Getty Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks
In the aftermath of the Mavericks going down 0-3 in the 2024 NBA Finals, Luka Doncic faced the wrath of many media personalities, largely for fouling out of Game 3 with a little over four minutes left in the game.
Former NBA player Jay Williams urged Doncic to lose weight and improve his conditioning. Speaking on ESPN’s “Get Up” on June 13, Williams blamed Doncic’s physical condition for his lapses on defense and inability to play extended minutes.
“You can’t win championships if you have really bad habits and body language,” Williams said. “And then you do a ton of [expletive] all the time. Let’s be honest — those are the things we associate with Luka on the defensive end. Offensively, he is prolifically great, but his habits [on defense] are not really good.”
Williams then urged Doncic to turn the negatives into positives, suggesting that the 2024 NBA Finals should provide him “a moment of clarity” on his future.
“This offseason, he needs to lose weight,” Williams said. “Let’s be honest about it, he needs to be better defensively. He can be functional defensively — not good — but functional defensively, and make sound decisions when his conditioning is better down the stretch. Then, he can win a championship. This is his moment of clarity.”
Did Luka Doncic Let Dallas Down?
When Doncic fouled out of Game 3, Dallas was down 93-90 and still within striking distance of Boston. However, Doncic’s exit led to a 13-9 Celtics run to close out the game as they held the Mavs to 3-of-10 shooting in the last five minutes.
Many analysts blamed Doncic for putting his team in an uncompromising position, especially since he picked up four of his six fouls in the fourth quarter. Furthermore, Doncic also faced the wrath of pundits for his poor perimeter defense.
“I thought it was perfect that Luka fell onto the ground there in an unacceptable position to put himself in with four minutes left and five fouls,” Brian Windhorst said on ESPN’s “SportsCenter. “And then immediately looks at the bench and says, ‘You better bleeping challenge it.’ As if it’s the bench’s fault that he just made a terrible play.
“I’m standing here in the Mavericks’ tunnel. Over there is the Celtics’ tunnel — that’s where the winners are. If Luka’s ever going to be a winner coming out of this tunnel here, he’s going to have to use what’s happened in this Finals as a learning experience.
“His defensive performance is unacceptable — he is a hole on the court.”
Luka has been awful on defense 😳
According to ESPN’s “Get Up,” Doncic has allowed a 67.7% blow-by rate, the worst in a series in the past 10 years.
1:24 of Luka Doncic playing the worst defense you will ever see in the NBA Finals.
Mavericks Coach Admits Doncic’s Defensive Woes
After the Game 3 loss, even Mavericks coach Jason Kidd acknowledged that Doncic’s performance on the defensive end hurt their team’s chances.
“Yeah, he’s definitely got a bullseye on his chest,” Kidd told reporters. “So, he’s got to be able to guard and understand that we’re there to protect him and help him if he does get beat. Again, he’s carrying a load offensively. They are putting him in every pick-and-roll and iso. So, he’s got to be able to play the game where he can rest on offense and let others carry the load.”
Jason Kidd on Celtics hunting Luka Dončić when Mavs are on defense: “He’s definitely got a bullseye on his chest, he’s gotta be able to guard and understand that we’re there to protect him…”
The Mavericks still have an opportunity to recover from a 0-3 deficit when they host the Celtics for Game 4 on Friday, June 14. However, no team has ever bounced back from a 0-3 deficit in the NBA playoffs, let alone the finals.