The Dallas Mavericks are one of the most exciting teams to watch so far. Part of that is because Luka Dončić puts on an absolute show night in and night out. The other part of that is because of the lack of help, most games come down to the wire. Last night in New Orleans this lack of help was a glaring problem.
Let’s Focus on Stats
Outside of Dončić, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Christian Wood, the Dallas Mavericks scored 27 points as a team against the Pelicans. Putting a ton of pressure on Luka personally to be amazing night in and night out.
To keep it on last night against in New Orleans, going into the fourth quarter the Mavericks had a six point lead.
As Luka Dončić sat on the bench for the first three-four minutes, the Pelicans took control of the game. By the time Dončić came back into the game, they were facing a deficit. A deficit they could never recover from, ultimately losing the game by two points.
Luka had a chance to save the day on a last second buzzer beater three, which in my eyes was symbolism for the Mavericks season.
Luka will have to bail this team out and save them with heroic performances to for almost every win.
82 Games All On Luka’s Shoulders
In an ideal situation, you would want there to be about 35-50 games that your team can win with an average performance from you superstar.
Allowing those 32-47 other games that he does go off for 35+ points to be a treat. To ride his shoulders on because he is hot.
The pressure of 82 games being all on Luka’s shoulders will and has worn him down by the time playoffs come around his whole career. The playoffs is where you really want him to step up and carry the team.
Last season Jalen Brunson, now with the New York Knicks, was a great number two to Dončić. Brunson helped carry the second unit as well as pushing the pace and taking over for a few possessions at a time even with Luka on the floor.
This season will be a long on in Dallas if Luka does not get a number two player to step up and take some of the pressure off of him.
Only one week into the season, it is clear they will only go as far as Dončić takes them.
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Rowan Donaghey is a Sports and Betting Insider for Fantom Sports Industries. Follow him on twitter for daily content via @RowanDonaghey
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