With the possible exception of NFL teams with great quarterbacks, no teams rely on single stars like NBA teams do. Luka Dončić is one of the NBA’s greatest, most exciting players. And after Saturday night’s loss to the Golden State Warriors with Luka out of action, it was revealed just how lost the Dallas Mavericks are without him.
The loss moved the Mavericks to 28-26 on the season — the sixth-best record in the Western Conference and the No. 12 mark in the NBA. Those numbers may not look great. But in the games without Dončić, Dallas is worse — a lot worse.
The MavsMuse Twitter account noted after Saturday’s game that the Mavericks are not only 0-7 without Dončić, but are 28th in offense and dead last in Net Rating, three-point percentage, field goal percentage and defense. Fittingly, team owner Mark Cuban was also tagged in the tweet.
The Mavs without Luka Doncic this season:
— 0-7 Record
— 30th in Defense
— 30th in FG%
— 30th in 3P%
— 30th in Net Rating
— 28th in Offense @mcuban pic.twitter.com/kpbx7HVbrF— MavsMuse (@MavsMuse) February 5, 2023
Basketball fans reacted to the incredible stats accordingly.
Good lord https://t.co/mjdRlqS6mW
— O.B🇹🇷 (@Obolatcan24) February 5, 2023
Literally the worst team in the league. How does this happen. It’s absurd for Luka to be in his 5th year and have the worst teammates in the League.
Luka deserves the MVP for backpacking this terrible team. https://t.co/Cq6KsjwI0h
— Mavs Neighborhood Watch (@MavsWatch) February 5, 2023
mark cuban should be forced to sell the team with that roster he’s built https://t.co/UxRAEBb5ow
— JT (@CursedPhins) February 5, 2023
https://twitter.com/Payton1Peterson/status/1622118960484294656
What’s also notable is that less than a month before Saturday’s loss to the Warriors, (per Doyle Rader of Mavs Moneyball) Cuban criticized a mural depicting Dončić holding up a sign saying “Please Send Help” as “disrespectful.”
This is not an outlier season in Dončić career. Dallas’ 2022 season, which ended with a Western Conference Finals loss to Golden State, marked the first time in Luka’s career that he made it past the first round of the playoffs. In fact, it was the first time the Mavericks made it out of the first round in not only Dončić’s career but since winning the NBA Finals in 2011.
So, as much as Cuban may not want to hear or see them, the numbers don’t lie.
[MavsMuse on Twitter, Mavs Moneyball.com]
