Mavs Stun Bucks - X's and Owens

I’m having fun now. If that game doesn’t leave you with a good feeling in your core as a Mavs fan I don’t know what to tell you. Every night before I go to bed I brush my teeth, set my alarm, and give my thanks that we have Luka Doncic on our team. He’s incredible, logging 36 points, 14 rebounds, and 19 assists (This 19 assists could’ve been much more if not for our spot up shooting still being poor). The first 3 installations of X’s and Owens have been very negative, so today I will focus on the positive from what I saw tonight and what I foresee for the future (so basically we won't be mentioning Tim Hardaway Jr. or the officiating).

Pre-NBA restart the Mavs had a serious issue in that Luka and Kristaps had struggles with co-existing on the court and were rarely able to have great performances at the same time. Although it is early, and although these first few bubbles have been admittedly rough, The cohesion between these two young euro superstars has been very reassuring. Kristaps has been playing much more aggressively since the restart, making stronger moves when he gets the ball in the mid post and getting to the free throw line consistently, while Luka has been getting to the rim and finishing or distributing the ball with finesse to the wide open man.

Dorian Finney-Smith was electric against the Sacramento Kings, and tonight was no different. DFS is a huge part of whether or not the Mavs have success on both defense and offense. Dorian’s offensive rebounding/putback abilities has never ceased to amaze me. Every time a Mavericks shot goes up my eyes automatically lock onto DFS as he streaks to the rim for an attempted ferocious put back slam. Dorian led the team in minutes with 43, and his defense during that time was fun to watch.

Luka is amazing, simple as that. For a player to be in the final 3 for the Most Improved Player award after having a historic rookie season the year before is incredible. This game yet again cemented his spot as a top 5 player in the NBA as he had highlight reel plays, clutch buckets, and stuffed the statline. His Free throw shooting, which has not been great this season, was consistent as he went 9/10 from the line. With a little over a minute left in OT up by 2, Doncic comes off a handoff and throws a sweet off hand in between the legs pass to a diving Maxi Kleber for the Dunk with the foul. The amount of confidence a player must have to attempt and succeed in making this type of play simply left me awestruck. The future is blindingly bright for young Luka as he continues to improve and make highlight reel plays.

In my last article I wished for the Bucks to play their superstars limited minutes so that the Mavs could get more reps and get a solid win. Coach Budenholzer had different ideas, but it didn’t matter. This was a great win against a 55 win team (in a shortened season of course) that was picked by some to win the Championship this year. I will love to see how the Mavs use this win to bolster their efforts for the final 3 seeding games and the playoffs. August 10th we face off against the Utah Jazz, another tough opponent that will test the Mavs composure.

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