for Josh Richardson hoping to facilitate the offense. Sadly for the Mavs, trading away Seth Curry resulted in an issue that is evident in each and every game the Mavericks have played thus far. According to the Washington Post, “The perimeter issues are interconnected. Without Seth Curry, Dončić has been forced to carry a massive shot-making and playmaking burden, prompting him to settle more often for low-percentage attempts and causing ugly dry spells when he is off the court.” As a result, Luka now has the burden of carrying the entire load of the Mavericks offense in the paint as well as from the three-point line. While Seth somewhat alleviated the load for Dončić,  Kristaps Porzingis was also a huge beneficiary of the offense. After having a career-high shooting percentage from deep last season, Kristaps has been struggling significantly. As reported by Sportsnaut, “While his field goal percentage is in line with his career averages, Porzingis has struggled from three-point territory, shooting a lousy 28.6%. For a team that relies on three-pointers and a player who takes volume threes, this is catastrophic to the Mavericks’ offense”. For the Mavericks to return to the offensive glory of last season, he must improve and live up to the standards he set for himself last season.

Unfortunately, it is not just Porzingis plaguing the team. Due to covid restrictions, the team is shorthanded more than they already were. According to The Ringer, “The plane was missing three players—Josh Richardson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Jalen Brunson—all of whom had to stay behind in Denver to go through the league’s health and safety protocols”. The team has bonafide superstars in Dončić and Porzingis but every team needs key role players to thrive. With no Seth, Richardson, Finney-Smith, or Brunson on their roster, it is clear how much pressure is on Dončić to carry the team’s offense. In a recent interview with Stephen A. Smith by Dallas Basketball FN, Dončić expressed just this: “This season, I’m not playing very well. My team is almost last in the West standings. We’ve gotta win many more games”. Winning more games is on every team’s mind and considering the harsh road ahead, it is high time for the Mavericks to fix their issues, provide Dončić with some much-needed help offensively, get Porzingis back to his form, and regain their key role players. If these issues are not addressed before the playoffs, the future of the franchise looks bleak. 

Okay to the 5 NBA fans still reading this, THANK YOU LOL!