Dallas Mavericks
The 2019-20 Dallas Mavericks season can be defined by Luka’s ascension to MVP candidate in just his second year in the league while turning just 21 years old.
What did we learn?
To describe Luka Doncic play basketball is to describe magic.
LukaMagic is realer than real.
We have not seen a young player with his vast control of the game since LeBron. There is no higher praise that we can give than that. Luka has a court vision into the future, seeing plays develop in slow motion and setting up his teammates with enthrallingly perfect, pinpoint passes. The more open you are, the easier the catch-and-shoot 3 is, and Luka gets you wide open looks. It takes an entire defense to defend him. He attracts defenders like bananas attract fruit flies. He has incredible body control and impeccable footwork. Luka’s step-back 3’s are poetry in motion. Slow motion. You know it’s coming. And he still delivers.
Luka led the Mavs to the number 1 efficient offense in the NBA and one of the most efficient offenses in NBA history while posting the 8th-highest Usage Rate ever. Wonderboy constantly had us shouting HALLELUKA.
Luka’s game is so advanced and ridiculously good that it became surprising when he didn’t achieve a triple-double. And he was not just putting up regular ole triple-doubles either, no sir. We are talking about monumental triple-doubles. 40-point triple-doubles. 17-rebound triple-doubles. Sometimes in the same game. Like in the playoffs against the fucking Clippers.
His Euro-counterpart, Kristaps Porzingis, was slow out of gate, playing his first ball since February 2018. But KP very much got going, taking over games with line drive three-balls sniped from the top of the mountain and with volleyball spike blocks. When Luka missed a few games, Porzingis carried the Mavs as the number 1 option. Alas, the health concerns came a calling in the bubble. The latest is a torn meniscus and knee surgery which can be added to his rap sheet longer than George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire.
The reason why we were not very high on the Mavs in the preseason was because of the pedestrian-looking supporting cast and lack of a solidified third guy. The other Mavs excelled in a big way. Rick Carlisle absolutely got the most out of the rest of the roster. Thanks in large part to how easy Luka made their jobs.
But the rest of the squad could also play together. Sound team ball. That goes such a long way.
Tim Hardaway Jr. proved more than capable of being that third dude, thriving off of open catch-and-shoot threes generated by LukaMagic. THJ also stepped his game up on the defensive side of the ball. He even had us forgetting about his porous contract sometimes.
Seth Curry was a three-point deadeye, shooting 45 percent for a second straight season and on a career-high 5 three-point attempts per game.
We learned that DFS is a power dunker and a put-back monster! DFS was also a 3-and-D delight, a much more versatile and switchable defender on the wing than we realized.
Maxi Kleber impressed us on a numerous occasions. And his Call-me 3 celebration was a joy.
Dwight Powell, a primary pick-and-roll partner for Luka, tore his Achilles in January but the Mavs kept on humming.
Trey Burke showed up in the bubble and we thought, “Hold up… Is that really Trey Burke!?” Burke was a boon for the bubble Mavs.
If Luka and the Mavs have not already become MUST-SEE appointment viewing on a nightly basis, then you are truly missing out and you might not be as big of a basketballin’ stan as you think you are.
Luka’s Game 4 against the Clippers in the first round would have been one of the great young playoff performances in NBA history and that was before he hit the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer.
The kid is already a legend.
LukaMagic is here, and you better not blink or you might just miss it.
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What are the answers to our Season Preview Final Questions?
Can Rick Carlisle get the most out of the other Mavs?
100 percent YES.
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Would our preseason Over/Under prediction have hit?
Dallas will be wildly entertaining to watch with the fascinating Doncic-Porzingis duo, but a weak supporting cast and bench spells trouble in the stacked West. We are leaning UNDER 40.5 wins. (49% winning pct)
Mavs 2019-20 final record: (43-32) 57% winning pct
NOPE, our preseason Over/Under prediction would NOT have hit.
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What’s Next?
Do it with the target on your back.
Get KP healthy! And Dwight Powell.
More versatile defenders would be ideal.
One knock on Luka and the 2019-20 Mavs would be consistent crunch-time offense. Luka has a list of game winners and clutch buckets already under his belt, but when the game slows all the way down at the end, it’s more difficult when you’ve already carried such a strenuous offensive workload throughout the entire game. Another play maker would be beneficial. Bogdan Bogdanovic is an intriguing fit.
Giannis Free Agency Summer 2021 looms.
More BOBAN!
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Favorite Highlight from the 2019-20 Season:
43 points, 17 rebounds and 13 assists.
Realer than real.
