Luka, Porzingis must play better together for Dallas Mavericks to take the next step
Luka Doncic is back. He’s a starter in an NBA All-Star game, and now his priority must be to figure out how to set up not LeBron James but his own teammate.
LD to KP should be one of the more feared duos in basketball. Despite the individual success of Luka and Kristaps Porzingis, when they are on the floor together, it’s not entirely there. Together, they are due for a growth spurt.
The pairing of Luka and KP has far exceeded the immediate expectations of ... pretty much everyone associated with the sport. The Mavs are 10 games over .500 in a secure position for the playoffs, and The Luka is one of the best young basketball players in the world.
Armed with enough money from the Mavs to buy his native Latvia, with every game played Porzingis looks more like the All-Star whom the New York Knicks traded to Mark Cuban’s toy last year and not just a guy coming off major knee surgery.
The challenge for coach Rick Carlisle is to get these guys playing off each other rather than just Luka carrying the games, and Z providing loose change.
The only way for the Mavs to become something more than what they are, which is a lower-seed playoff team, is for these young men to figure out how to thrive together rather than just as individuals.
After missing the last seven games with a sprained ankle, Doncic returned Wednesday night at American Airlines Center against the Sacramento Kings. It is the Mavs’ last game before the NBA’s All-Star game, and Doncic is slated to be able to participate in the All-Star weekend.
Kristaps Doncic from outer space
Look at the stat sheet, and these two are thriving.
Doncic averages 28.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 1 steal per game. The only knock to his game is he remains a bit careless with the ball, as he averages more than 4.2 turnovers per game.
Given how much Doncic handles the ball, and what he can do with it, the Mavs will live with that part.
His second season has been so good he was voted as a starter in the NBA All-Star game.
His Eastern Euro buddy, Porzingis, averages 18.2 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.9 blocks her game. Although he was previously an All-Star in his time with the Knicks, he did not land a spot this time.
The Mavs aren’t too concerned with that. For a guy who missed the last season-and-a-half after sustaining a torn ACL, Porzingis has been a highly productive player.
“At 7-foot-3, the things he can do offensively and defensively are extremely unique,” Carlisle said. “We knew this was going to be a process-type, transitional year getting him back on the floor. He’s been very patient. Very diligent. He’s making great progress as the year goes along.”
Kristaps Doncic on the floor
By all accounts Doncic and Z are friends. This entire team gets along quite well, and socializes both on and off the road. That doesn’t always happen at this level.
The “problem” is on the court, and that in order to thrive Doncic has the ball in his hands a lot. Between points and assists, he contributes approximately 50 points per game.
Without Doncic, the Mavs are 5-6 this season. Twice in those 11 games the Mavs kept Porzingis out, and won. Please note the games were against the Atlanta Hawfuls and Charlotte Lottery Balls.
KP’s production without Luka is the encouraging/alarming part. When Luka is out, Porzingis averages 26 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. In that stretch were three straight games where KP scored 30 plus points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
When I asked Luka how he thinks he has played with Zingis this season, he said, “Good.”
A man of many words.
The challenge for the Mavs, RC, Luka and Z is to have all of this production when the Mavs’ best two players are on the floor together.
“The important thing is to win games. If I score 30, or 10, the important thing is to win games,” Luka said. “Right now, I think, we have had a tough couple of weeks. We just have to get back on track and win games.”
Solid sports cliches aside, as witnessed when Luka was out with his sprained ankle for the last two weeks, Z can score more. He needs the ball more.
“I think people look too much at scoring average and numbers and not enough at the big picture and what we are trying to do as a team,” Carlisle said.
Thanks for the tip.
What the Mavs are trying to do as a team is reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016, win a playoff series for the first time since 2011, and their second NBA title in franchise history.
They paired Zingis with Doncic to achieve all of this.
What we have seen so far is these two together are good, and now we know they are due for a growth spurt.
This story was originally published February 12, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
