Stephen A. Smith warns Dallas Mavericks of foreseeable trouble coming in Luka Doncic's way: “He's doing his job on 50%”

The Dallas Mavericks are 14-13 this season and just staying afloat in the Western Conference standings. The team is currently in 8th place in the conference, and if the playoffs start today, they will be in the play-in tournament. However, the Mavericks will have to be in a better position if they want to make it back to the conference finals.

One thing that stands out about the Dallas Mavericks this season is that Luka Doncic is shouldering a lot of the burden alone. He doesn’t have a legitimate second option that would allow him to pull back some. The 23-year-old Slovenian point guard has to be his team's primary scorer and distributor.

On ESPN’s “First Take,” host Stephen A. Smith critiqued the current situation in Dallas. The Mavericks have shown how big of a loss Jalen Brunson was in free agency during the offseason.

"Dallas is on the clock. They gotta get him some help," Stephen A. Smith said.

"Spencer Dinwitty, okay, and Tim Hardaway Jr., good, but not enough. You can't have that level of discrepancy asking him [Doncic] to carry that load all season long, and it's not eventually going to work against you," Smith added.

"He needs help. 33-8 in 8, he's doing his job. On 50% ... he's doing his job," Smith concluded.

Smith pointed out that the difference between Maverick's support cast and Luka is too stark. Doncic averages 33.1 points per game, and the next leading scorer is Spencer Dinwiddie, who averages 16.8 ppg. In contrast, in a team like the Boston Celtics, who have the best record in the league, Jayson Tatum averages 30.0 ppg, followed by Jaylen Brown with 26.8 ppg.

Dallas has until the February 9 trade deadline to make a move that would bring in someone who could support Doncic. They currently have their superstar under contract until 2027, but who knows how long he will play at this high level? Smith referenced this when he stated that the team was running out of time. It will be hard for Luka Doncic to continue carrying this type of load.

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James Harden carried a heavy load like the Mavericks' El Matador

A team can only go so far with one star in the NBA. Most great teams have had a one-two punch or even a big three. If the Mavericks continue to go down this road, they could have a good run with a star that doesn’t amount to any titles.

This has been seen before in the NBA with guys like James Harden when he was with the Houston Rockets. Harden won the 2018 MVP award, but he never played in the NBA Finals as a member of the Rockets. The team eventually got him the supporting stars to make a run, but injuries then got in the way.