Mavs film room: Breaking down where Luka Doncic was when Mavericks season paused由Mavs.Ben 发表在Big D https://bbs.hupu.com/688
Today marks a memorable Mavericks anniversary — exactly three months since we saw Dallas play an NBA game. That 113-97 victory over the Denver Nuggets on March 11th feels like a decade ago. On the other hand, June 11, 2011 was literally almost a decade ago. That night, Dirk Nowitzki and Co. lifted the Larry O’Brien Trophy for the first and only time in franchise history. This is what the past 91 days have been filled with: a lot of reminiscing with an itch for the future.
Today, there is some more certainty — at least for now — about the future of the NBA. Given the unprecedented nature of a global pandemic, what’s true today may not hold true tomorrow. But right now, the Mavericks are one of 22 NBA teams gearing towards a return to the court on July 31st in Orlando, Florida.
The return of sports is exciting. It’s fun to be able to think about a time when the Xs and Os on the court will actually count for something. Over the next eight weeks, as players prepare to return to action, we will help you do the same when it comes to watching them. Each week, we will throw a Mavericks player under the microscope and examine where they were in the 2019-20 season and therefore, what you can expect from them as the season continues.
It only makes sense to begin the series with the Mavericks’ engine, Luka Doncic.
Season stats: 54 games (per game): 28.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 8.7 assists, 46.1 FG percent, 31.8 3-point percent, 75.2 FT percent
Where he stopped: Luka Doncic took a big step forward from his historic rookie season to his sophomore campaign. Whether you judge him by the eye test and the plays he was making on the court, or you simply break down the numbers, Doncic was having an MVP-caliber season. Giannis Antetokounmpo won last season’s award, and comparing stat lines from the Greek Freak’s MVP campaign to Doncic this year, Doncic was averaging more points and assists per game while shooting better from deep. There are reasons why he Doncic fell behind in the MVP race: He missed 13 out of 67 games due to injury, Antetokounmpo improved upon his own MVP season, LeBron James was back to being LeBron James and has the Los Angeles Lakers as the top seed in the West, and James Harden is scoring at an absurd clip. Doncic is also nowhere near the defender Antetokounmpo and James are. Still, becoming a top-five MVP candidate at 21 years old is nothing to sneeze at.
Speaking of injuries, less than a month had passed since Doncic returned from missing seven games due to an ankle injury when play came to an abrupt halt. At the time of the stoppage, he was also nursing a wrist injury on his dominant hand that was expected to linger for the rest of the season. Doncic has had three months (so far) to allow the wrist to heal and to rest his body overall. A refreshed body can only help a player who is tied with Harden for second in the NBA in usage percentage at 35.8 (Antetokounmpo sits at No. 1, 36.2 percent).
Creating for others
Doncic’s ability to score makes him dangerous, but it’s his ability to get others involved that makes him absolutely lethal. So we’ll start there, as Doncic’s ability to distribute the ball is one of the biggest reasons why this Mavericks offense has the highest offensive rating in league history
The windows are often small, both in time and space, so precision is key. Here, Doncic is able to draw Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic out on him coming off of a Marjanovic pick. While Doncic starts to go around the pick and work his way deep on the right wing, Maxi Kleber lurks outside the 3-point line on the far left corner.
Now, there are a few things that happen here in the next two seconds. Doncic’s defender, Gary Harris, works his way around the screen and follows Doncic to corner him. Jokic also leaves his man, Marjanovic, to apply pressure on Doncic from the other side. That results in Marjanovic being left alone momentarily until Denver’s other forward, Paul Millsap, is pulled out of the lane and onto Marjanovic’s hip. Because of his size, the easy pass for Doncic would probably be to Marjanovic on the block.
However, with Jokic outside of the 3-point line and Millsap covering for him by moving on Doncic, the paint is suddenly left wide open. Kleber recognizes this and inches his way towards the hoop. Up to this point, this is mostly offensive movement you’ll see quite a bit across the NBA.
This pass, however, you won’t see often:
Inches from being out of bounds, over the head, accurate pass across the court. That’s the difficult video-game stuff Doncic is able to do that results in easy buckets for his teammates.
Sometimes, there aren’t even that many moving pieces. As Doncic dribbles the ball up the court in this next play, he recognizes that the Mavericks have a 5-on-4 advantage as D’Aaron Fox hasn’t made his way down the court after Kleber blocked his shot. Kleber is in a sprint down the middle of the floor, but Sacramento Kings big man Harry Giles retreats to his standard position of guarding the paint. The X-factor is Kristaps Porzingis, who is a legitimate 3-point threat; Doncic knows this, but more importantly, Giles knows this as well. As Porzingis hangs back behind the 3-point line on the left wing, Doncic understands Giles will have to respect that.
He gives Porzingis a quick glance, which instantly makes Giles stop back-pedaling and move out to close on Porzingis, much like a quarterback moving a safety with his eyes in football. Take a look at Doncic’s head as it relates to Giles’ feet here.
That leaves the lane wide open. Doncic delivers a no-look pass, and Kleber gets two of the easiest points in his career. Doncic is very purposeful with what he does on the court. In fact, if you watch the clip again, you’ll truly be able to appreciate how quickly Doncic’s brain operates and works in conjunction with his body. He first looks back to see Fox trailing, understanding he has a man advantage. He immediately turns to look off Porzingis and simultaneously delivers a perfect pass to Kleber, all within two seconds of real time.
The no-look pass isn’t just an attempt to add a fancy highlight to his reel; it actually creates an advantage for the Mavericks. They already have an extra body in play, but Doncic then essentially makes himself two players in one, moving Giles with his eyes and passing the ball with his hands. A 5-on-4 advantage basically becomes a 6-on-4 one. These are just two of Doncic’s 470 assists on the season.
Scoring
Less than two months before the NBA season was suspended, I sat down with Texas Legends head coach George Galanopoulos to break down Doncic’s best offensive quarter of the season. We dissected areas of Doncic’s game from layups, floaters and step-back 3-pointers. Instead of going through a lot of the same stuff here for his scoring, I’m going to take this opportunity to break down some of the numbers behind his film.
Doncic’s shooting, particularly from deep, is much about how you want to spin it. His 31.8 percent shooting from 3-point range ranks 11th on the team this year, but his 156 made 3-pointers are second on the Mavericks. His 491 3-point attempts lead the team and are 36 more than Tim Hardaway Jr., who is second on the Mavericks with 455. That’s also despite Doncic missing 13 games, compared to Hardaway only missing four.
Part of this is because Doncic’s signature shot is just more difficult in nature. He relies on the stepback, which is very difficult to guard but is also difficult to execute. When examining the different kinds of shots that make up his 1,111 attempts, the step-back checks in at No. 1 with 243 attempts. Here are Doncic’s top five shots this season in terms of attempts, with his percentage on each in parenthesis:
Step-back — 243 (35.8 percent)
Jump shot — 187 (26.2 percent)
Driving layup — 162 (61.1 percent)
Driving floater — 134 (42.5 percent)
Pull-up jumper — 89 (37.1 percent)
The numbers send a message that’s pretty obvious and holds true for most players in the NBA: The closer you are to the basket, the better chance you have of scoring. In fact, Doncic is a 60-percent shooter in the paint. He’s taken 566 shots in the paint and 545 shots outside of it, with his percentage dropping to 32.1 percent there. That’s where you get his rate of 46.1 percent from the field.
I don’t recommend comparing players purely on numbers because each player has a different game and different tools they rely on. For example, while Doncic’s three-point percentage of 31.8 isn’t great, it’s higher than any of Antetokounmpo’s past six seasons. Obviously, Antetokounmpo’s game is centered much more on what he does inside, and that’s what makes him such a dominant force. But I still want to just throw Harden’s stepback numbers out there because he’s probably the only player in the NBA more associated with that shot than Doncic, and rightfully so. Of Harden’s 1,386 attempts, 479 are of the stepback variety, and he hits 38 percent of them compared to Doncic’s 35.8 percent. There isn’t a huge discrepancy in their conversion of the stepback shot, but there is a big difference in how often they utilize it. For Harden, 34.5 percent of his total shots are of the stepback nature whereas only 21.8 percent of Doncic’s shots are stepbacks.
The reason I’ve thrown all of these numbers at you now is to show where Doncic is most successful on the floor and how that correlates with what we’ll be seeing in this unprecedented situation. With close to five months between games, there’s expected to be a lot of rust leaguewide when it comes to shooting the ball. Doncic will undoubtedly continue to pick his spots and be a flamethrower, which isn’t a bad thing. Comparing a player’s outside shooting percentage directly with his inside percentage isn’t fair, either. For one, it’s simply easier to put the ball in when you’re closer to the basket. But much of the stuff that opens up inside, and vice versa, is because defenders can’t play Doncic one way and dare him to beat them another. It’s especially obvious in isolation.
You have to play Doncic up close when he’s outside the arc. Even if you’re a former Defensive Player of the Year and three-time NBA All-Defensive First Team, Doncic can make you look silly:
On the flip side, you have to respect his ability to drive to the hoop as well. Any small movement Doncic makes going forward puts the defender on his heels and allows Doncic to convert the stepback:
His inside and outside games go hand-in-hand, but if Doncic’s shot isn’t immediately falling when play resumes, he could fall back on emphasizing his midrange game. This is especially true when you factor in Porzingis’ presence because of how he pulls defenders out of the paint. Doncic and Porzingis have only played together in 41 of the 67 games this season, each being sidelined with ill-timed injuries. Doncic’s were most recent, but the COVID-19 hiatus has provided enough time to fully heal and hit the ground running for the home stretch in late July.
https://theathletic.com/1866294/2020/06/11/mavs-film-room-breaking-down-where-luka-doncic-was-when-mavericks-season-paused/
Today marks a memorable Mavericks anniversary — exactly three months since we saw Dallas play an NBA game. That 113-97 victory over the Denver Nuggets on March 11th feels like a decade ago. On the other hand, June 11, 2011 was literally almost a decade ago. That night, Dirk Nowitzki and Co. lifted the Larry O’Brien Trophy for the first and only time in franchise history. This is what the past 91 days have been filled with: a lot of reminiscing with an itch for the future.
Today, there is some more certainty — at least for now — about the future of the NBA. Given the unprecedented nature of a global pandemic, what’s true today may not hold true tomorrow. But right now, the Mavericks are one of 22 NBA teams gearing towards a return to the court on July 31st in Orlando, Florida.
The return of sports is exciting. It’s fun to be able to think about a time when the Xs and Os on the court will actually count for something. Over the next eight weeks, as players prepare to return to action, we will help you do the same when it comes to watching them. Each week, we will throw a Mavericks player under the microscope and examine where they were in the 2019-20 season and therefore, what you can expect from them as the season continues.
It only makes sense to begin the series with the Mavericks’ engine, Luka Doncic.
Season stats: 54 games (per game): 28.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 8.7 assists, 46.1 FG percent, 31.8 3-point percent, 75.2 FT percent
Where he stopped: Luka Doncic took a big step forward from his historic rookie season to his sophomore campaign. Whether you judge him by the eye test and the plays he was making on the court, or you simply break down the numbers, Doncic was having an MVP-caliber season. Giannis Antetokounmpo won last season’s award, and comparing stat lines from the Greek Freak’s MVP campaign to Doncic this year, Doncic was averaging more points and assists per game while shooting better from deep. There are reasons why he Doncic fell behind in the MVP race: He missed 13 out of 67 games due to injury, Antetokounmpo improved upon his own MVP season, LeBron James was back to being LeBron James and has the Los Angeles Lakers as the top seed in the West, and James Harden is scoring at an absurd clip. Doncic is also nowhere near the defender Antetokounmpo and James are. Still, becoming a top-five MVP candidate at 21 years old is nothing to sneeze at.
Speaking of injuries, less than a month had passed since Doncic returned from missing seven games due to an ankle injury when play came to an abrupt halt. At the time of the stoppage, he was also nursing a wrist injury on his dominant hand that was expected to linger for the rest of the season. Doncic has had three months (so far) to allow the wrist to heal and to rest his body overall. A refreshed body can only help a player who is tied with Harden for second in the NBA in usage percentage at 35.8 (Antetokounmpo sits at No. 1, 36.2 percent).
Creating for others
Doncic’s ability to score makes him dangerous, but it’s his ability to get others involved that makes him absolutely lethal. So we’ll start there, as Doncic’s ability to distribute the ball is one of the biggest reasons why this Mavericks offense has the highest offensive rating in league history
The windows are often small, both in time and space, so precision is key. Here, Doncic is able to draw Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic out on him coming off of a Marjanovic pick. While Doncic starts to go around the pick and work his way deep on the right wing, Maxi Kleber lurks outside the 3-point line on the far left corner.
Now, there are a few things that happen here in the next two seconds. Doncic’s defender, Gary Harris, works his way around the screen and follows Doncic to corner him. Jokic also leaves his man, Marjanovic, to apply pressure on Doncic from the other side. That results in Marjanovic being left alone momentarily until Denver’s other forward, Paul Millsap, is pulled out of the lane and onto Marjanovic’s hip. Because of his size, the easy pass for Doncic would probably be to Marjanovic on the block.
However, with Jokic outside of the 3-point line and Millsap covering for him by moving on Doncic, the paint is suddenly left wide open. Kleber recognizes this and inches his way towards the hoop. Up to this point, this is mostly offensive movement you’ll see quite a bit across the NBA.
This pass, however, you won’t see often:
Inches from being out of bounds, over the head, accurate pass across the court. That’s the difficult video-game stuff Doncic is able to do that results in easy buckets for his teammates.
Sometimes, there aren’t even that many moving pieces. As Doncic dribbles the ball up the court in this next play, he recognizes that the Mavericks have a 5-on-4 advantage as D’Aaron Fox hasn’t made his way down the court after Kleber blocked his shot. Kleber is in a sprint down the middle of the floor, but Sacramento Kings big man Harry Giles retreats to his standard position of guarding the paint. The X-factor is Kristaps Porzingis, who is a legitimate 3-point threat; Doncic knows this, but more importantly, Giles knows this as well. As Porzingis hangs back behind the 3-point line on the left wing, Doncic understands Giles will have to respect that.
He gives Porzingis a quick glance, which instantly makes Giles stop back-pedaling and move out to close on Porzingis, much like a quarterback moving a safety with his eyes in football. Take a look at Doncic’s head as it relates to Giles’ feet here.
That leaves the lane wide open. Doncic delivers a no-look pass, and Kleber gets two of the easiest points in his career. Doncic is very purposeful with what he does on the court. In fact, if you watch the clip again, you’ll truly be able to appreciate how quickly Doncic’s brain operates and works in conjunction with his body. He first looks back to see Fox trailing, understanding he has a man advantage. He immediately turns to look off Porzingis and simultaneously delivers a perfect pass to Kleber, all within two seconds of real time.
The no-look pass isn’t just an attempt to add a fancy highlight to his reel; it actually creates an advantage for the Mavericks. They already have an extra body in play, but Doncic then essentially makes himself two players in one, moving Giles with his eyes and passing the ball with his hands. A 5-on-4 advantage basically becomes a 6-on-4 one. These are just two of Doncic’s 470 assists on the season.
Scoring
Less than two months before the NBA season was suspended, I sat down with Texas Legends head coach George Galanopoulos to break down Doncic’s best offensive quarter of the season. We dissected areas of Doncic’s game from layups, floaters and step-back 3-pointers. Instead of going through a lot of the same stuff here for his scoring, I’m going to take this opportunity to break down some of the numbers behind his film.
Doncic’s shooting, particularly from deep, is much about how you want to spin it. His 31.8 percent shooting from 3-point range ranks 11th on the team this year, but his 156 made 3-pointers are second on the Mavericks. His 491 3-point attempts lead the team and are 36 more than Tim Hardaway Jr., who is second on the Mavericks with 455. That’s also despite Doncic missing 13 games, compared to Hardaway only missing four.
Part of this is because Doncic’s signature shot is just more difficult in nature. He relies on the stepback, which is very difficult to guard but is also difficult to execute. When examining the different kinds of shots that make up his 1,111 attempts, the step-back checks in at No. 1 with 243 attempts. Here are Doncic’s top five shots this season in terms of attempts, with his percentage on each in parenthesis:
Step-back — 243 (35.8 percent)
Jump shot — 187 (26.2 percent)
Driving layup — 162 (61.1 percent)
Driving floater — 134 (42.5 percent)
Pull-up jumper — 89 (37.1 percent)
The numbers send a message that’s pretty obvious and holds true for most players in the NBA: The closer you are to the basket, the better chance you have of scoring. In fact, Doncic is a 60-percent shooter in the paint. He’s taken 566 shots in the paint and 545 shots outside of it, with his percentage dropping to 32.1 percent there. That’s where you get his rate of 46.1 percent from the field.
I don’t recommend comparing players purely on numbers because each player has a different game and different tools they rely on. For example, while Doncic’s three-point percentage of 31.8 isn’t great, it’s higher than any of Antetokounmpo’s past six seasons. Obviously, Antetokounmpo’s game is centered much more on what he does inside, and that’s what makes him such a dominant force. But I still want to just throw Harden’s stepback numbers out there because he’s probably the only player in the NBA more associated with that shot than Doncic, and rightfully so. Of Harden’s 1,386 attempts, 479 are of the stepback variety, and he hits 38 percent of them compared to Doncic’s 35.8 percent. There isn’t a huge discrepancy in their conversion of the stepback shot, but there is a big difference in how often they utilize it. For Harden, 34.5 percent of his total shots are of the stepback nature whereas only 21.8 percent of Doncic’s shots are stepbacks.
The reason I’ve thrown all of these numbers at you now is to show where Doncic is most successful on the floor and how that correlates with what we’ll be seeing in this unprecedented situation. With close to five months between games, there’s expected to be a lot of rust leaguewide when it comes to shooting the ball. Doncic will undoubtedly continue to pick his spots and be a flamethrower, which isn’t a bad thing. Comparing a player’s outside shooting percentage directly with his inside percentage isn’t fair, either. For one, it’s simply easier to put the ball in when you’re closer to the basket. But much of the stuff that opens up inside, and vice versa, is because defenders can’t play Doncic one way and dare him to beat them another. It’s especially obvious in isolation.
You have to play Doncic up close when he’s outside the arc. Even if you’re a former Defensive Player of the Year and three-time NBA All-Defensive First Team, Doncic can make you look silly:
On the flip side, you have to respect his ability to drive to the hoop as well. Any small movement Doncic makes going forward puts the defender on his heels and allows Doncic to convert the stepback:
His inside and outside games go hand-in-hand, but if Doncic’s shot isn’t immediately falling when play resumes, he could fall back on emphasizing his midrange game. This is especially true when you factor in Porzingis’ presence because of how he pulls defenders out of the paint. Doncic and Porzingis have only played together in 41 of the 67 games this season, each being sidelined with ill-timed injuries. Doncic’s were most recent, but the COVID-19 hiatus has provided enough time to fully heal and hit the ground running for the home stretch in late July.
https://theathletic.com/1866294/2020/06/11/mavs-film-room-breaking-down-where-luka-doncic-was-when-mavericks-season-paused/
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