Is Luka Doncic a defensive liability for Dallas Mavericks vs Boston Celtics?

There isn’t much that the Slovenian does badly on a basketball court - if anything - but there is a stat that’s beginning to paint a different picture and that’s not good news for him or the Mavericks who currently trail the Celtics 2-0.

Is Luka Doncic making enough effort on defense?

While it’s true that Luka Doncic is carrying multiple injuries in the NBA Finals, and heroically playing through them, there is no way to avoid the fact that he is beginning to cost the Dallas Mavericks on defense. To be fair, it’s not just Doncic either as you will see in the clip below. Indeed, there is also Kyrie Irving who like Doncic has been incredible on offense but against a team that doesn’t quit like the Celtics, it takes more than making your shots.

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It’s also got to be said that as much as the narrative surrounding Doncic’s injuries must be factored in, said injuries have not stopped him from going crazy on offense. In Dallas’ Game 2 loss, the Slovenian played 42 minutes, scoring 32 points, while pulling down 11 rebounds, notching 11 assists, and making 4 steals. With the triple-double Doncic joined LeBron James (twice), Charles Barkley, and the late Jerry West as the only players to have 30-point triple-doubles in a Finals loss.

To be clear, it would be unfair to say that the Mavericks are where they are now because of Doncic’s apparent failures on defense. On the other hand, there is enough evidence to suggest that he could do better. Of course, should the Mavericks go down 3-0, a deficit that’s never been overturned in an NBA Finals, it like won’t matter if even he does.