PORTLAND – Mavericks superstar guard Luka Doncic has been carrying a heavy work load lately. And coach Jason Kidd is
worried.
Entering Saturday’s contest in Portland, Doncic was averaging 40.4 minutes over the past seven games. And that’s way too much for the Mavs’ liking.
“We are concerned about the minutes,” Kidd said. “He’s averaging 40 here in the last (seven games), so that means he’s playing over 40 minutes a night.
“We’ve got to figure out how to get these minutes down, but it is a concern.”
Before the game against Portland, Doncic, who is 24 years old, played over 40 minutes in four of the past seven games. Kidd plans to get that number down.
“You take out being young, he’s been a pro since he was 13,” Kidd said. “So, I think that is something that we’ve got to play attention to.”
Against the Blazers, Doncic only played 37 minutes. But what a spectacular 37 minutes they were.
Before the third quarter was even over, Doncic had already collected a triple-double. He finished the night with 40 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
KIDD ON BROGDON: When Jason Kidd was coaching the Milwaukee Bucks, one of the players he coached was Malcolm Brogdon.
At the time, the Bucks made Brogdon a second-round draft pick in 2016 – No. 36 overall – after he was the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year. Although Brodgon was a consensus first-team All-American, Kidd believes he felt slighted.
“When you talk about Malcolm, first being drafted in the second round, he had a chip on his shoulders,” Kidd said. “In Milwaukee he always had to prove himself each time he’s taken the floor — the doubters, the people who felt that he couldn’t play the game at a high level.
Brogdon proved the doubters wrong. Not only was he the NBA Rookie of the Year, but after he joined the Boston Celtics, last year he won the league’s Sixth Man Award.
“He’s a winner,” Kidd said. “He knows how to play the game. He puts a lot of pressure on your defense.
“Not just with his ability to score, but also to find guys. So, he knows how to play the game, understands how to play the game, and has a big basketball IQ.”
BRIEFLY: The Mavs played Saturday night without guard Kyrie Irving (right heel contusion), guard Josh Green (right elbow sprain), forward Maxi Kleber (right small toe dislocation) and center Richaun Holmes (non-Covid illness) . . . After New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson scored a career-high 50 points during Friday’s 139-122 win in Phoenix, Suns forward Keivn Durant said the former Mavs guard would be in the Hall Of Fame if he maintains that type of production. When asked about Durant’s comments, Mavs coach Jason Kidd said: “I would never discount Jalen. He’s kind of in that same boat as (Portland guard) Malcolm (Brogdon). He’s got a chip on his shoulders. He understands how to play the game, has a big basketball IQ.” Brunson, who played for the Mavs from 2018-22, was 17-of-23 from the floor against the Suns, including a perfect 9-of-9 from three-point land. “The way he shot the basketball (Friday) night, we saw that as a Mav,” Kidd said. “And then to have 50 points to help his team win, that’s what he’s all about is trying to help his team. To be a hall of famer, if he continues to put up numbers like that, yes, for sure.”
X: @DwainPrice
Share and comment