Last night’s loss for the Mavericks was essentially the nail in the coffin for their NBA Championship hopes this season. They got off to a fantastic start on their home court after dropping Games 1 & 2 to Boston. They caught a break with Kristaps Porzingis being out, and early on they took advantage. Luka Doncic was 5-for-𓆏9 from the field in the opening frame, and at around the five-minute mark, Kyrie Irving hit a three to give Dallas a 25-12 lead.
From that point on, thoꦐugh, the Celtics outscored the Mavs 18-6 to close out the quarter and Dallas led by just one. The Mavs held onto that one-point lead heading into halftime, but in the third quarter, Boston outscored Dallas 35-19 to run away with the game (and essentially the NBA Finals).
Dallas did fight back in the fourth cutting the Celtics lead to three, and the key play in not only the game but maybe the career of Luka Doncic was when he took his sixth and final foul of the game. He immediately s𝕴ignaled toward the Mavs bench and demanded a challenge, the call was upheld, and Luka was fouled out. The Celtics went on to win 106-99.
After the game on Sportscenter, went in on Doncic with a harsh but fair rant. He basically said there’s no doubt how talented Luka is offensively, but if he wants to win an NBA title, things have to change in parts of his game.
Luka Doncic Can Learn From This NBA Finals
Luka Doncic is a phenomenal basketball player. He’s one of the best offensive talents we’ve seen in the NBA. But this series needs to be an eye-opener for him on the steps he needs to take as an NBA player to get to that championship level. There’s no doubt how good he is, and in Games 1 & 2 he tried dragging the Mavs to wins. But in Game 3 – when things got tough – frustration clearly set in. And maybe a game and series like this is what he needs.
Defensively, he needs to up the intensity. As Windhorst said in the clip above, Boston attacked him all night and the effort just wasn’t there on that end of the floor. I’m not going to go as far as to say the complaining to officials needs to stop because it’s the NBA and that’s what stars do. However, every time you miss a shot or there’s some incidental contact and no foul is called, it’s not always going to be the referees’ fault.
Winning an NBA Title or a championship in any sport is really damn hard. Before getting to the mountain top, you must experience failure first and learn how to win. There’s no better example for Luka to learn how to win than going up against these Celtics. They’re ruthless defensively, efficient on both ends of the floor, and they’re a team that’s gone through the trials and tribulations of the NBA Playoffs and has now learned how to win. Have they had an easier road? Sure. But they’ve dominated along that road.
Could Luka have gotten a bit more help in this series? Absolutely. But also in Game 3 at home in a must-win, and a foul out isn’t going to cut it. Kyrie was great in Game 3 with 35 points, Dereck Lively had a double-double off the bench, and P.J. Washington hit three triples. There was some help there in this one. This game was Luka’s opportunity to have a legacy moment and he didn’t take it.
The great news is, he’s 25 years old. In all likelihood, he’s going to find himself in a conference final and NBA Finals again. Hopefully, this Finals can serve as a bit of a launching point for the next step in his career. MJ got his butt kicked by the Pistons. LeBron had to get by the Celtics. Kobe and the Lakers learned from the Jazz and Spurs. Just about every star that’s gotten their title has been punched in the mouth along the way. Now it’s up to Doncic to get up, recalibrate, and grow in the offseason. Learning from this loss to take the next step is key.
Technically, the series is still going on and Game 4 will be Friday night in Dallas. I’m very intrigued to see how the Mavs come out in that one, and Luka especially.
