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On Thursday, NBA legend-turned-TNT analyst Charles Barkley called out Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks for underachieving this season. According to the Hall of Famer, Doncic’s ball-dominant playstyle is holding the team back.
After rattling off a season-best seven-game winning streak last month and seemingly upgrading their roster during the trade deadline, the Mavericks have slumped. They entered Thursday losers of five of their last six games, including three straight.
During that span, Dallas has the NBA’s worst defensive rating (127.3), pushing it down to 23rd (117.3) for the season. The Mavericks’ defensive shortcomings come despite their top deadline acquisitions being defensive-minded center Daniel Gafford and two-way forward P.J. Washington.
Thus, ahead of Thursday night’s TNT matchup against the Miami Heat, Barkley didn’t mince words about Dallas’ disappointing play. The former MVP highlighted how Doncic isn’t utilizing his teammates enough, leading him to rack up impressive stat lines in losses.
“The Mavericks frustrate me so much because they should be so much better,” Barkley said. “We make a big deal out of Luka’s numbers, [but] his numbers should be going down. When you’re a great player, the better players you play with, your numbers should go down.
“He’s got to do a much better job of getting rid of the ball [and] using those other guys. They’re playing the same way they played when they didn’t have any talent.”
Dallas’ offensive rating with Doncic as its offensive hub ranks seventh (117.6) for the season and eighth (116.9) over its recent 1-5 stretch. So, it’s unclear how much better offensively Barkley thinks the team can be if the five-time All-Star moves the ball more.
However, regardless of their offensive system, the Mavericks will likely need to start playing more defense if they hope to make a deep playoff run.
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Shaquille O’Neal pushes back on Charles Barkley’s critique of Luka Doncic’s inflated scoring numbers
After Charles Barkley called for Luka Doncic’s stats to decrease now that he has better teammates, his co-host Shaquille O’Neal disagreed. According to the big man, Doncic can still be the NBA’s top scorer and lead the Mavericks to success.
“Michael Jordan was the leading scorer in the league when he was winning championships. I was the leading scorer in the league when I won championships,” O’Neal said. “Let’s just say Luka’s number is 30 [points]. You can still average 30 and get other people involved.”
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Through 54 games, Doncic is averaging a league-best 34.6 points, 9.0 rebounds, 9.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 3.9 3-pointers per game on 49.6% shooting. He is averaging 3.5 ppg more than any other player. Additionally, since the All-Star break, his scoring average has increased to 37.6 ppg.
It remains to be seen if Doncic’s heliocentric playstyle will translate to playoff success for Dallas. However, the Mavericks (34-28, eighth in the Western Conference) are running out of time to round into form, with just 19 games remaining after Thursday.
