Numerous media members were calling Anthony Edwards “the new face of the NBA” after Minnesota upset Denver, but that honor actually belongs to Mavericks star Luka Doncic, writes Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News. Doncic strengthened his case as the league’s best player and top clutch performer with a game-winning three-pointer Friday night that gave Dallas a 2-0 series lead. Sherrington notes that after sinking the shot over Rudy Gobert, Doncic displayed his fearlessness by shouting “you can’t guard me” and some stronger comments at the Defensive Player of the Year.
The argument for Doncic as the league’s No. 1 star starts with five first-team All-NBA appearances, including this season. He finished third in the MVP voting behind Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but Sherrington points out that they were both eliminated in the second round while Doncic has a chance to add to his reputation with the longest postseason run of his career.
“There are moments where he shows his brilliance and can score so easily,” Kyrie Irving said, “and then he comes back and he looks like he’s laboring a little bit, but that guy’s a warrior.”
There’s more on the Mavericks:
- Irving was able to keep his composure after missing two free throws with 1:44 remaining, Sherrington states in a separate story. The misses provided free fried chicken for all the fans in attendance, but more importantly they cost the Mavs a chance to slice the lead to one point. Irving made up for it a few seconds later with a clutch three-pointer from the corner that set the stage for Doncic’s heroics. “I think I was as surprised as a lot of people in the arena,” Irving, a 90% free throw shooter during the regular season, said of his misses from the line. “In those moments, I’ve got to stay focused and be aware of how much it means to our team to make those. But when you miss, you’ve also got to take that accountability and be better. The next-play mentality was the only thing I could carry forth. I got into that corner and knocked it down.”
- Irving could be in line for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team this summer if Tyrese Haliburton opts out because of his hamstring issues, speculates Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). Haliburton, who was held out of tonight’s Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, also missed 10 games with a hamstring strain in January. Irving was disappointed about not making the team last month after being one of the finalists.
- Dallas and Oklahoma City both benefited from last year’s draft-day trade, Rylan Stiles writes for Inside the Thunder. Dereck Lively II has been an interior force for the Mavericks throughout the playoffs, while Cason Wallace became a three-and-D specialist in the Thunder backcourt.
Dejounte seems like a better fit for this Olympic team compared to Haliburton, Kyrie, Maxey, Fox, Brunson etc
Gobert isn’t the true dpoy.
its hard to cheer for T-wolves when they have players with attitudes. One thing is showing in the playoffs Kyrie helped LeBron win that championship. Kyrie is very hard to guard and Luka has the players around him to win this year.
Facts. Kyrie hit some crazy shots over Klay in that Finals. And obviously the dagger in Game 7.
Agree Kyrie was the one that won that series for the Cavs. He hit the game winner on a tough shot.
The Timberwolves have been hard to root for over the past 3 years… Seems like 1 WTF were they thinking moment after another…
This year has been calmer on that front but the whole ownership saga flared up instead…
If it wasn’t for Boston I’d agree with the take on Luka’s Mavs… It will be very poetic to see the Celtics win over either the Wolves or Mavs…
Boston best chance of winning a title is this year. Next year the Knicks and 76er will have a better team and healthy. Pacers are a up and coming team. cavs are a few trades away from being a top 4 team in the east.
Boston had too much of a gap ober the rest of the Eastern conference to believe that… Injuries to Brown and Tatum are the only way I can see the East be a but more competitive at the top…
Doncic will never be the face of the league or the best player in the league. There is more to it than stats and league awards. Doncic is a boring player. The ball is always in his hands. The NBA moved on from boring ISO play. The NBA is also historically weak at the moment. There are no real elite teams. Parity through incompetence is not parity. And, being slightly better than the other bad teams doesn’t make one good. Timberwolves look like they are beating themselves out there. And, of course, Rudy Gobert is far from the DPOY… he is tall and can block shots without jumping… doesn’t know how to actually play defense, and is way too full of himself.
Parity is far more interesting than super teams that only happen in the same few markets…
It’s much better now… Just clean up the referee and betting issues…