If the first two games of the season are an indication, MFFLs might want to check the prices of blood-pressure medication.
It’s been nothing if not tense and intense during the late moments of the season-opener in San Antonio and the 125-120 home-opening win over Brooklyn on Friday night at American Airlines Center.
And at times like this, it’s good to have Luka Dončić.
It’s only been two games. But the Mavericks are 2-0 and Dončić is two-for-two in pulse-pounding moments. And one of the best things about it is that he’s doing it with Kyrie Irving as a legitimate sidekick.
This is Luka’s team. And will be for the foreseeable future. Irving seems OK with that. And we’ve seen him walk that walk before (see: LeBron James, Kevin Durant). It’s worked before. It’s failed before. But the first two games have shown just how crucial this dynamic is for the Mavericks’ success.
“It’s still early, man. It’s real early,” Irving said after Friday’s emotional win. “We’ve been able to transfer what we’re doing in practice into games this early in the season. We’ve worked on our end-of-game situations. We don’t want any examples where we don’t get a shot off.
“It’s still in the back of my mind when I was first here and you didn’t know who was going to take the game-winning shot or who was going to be that guy that comes up clutch.”
Now, we’re seeing the value of an offseason and training camp of work, knowing that this is a backcourt tandem that had to figure things out.
They seem to have done so.
“We all respect each other’s talents,” Irving said. “When you have selfless guys such as myself and Luka and we’re looking to each other and you have the guys looking to us and we’re willing to pass the ball and allow each other to be great, I think it sets the precedent for us as a team.
“Luka’s going to be Luka. I’m going to be me. We want everybody to be themselves. But we also have roles we want to develop in order to be a greater team. As much as a person on the team may take a burden on, we don’t want that. We want everybody to be there for each other and live with the mistakes and live with the success together.”
So far, the successes have been exhilarating, largely because Luka has been Luka.
Here’s our takeaways from the home-opening win:
Do you really have to ask? The No. 1 bit of fallout from Friday was Dončić and his 49 points that he augmented with 10 rebounds and seven assists. He had one of those nights. He made 9-of-14 shots – from outside the three-point arc. It’s a good thing, too, because the rest of the team was 6-for-22. Luka even made 8-of-10 free throws. And, of course, there was The Shot. Pinned on the right sideline in front of the Mavericks’ bench and the shot clock dwindling, Dončić took matters into his own, right hand and lofted a sort-of hook shot, maybe a baby hook. He was only trying to hit the rim to set up a potential offensive rebound and reset the shot clock. He blew that one. The ball never hit rim. Lots of air for about 25 feet, glass, net. And the Mavericks went ahead 123-120 with 26 seconds to go. The Nets were crestfallen. The Mavericks were 2-0. “When Luka’s having a special night like that, it’s amazing to see – not just as an opponent. Just being on his team,” Irving said. “We just have to continue to feed him that good energy so he brings us home.”
Perfection: There were three good instances of perfection against the Nets. The centers started it. Both Dereck Lively II and Dwight Powell hit all four of their field-goal attempts. And of course, the Mavericks now are 2-0. The last time they started a season with two wins: The 2019-20 season when they reached 21-10 before leveling out and having the season disrupted by COVID-19.
And how about Irving? The second-in-command has not shot the ball great yet this season, but that doesn’t mean he’s not producing. He and Luka have combined for 20 points in the fourth quarters of both games so far. But Irving says there’s massive room for improvement. “(There’s) a level of frustration – first two games, you want to play extremely well and set the precedent. But again, it’s not a ‘me’ game. It’s a team sport. My teammates are picking me up. I think you’re going to see a bit of a different role for me this year because of the pieces we have. And how well we can give Luka a break when he’s not necessarily being the No. 1 scoring threat. Just balancing out everything.”
X: @ESefko
Share and comment