bdonovan
06-22-2024, 08:11 AM
Of the top players in the game, he is the Most Improved.
For all the cries of "moar help", the real underlying problem with Dallas was that Doncic played, for the most part, ISO basketball with the occasional brilliant pass. A lot of his assists came from ball dominance. James Harden never won a title and never will; his only thought going into games was "how can I dominate this game". Doncic had roughly the same mentality.
This year Doncic in my estimation graduated to the level of elites of the game - LeBron, Curry, Giannis, Brown/Tatum, Jokic - who go into a game like a military general thinking "how do WE dominate the battlefield".
This transition is not minor. Most of the big names in the basketball never make it there. Harden never did. Neither did Westbrook or Durant. Embiid and Booker.
The series between Dallas and Minnesota showed us the kind of player Doncic can be. Leading a team is not just about dominating the ball and directing traffic. It's about knowing the strengths of your teammates and how to bring the most out of them.
Doncic showed that with understanding Luckey's athleticism and ability to finish at the rim with well placed lobs. He figured out how to get Gafford involved in the offense off the pick and roll. Sure some of that is Kidd, but you need a leader who isn't so arrogant and stubborn that he's not willing to learn.
Doncic knew where to find PJ Washington at the 3 point line; Washington's 3 pt shooting in the post-season was higher than his career average (37.6% versus 35.4%)- keep in mind Washington was integrated into the Mavs offense with just 30 or so games on the team.
For all you LeBron critics, you might want to pay attention to his game because he does the same thing with his teammates. Or look at Jokic turning his B-squad into stars like Aaron Gordon and getting Murray wide open looks. Steph is legendary for turning people like Andrew Wiggins into stars.
Doncic has turned the corner for the simple reason he knows winning is a team undertaking.
He has to improve. In the Finals, he regressed to his older style of 'what do i have to do to score' vs 'what do we have to do to win'. The 1 assist in Game 1 was just a minor indicator of that. Whatever assists he got later in the playoffs were largely from ball dominance. LeBron and Steph can create even when they have tough defenders; Doncic has to learn to do that.
As long as he stays humble and keeps improving his overall game as a team leader, he's got a solid chance to bringing the trophy to Dallas.
For all the cries of "moar help", the real underlying problem with Dallas was that Doncic played, for the most part, ISO basketball with the occasional brilliant pass. A lot of his assists came from ball dominance. James Harden never won a title and never will; his only thought going into games was "how can I dominate this game". Doncic had roughly the same mentality.
This year Doncic in my estimation graduated to the level of elites of the game - LeBron, Curry, Giannis, Brown/Tatum, Jokic - who go into a game like a military general thinking "how do WE dominate the battlefield".
This transition is not minor. Most of the big names in the basketball never make it there. Harden never did. Neither did Westbrook or Durant. Embiid and Booker.
The series between Dallas and Minnesota showed us the kind of player Doncic can be. Leading a team is not just about dominating the ball and directing traffic. It's about knowing the strengths of your teammates and how to bring the most out of them.
Doncic showed that with understanding Luckey's athleticism and ability to finish at the rim with well placed lobs. He figured out how to get Gafford involved in the offense off the pick and roll. Sure some of that is Kidd, but you need a leader who isn't so arrogant and stubborn that he's not willing to learn.
Doncic knew where to find PJ Washington at the 3 point line; Washington's 3 pt shooting in the post-season was higher than his career average (37.6% versus 35.4%)- keep in mind Washington was integrated into the Mavs offense with just 30 or so games on the team.
For all you LeBron critics, you might want to pay attention to his game because he does the same thing with his teammates. Or look at Jokic turning his B-squad into stars like Aaron Gordon and getting Murray wide open looks. Steph is legendary for turning people like Andrew Wiggins into stars.
Doncic has turned the corner for the simple reason he knows winning is a team undertaking.
He has to improve. In the Finals, he regressed to his older style of 'what do i have to do to score' vs 'what do we have to do to win'. The 1 assist in Game 1 was just a minor indicator of that. Whatever assists he got later in the playoffs were largely from ball dominance. LeBron and Steph can create even when they have tough defenders; Doncic has to learn to do that.
As long as he stays humble and keeps improving his overall game as a team leader, he's got a solid chance to bringing the trophy to Dallas.