The Mavericks New Plan For Luka Doncic Is Going To Absolutely Rule
Now you may be thinking, wait, wasn’t Luka Doncic always a point guard? While I get why you may have thought that, the reality is he only played point guard 8% of the time. He was primarily in the SG spot (71%) and then the SF spot (21%) which made sense given who was on their roster. Remember this was a team that had Dennis Smith Jr on the roster as well as JJ Barea (before he got hurt), Jalen Brunson, Trey Burke, and Devin Harris. This year the roster looks a lot different, with only Delon Wright, Brunson, and a recovering Barea on the roster so it makes sense that Carlisle is handing over the keys to his offense to Luka. The advanced metrics suggest this is a wise decision, I mean when you have to option of making sure Luka has the ball in his hands at all times you have to do it. With his 30.5% usage rate we saw Luka come through with a 31.6% assist rate. Basically the Mavs used Luka as a facilitator anyway so the transition shouldn’t be all that unfamiliar. As you’ll recall, Year 1 Luka was fucking nasty
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he’s one of the best passers in the league already and he’s barely 20 years old. I mean Carlisle called him a savant and if we’re being honest that’s a pretty good way to describe him. The question will be who he guards on the other end, but that’s why I think you also start Delon Wright and let him cover the opposing team’s PG while Luka can stay guarding the two. The progression he makes on the defensive end is going to help determine how crazy of a jump he makes in Year 2, but if we’re talking simply on the offensive end, the pairing with Luka at the one and Porzingis at the four is potentially devastating for opposing defenses.
What’ll also have to change is Luka’s TOV%. His 15% last year is a little high, you look at some of the other elite PG’s around the league
Lillard – 10.8%
Curry – 11.6%
Irving – 11.3%
you’ll see they mostly fall in the 10-13% range. Part of that of course is Luka’s first year against NBA competition, but if his usage rate is going to be this high and he’s going to be their primary facilitator, his turnovers are going to have to come down. You live with the ones that come as a result of him trying to make a ridiculous pass every once in a while, but if he can get those under control he’s going to be an absolute force.
Year 2 Luka is one of the main reasons to be excited for the upcoming season, well that and the potential for more screen time of his rocket of a mom
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