The race of Luka Doncic in the NBA It could be summed up in a course he has followed practically alone. A rise to the highest echelons of the league that was accompanied by individual accolades, records and unprecedented early records. All this at the same time that he was placed in places that did not belong to some Dallas Mavericks probably for lack of talent.
As counterintuitive as it may seem, building a winning team around the Slovenian is not easy. That one list of names Working and winning games with the former Real Madrid player is something that happens almost out of the blue, but the next step is very high and difficult to reach if you don’t have the right framework for it to happen. This has as a consequence heavy reliance on the more heliocentric Luka Doncic. Everything is born and depends on him. His points are created by himself as well as by the others.
However, something seems to be changing with the Mavs. Perhaps a consequence of the new faces in the team or a role more adapted to his needs and circumstances Kyrie Irving. Whatever approach Jason Kidd’s team takes, the reality is that Dallas presents a completely different picture than the one it closed with last year. The Mavericks win more, are more solvent in all areas of the game and project an image of safety and balance.
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Kidd and his staff have greatly modified the offensive style of these Mavs. They are quicker, the ball is shared more and there is a balance between what they need from Doncic to win and what he needs to contribute. All this is giving rise to a version of Luka unprecedented in the NBAone where the Slovenian player can have more comfortable shots that ultimately don’t wear him down as much.
Fact that proves this. Last season the Doncic scored or assisted on 47.1% of Dallas’ points, meaning nearly half of the Mavericks’ scoring depended on him. So it is understandable that the attacking ratio of the group would be so negative without him on the pitch. On the contrary, at the beginning of the season this number has fallen 42.9%a steep drop as Doncic is scoring just 1.7 points less than last season.
The Mavs’ reliance on Doncic is lessening, not only because Kyrie Irving is a better fit, but because there have been others who have stepped up and come in roster-enhancing names like Williams, Jones Jr, Lively or Exum.
However, the big change that can be seen in Luka Doncic’s game has to do with the increase in his shots after the pass. A frame-motivated modification, but also a new proposal to the Mavs. In doing so, the former Real Madrid player has the highest number of triples in his NBA career this season. grab and shoot. The Mavericks player is shooting a career-high 2.7 3-pointers after the pass, connecting on 40.7 percent of them.
This, which may seem insignificant or temporary at first, is less important when you take a look at the trend of his career.
| Time | Triples were scored at C&S | Triple attempt at C&S | % Success | % of total shots |
| 2018-2019 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 37.4% | eleven% |
| 2019-2020 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 28% | 6.2% |
| 2020-2021 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 34.1% | 6.3% |
| 2021-2022 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 32.3% | 4.6% |
| 2022-2023 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 35.2% | 4.9% |
| 2023-2024 | 1.1 | 2.7 | 40.7% | 13.3% |
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His increase in volume was accompanied by an increase in accuracy, which was unusual for Doncic. Because? There are two ways to look at it. The first is a matter of training and individual development, since the Slovenian is, after all, only 24 years old. The second, as explained before, because of its substantial improvement list of names of the Mavs. This last route seems to be the most logical, which gives us the opportunity to understand that Luca not only has better opportunities in grab and shoot but also a better pass, which significantly favors scoring.
The game seems to be a little less dependent on Luka Doncic this start and that’s great news because it will allow him to arrive more rested both late in games and into the playoffs. Situations like these, where he simply receives and executes, are extremely valuable for the Mavs because they put a lot of pressure on the opposing defense and will eventually free up the others.
Just look at how these shots will give you an idea of it:
Additionally, Kidd looks for him in actions without the ball, a scenario he almost didn’t see in his early years in the NBA:
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On the other hand, and although it is very witnessing, there were also cases that the Slovenian was able to resolve at will:
The Mavericks will end up with a “more human” winning record, which doesn’t mean they’ll be a worse team, but that the league will put them in their place. It remains to be seen if at that point Jason Kidd will continue to be as faithful to this version of Doncic, which depends on the rest of the team doing a good job of freeing him up to shoot safely.
This is an uncharted path for both Luca and Dallas, and it will be a great test to see how durable this project and this gamble is.
