Unlikely: Luka Doncic Says He Will Not Play With Mavericks Again” Till Coach “Jason Frederick Kidd” Will Leave….
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic couldn’t hide his frustration after they were blown out by the Indiana Pacers during their Tuesday showdown.
Doncic went all-out for the Mavericks in the contest, but similar to their recent games, his efforts went for naught as Dallas couldn’t find a way to slow down the Pacers’ high-octane offense.
Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic Clearly Frustrated
The Mavs and Pacers were still close at halftime, with Indiana leading by just four at 74-70. Nonetheless, Tyrese Haliburton and Co. pulled away in the third quarter using a massive 32-18 run.
During that wild stretch, the Mavs just couldn’t buy a shot. They were 1-of-8 from deep and made just a total of six shots out of 23 attempts.
With less than two minutes to play in the period, Doncic was visibly frustrated. The Slovenian star had 28 points at the half and added six more in the third, but the shots of his Mavs teammates weren’t just falling.
Following a Pacers timeout, Doncic was seen really angry from the bench. After he was given a bottle of water, he proceeded to slam it to the floor in anger. For added context, however, Doncic’s outburst came after he missed a finger roll prior to the timeout.
As the broadcasters were saying, Doncic was likely mad by the fact that he missed such an easy two.
Still, it’s definitely not a good look for Doncic and the Mavericks. While it’s normal for players to really be emotional, the fact of the matter is it’s a bad sign and speaks volumes of how the franchise player feels about the current status of the team.
Doncic finished the game with a triple-double of 39 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Unfortunately for Dallas, they lost 137-120.
NBA Fans React To Luka Doncic’s Outburst
Sure enough the video of Luka Doncic’s show of anger quickly went viral. After all, whenever a player does something like that, it signifies unhappiness and dissatisfaction. And when that happens, talks of a potential exit intensify.
Having said that, several fans express belief that Doncic is on his way out of Dallas, especially if they don’t get to contend any time soon.
“He’s leaving in the next 2 seasons,” a commenter said. “Time to get traded,” another one said.
“Trade demand to Denver confirmed.,” a third X user shared.
Others also criticized Doncic for his ball-dominant style of play, emphasizing that he will never win a title by playing like that.
“We’ve seen this style of play with [James] Harden in Houston. You can’t win that way! The great Kobe Bryant told you!” a critic claimed.
The Dallas Mavericks really need to find a solution to their current struggles. If they continue to lose winnable games, they could end up missing the playoffs altogether once again.
LeBron James recently made history by being the first to amass 40,000 career points in the NBA. A question now is whether we will see another player achieve the feat in this lifetime.
Some folks believe Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic, whom James once called his favorite player, is “The King’s” heir apparent who will follow in his footsteps.
The Los Angeles Lakers icon eclipsing 40K is by no means an easy feat. Aside from his scoring prowess, as evidenced by his career average of 27.1 points per game, James’ durability and longevity have also played a significant role in his possibly untouchable record. Before his Lakers stint that began when he was turning 34, he had suited up for around 76 games per season.
Will Mavericks star Luka Doncic join LeBron James next on exclusive list?
In the scoring department, Luka Doncic may already have the edge over his idol. Through his first six campaigns suiting up for the Dallas Mavericks, he has averaged 28.5 points per contest. At the moment, he is on pace to post a career-high for a season, leading the league with 34.5 points per match.
Considering that in today’s NBA, offense is given more importance than defense, and there is more emphasis on the 3-point shot, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Doncic maintain a scoring average over 30 in the remainder of his prime.
It’s also worth noting that this campaign’s likely scoring champion has already eclipsed 10,000 points for his career. Even though James holds the record for being the youngest player to reach that mark, Doncic did it in his 358th contest, 10 fewer than the four-time MVP.
There are some obstacles, though, to the 25-year-old’s pursuit of joining the 40K club.
For one, he has had a lengthy injury history so far. He hasn’t appeared in at least 72 matches in a season since his rookie year. In addition, he doesn’t seem interested in chasing any of LeBron’s records, stating that he is not looking to play as long as James has done, although he seems to be joking.
But just how long would it plausibly take for the five-time All-Star to score over 29,000 more to make it to 40,000?
Let’s say he puts up 30.0 points per game for the rest of his career; he would need around 967 more appearances to attain that goal. That means playing 12 to 14 more seasons with barely spending time on the injury list. But with the number of matches he has already missed, Doncic might have to stay in the NBA for a couple more years.
So, while the four-time All-NBA First-Team selection replicating the latest feat by James is certainly not outside the realm of possibility, he is probably not sweating it. After all, his picture of a perfect career involves a championship.
Read more about Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks by staying tuned with us.
