The Dallas Mavericks will hope to find their way back to the 2025 NBA Finals and maybe even win the title this time around after their loss to the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA Finals. One of the biggest criticisms of Dallas has been the defensive effort of Luka Doncic. On Mavericks media day, head coach Jason Kidd made it clear that Doncic will be expected to be a much-improved defender next season.
“There’s going to be nights where Luka has to guard someone… It’s going to be a committee, This league is about matchups and being able to get the matchups right. I don’t think he’s going to run from that.”
“Kai (Kyrie Irving) and Klay (Thompson), there’s going to be a committee of guys who are gonna have to guard. There’s going to be nights where Luka is gonna have to guard maybe someone a little bit quicker. There’s not too many guys that are as fast as him, I know everybody thinks I was joking, but there’s some seriousness that Luka’s gonna have to guard somebody,”
The addition of Klay Thompson this summer has massively increased the defensive responsibilities of Doncic. There’s no standout defender like Derrick Jones Jr. on the Mavericks roster anymore, with the team choosing to add offense with Klay after their rough shooting in the 2024 Finals.
Luka has been regarded as a slow and lazy defender for years, but pictures of Doncic from media day show that he’s noticeably slimmer compared to how he ended last season. While we’ve seen Doncic start a season in shape, his challenge is to stay in shape all throughout the season.
Doncic has been a strong defender in flashes and is a positive post defender, but he’s a guard who will be switched onto perimeter defense situations where he can’t let players blow by him anymore.
He averaged 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 9.8 assists last season to make up for his defensive limitations, but the offensive help the Mavs have added this season should help Luka conserve energy for defense.
Luka Doncic Is Excited To Play Alongside Kyrie Irving And Klay Thompson
Luka Doncic is excited to share the floor with Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson, looking forward to the space they’ll have on offense to impact the game as teams can’t choose to focus on any one of the three offensive weapons.
“Me and Kai when we have the ball, you can’t help off Klay because if you leave him wide open, he’s going to make it. The spacing is going to be crucial for us. But I will tell you more of that after a couple of games.”
Thompson is coming into this season after averaging 17.9 points on 38.7% from three in his final year with the Golden State Warriors. Last season was Kyrie Irving’s first full year with the Mavericks, averaging 25.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.2 assists while playing a crucial role in their Finals run.
With additions like Quentin Grimes, Naji Marshall, and the returning Spencer Dinwiddie, the Mavericks will be optimistic about their chances to be one of the best teams in the NBA this season.
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