By no means are the Dallas Mavericks technically out of these NBA Finals. It’s just that no one has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in league history, and it seems exceedingly unlikely Dallas will be the first team ever to do so — especially against Jaylen Brown and his juggernaut Boston Celtics.
Luka Doncic’s glaring shortcomings are arguably the biggest reason the Mavericks will already be fighting for their season this Friday night.
After carrying Dallas to the Finals, the 25-year-old superstar has struggled defensively as the Celtics have relentlessly targeted him. At the same time, Doncic has faded hard late in all three Finals games — even inexcusably fouling out of Game 3 — and showed an apparent (and not new) lack of conditioning that’s cost him and his teammates everything so far.
During his press conference on Thursday, Doncic admitted he has holes in his skill set. While the Finals aren’t over, it’s abundantly clear they’re something he’ll have to address for his Mavericks to win a title:
Luka Doncic on if there are any holes in his game he wants to work on this summer that have showed up in the Finals:
“Yeah, a lot of holes… This is my first NBA Finals, so I’m going to learn from it… But we’re not in offseason mode yet.” pic.twitter.com/taKnnBQ9Xe
— Jack Simone (@JackSimoneNBA) June 13, 2024
It’s not unprecedented for stars of Doncic’s mold to experience a little heartbreak before they finally break through. Losing and learning where you have to improve to succeed has been a rite of passage for every major star in NBA history. Everyone from Michael Jordan and LeBron James to Nikola Jokic went through this kind of challenging trial in some capacity.
Doncic knows what next steps he has to take to lift the Mavericks over the top. That’s half the battle. And no matter what happens during the rest of these Finals, he still has plenty of time to grow.