Getty Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks.
The Dallas Mavericks dropped their fourth straight game on Sunday, losing to the Charlotte Hornets 110-104. Dallas’ skid really couldn’t have come at a worse time. They’ve got just seven regular-season games remaining and are now slated to miss the postseason altogether.
On top of that, star guard Luka Doncic recently told the media he hasn’t been having much fun playing basketball as of late.
“It’s really frustrating,” Doncic said Friday via the Fanatics YouTube channel. “I think you can see it with me on the court. Sometimes, I don’t feel it’s me. Just being out there. I used to have [a lot of] fun. Smiling on the court. But it’s just been so frustrating. For a lot of reasons, not just basketball.”
His backcourt partner, Kyrie Irving, spoke out on Doncic’s comments, saying that he’s glad that he acknowledged the issues he’s been having.
“I’m sure he’s had some private time to acknowledge it, but when he acknowledges it in a public eye, I think it’s usually suppressed emotions from a long period of time and he just wanted to get it out off of his chest, and I’m proud of him for being honest and open,” Irving said via Sports Illustrated’s Grant Afseth. “We obviously talked about it in the locker room briefly, but for me, I’ve said throughout my whole entire year, this past year, of just really paying attention to the human element. The wins and losses come and go, but the kind of nitpicking of judgment of what’s going on when someone says, ‘I’m having human emotions,’ and then it goes to what’s the blame or who’s the blame? And it starts pointing fingers. You know, that’s the aspect that I don’t enjoy about this sport at all. There’s a human element that goes into this where we perform every single day. You know, this is a 24/7 job. I don’t think people realize that, at times, that are not entrenched with us…”
After Sunday’s loss, Kyrie Irving was asked about Luka Doncic’s comments about frustrations in his post-game comments from Friday.
“I’m sure he’s had some private time to acknowledge it, but when he acknowledges it in a public eye, I think it’s usually suppressed emotions from a…
Mavs’ Jason Kidd Responds to Luka Doncic’s Comments
Irving wasn’t the only one who showed support for Doncic. Head coach Jason Kidd had sent a similar message before Sunday’s rematch against the Hornets.
“You have to give him credit for saying that,” Kidd said via The Dallas Morning News’ Callie Caplan. “He’s human. He spoke his truth. … As an organization, our job is to help, so we’re helping. Hopefully you see that smile today and that swagger. I’ll bet that you see it.”
Jason Kidd on Luka Doncic’s frustration and lack of joy: “You have to give him credit for saying that. He’s human. He spoke his truth. … As an organization, our job is to help, so we’re helping. Hopefully you see that smile today and that swagger. I’ll bet that you see it.”
Kyrie Irving Airs Frustrations After Mavs Fall to Hornets
Friday night was almost a Festivus for the Mavericks. Postgame press conferences had everyone “airing grievances,” after the embarrassing defeat to the tanking Hornets.
Irving fired off a rant to the media, complaining that he and Doncic are always being cited when the team plays poorly, rather than the entire roster.
“I mean, not really. I didn’t imagine [this],” Irving said via the Fanatics View YouTube channel. “I expect to win every ball game that I play. So, that’s the attitude I go on with. But the reality is what it in. We are 3-7. But again, it’s a team basketball game. As much as people want to put it on me and Luka, it’s a team basketball game, and we talk about that in a locker room. Everyone loves to point fingers at what we’re doing, but it’s a team-aspect game. And I feel like when we focus on our team aspect, that’s when we get clear answers. But when we focus on two guys and what our numbers are and whether we can play better, it limits all the other guys and their capabilities in that locker room, and I don’t want to do that. I believe in each one of those guys. And when I was coming here, I knew that giving up Dorian Finney-Smith or giving up Spencer [Dinwiddie], that was gonna be a change to any lineup that they had going o. Different minutes. Guys get in and out of the lineup. I haven’t necessarily been as healthy as I would like to be at this point in the season. Other guys haven’t been as healthy. e and Luka as well, more importantly. But again, there’s no time for excuses. We just got to lace them up and get ready.”