The Mavericks have produced a relatively successful 2023/24 NBA season so far, especially considering they missed out on the playoffs last year. This time around, they rank eighth in the Western Conference standings with a 26-21 mark, after beating the Orlando Magic this Monday evening in a tight contest.
The truth is, the Dallas team wouldn’t even be in postseason contention midway through the competition if it wasn’t for Luka Doncic‘s masterful exhibitions, as he recently produced the fourth-highest scoring display in league history when he dropped 73 points last week.
Even though the Slovenian star is putting up another MVP-contending season, the Texan squad is yet to show their potential as one of the NBA’s best teams. According to Luka, the Mavs still need to show more physicality if they want to have a chance at holding the trophy by June.
After missing 3 games with an ankle sprain, LUKA DONCIC has averaged a 40-point triple-double over his last 6 🔥
41 PTS | 11.8 AST | 11.3 REB | 1.7 STL | 50% FGpic.twitter.com/11yMmFIwGu
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) January 30, 2024
“As for what we lack and what we should do, it is clear that we should play much more physically,” Doncic shared. “Practically everyone is much more physical against us than we are against them. We need to change that.”
The 24-year-old has been long enough in the league to understand what the biggest teams possess they they don’t in Dallas, as other franchises are significantly more physical against them. However, the guard believes that the secret is about play hard without committing fouls.
“We just got to be more physical – that’s it. I think when we play physical 48 minutes, it’s hard to beat us,” he shared after losing to the Suns last week. “We got to play physically without fouling.”
Up to this point, the Mavericks are still one of the smallest teams in the NBA, especially considering that nowadays big men are considered to be six-foot-eight or even taller. In the Dallas roster, Luka seems to be the tallest perimeter player available, and the squad has grown dependent on using the Slovenian in almost all lineup combinations.
Doncic insists that one of the reasons why the Mavs have underperformed this season is due to constant injuries
Despite the fact that Dallas are currently standing eighth in the Western Conference, you could still say they aren’t living up to their potential. According to superstar Luka Doncic, one of the main reasons is due to the constant injury threat, that has even left his co-star Kyrie Irving sidelined for many games this season.
“I’m not saying people aren’t taking into account all of our injury problems this season, but maybe not enough of them,” the guard told the Slovenian press. “It was a serious injury crisis; there was always someone missing, and there was always someone important missing.”
He then added: “In my opinion, we are even closer to being in perfect shape and at least approximately healthy now. Especially our ‘Big 3,’ as we would say here — we have played very little together in matches, even less in training. We still have to get used to it, even though we are already in the second half of the regular season.”
The Mavericks have struggled to stay healthy lately, as Dante Exum, Derrick Jones Jr., and Dwight Powell were listed as questionable for Monday’s clash against the Magic.
