How Dallas Mavs' Improved Supporting Cast Helps Luka Doncic Exploit Double Teams

Mavs superstar Luka Doncic has taken full advantage of having a more capable supporting cast in countering how defenses attempt to contain him, particularly with double teams.

DALLAS — When analyzing a talent like Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic, it's easy to see why he's a nightmare to game-plan against for rival teams. The 6-foot-7 is a walking matchup nightmare with his rare combination of power, overall precision, and mastery of pace in every facet of half-court offense. His impact is evident as he averages 32.0 points and 8.9 assists, but there is much more to consider in how he pressures a defense with all of the considerations made to try to slow him down.

A common theme among defenses throughout Doncic's career has been a general reluctance to deploy basic drop coverage since he makes ripping it apart as a scorer and passer easy. Unless a team is generally too limited in personnel to avoid deviating from this approach, the defense will first avoid deploying this look. It's all the more daunting to contain Doncic in these situations now that he has a more threatening vertical lob threat and interior play finisher in Dereck Lively II.

Some teams will try to switch often with the philosophy of making Doncic work throughout a game by making him repeatedly break down a defender in space. The idea is that by the time the fourth quarter or clutch times come, perhaps he'll be worn down. However, it's much more challenging to do so with Kyrie Irving as a superstar running mate, but even with him sidelined, the Mavs have more talent to provide help. Lately, that hasn't been a common tactic from rival teams. 

It's common for an opposing team to mix up their coverage throughout games or throw out different pitches, as they often like to say — even more so when Irving is not on the floor. As of late, teams have been physical against Doncic by picking up full-court, often trying to blitz or send late doubles to get the ball out of his hands, requiring them to handle a 4-on-3 situation or at least make multiple rotations. The Los Angeles Lakers served as the latest example, often using an aggressive approach with doubles or pre-rotating to help one pass away but still allowing him to record 33 points and 17 assists in the Mavs' 127-125 win on Tuesday.

"Luka probably has to lead the league in double teams," Kidd said. "He's been double-teamed for a majority of the game."

Given how Doncic masterfully creates out of pick-and-roll, the opposition often has to make challenging determinations that become even more challenging with how the Mavs sprinkle in different ball-screening actions. The Mavs often switch hunt with a small-small screen to bring up the weakest defender into the action to hunt switches for favorable isolation chances. Dallas likes to bring a shooting threat as an additional screener into actions like double drag or Stack pick-and-roll, bringing more defenders into the play to add complexity. Other times, Doncic's size advantage will be utilized in the post to put pressure on the defense inside the 3-point line. Those layers become more challenging when accounting for elite scoring and passing.

"He's the quarterback out there," Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said of Doncic. "He will be in a ton of pick-and-rolls, a lot of early pick-and-rolls, single pick-and-rolls, double pick-and-rolls. Then he'll get into his ISO game on the perimeter and sometimes on the interior down in the post." 

"They're one of the top teams in 3-point production, top four or five in corners in the wings," Jenkins explained. "He does a great job finding the corners, great job finding the rollers... This is one of the top offenses, no matter if they have a couple of different guys out because he's going to be the lead engine, and they do such a great job when he's in playmaker mode of moving that ball, having great spacing. So, our rotations have to be great, and then we have to identify what mode he is in and figure out our coverages throughout that and on top of that."

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Doncic rarely gets sped up by double teams, often accepting the coverage and using the attention he commands to benefit the offense. He's by far the most blitzed pick-and-roll ball handler in the NBA, but he also will command late doubles when he has a mismatch after forcing a switch or will at least see aggressive use of help defense with pre-rotations at the nail or using the low defender. Those situations all create what the Mavs call "advantage basketball," where the defense is forced to scramble to recover.

"It's great. I love it when they happen. You just play 4-on-3 basketball," Doncic said of being blitzed. "It's so simple. We just play normal, easy basketball, and just we get great shots out of it."

One of the fundamental challenges a defense faces when trying to contain Doncic using blitzes is the inability to disrupt his vision, given he can see over the top. While the opposition knows he can handle these sequences, it's not a viable option for most units to allow him to see neutral coverages or just face switching all that frequently. 

"He’s so big, if you blitz him, he can see over the top of it, knows where it’s coming from," Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said of Doncic. "He can do it all. But that doesn’t discourage us from trying it all.”

“He’s probably the hardest guy to game-plan for in the league because you can play him perfectly, and it does not matter,” Billups explained. “He’s just that good. He really is. There are certain players in the league that even if you play good [defense] and they miss the shot, most of the time, they just missed the shot. It wasn’t the defense."

Doncic's trust in his teammates is being rewarded this season. The previous version of the Mavs' roster relied too heavily on one-dimensional talents who could not create at a high level to punish the defense in those 4-on-3 situations. Whether the short roller didn't even look at the rim before passing or floor spacing threats heavily relied on hoisting up a catch-and-shoot jumper, the supporting cast didn't have enough firepower last season. 

“It’s a compliment,” Kidd said. “He’s one of the best in the world. I think he has absorbed that about being double-teamed. He’s a competitor, he wants to win, sometimes, he gets frustrated because someone might miss a shot or turn the ball over, but I think you can see his maturity has gotten better because he knows that his teammates are trying to do the right thing. It’s a lot of beautiful things happening right now.”

There are a few significant contrasts when comparing the Mavs' current roster to the limited group Doncic had to work with last season. Lively has shown the ability to attack the rim on the catch as the short roller and make passing reads while also being a legitimate defensive anchor on the other end — meaning the team doesn't have to sacrifice offensive firepower for rim protection when he's playing.

"I think the trust – not just of the coaches but his teammates – if Luka is being double-teamed, he's also looking for Lively to score or play make. It just shows how important he is to this team but how good he really is," Kidd said.

The Mavs deploy more capable perimeter threats when making plays to counter double teams against Doncic. Tim Hardaway Jr.'s aggressive catch-and-shoot ability and recovered off-the-dribble game have been vital lately. Exum has drawn attention, providing a forceful driving presence, using his size, finishing ability, and passing talent. Derrick Jones Jr. and Josh Green aren't elite shooters, but they can hit open looks and explode to the rim. Meanwhile, Williams remains a knockdown shooting threat when he's on. There is no shortage of options overall, even looking past the impact of having an All-Star guard like Irving. 

"His trust with his teammates [against double teams], if it's not Timmy [Hardaway Jr.], it’s [Dante] Exum. And if it's not that, it's the next guy up," Kidd said. "You trust that the guys are going to make the right play or take the shot. Tonight, Exum was the one he was looking for."

Doncic is viewed as being arguably the most talented offensive player in the NBA with his overall scoring and passing talent. Still, there is a lot of respect from rival teams for the personnel he has around him. Trailing only the Boston Celtics in 3-point attempts per game, the Mavs average 42.9 on the season. They will get up 3s while also benefiting from Doncic making frequent trips to the free throw line (8.0 attempts per game) and putting up an NBA-most 7.5 off-the-dribble 3s per game. A challenging balance must be established throughout a game for the defense to not get lit up from deep. 

"He's one of the best players in the game — probably the best offensive player in the game just with his ability to score and play make and beat you at all three levels and get to the free throw line," Jenkins said of Doncic. "They've got a really good group around him when it comes to what they want to accomplish."

"They want to get to the 3-point line," Jenkins explained. "They're like 29th in restricted area field goal attempts. Obviously, they're going to beat you with some rolls and lobs. He does a great job of getting to the free throw line, like I said, but that 3-point line is key. It's just how you kind of strike that right balance between taking his 3s away. I think he's top in the league at off-the-dribble 3s. And then there's that ball movement. We've just got to get a feel for where he's at, where the rest of the team's at, and that's why it's going to be a great challenge for 48-minutes." 

There is a real benefit for Doncic's supporting cast, knowing there will be many chances to play with an advantage after the Slovenian superstar gets doubled throughout games. Exum, for example, continues to get acclimated to letting it fly more aggressively on the catch from the perimeter. When a team becomes highly aggressive like the Lakers were with dialing up helping aggressively at the nail, it's essential to make the defense pay from deep as Exum did, shooting 7-9 and scoring 17 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter. 

"Even in Portland, there was a couple of shots I could have shot, but tonight [the Lakers] left me wide open," Exum said. "I had no choice, I was forced to shoot, and I showed the confidence that I was going to sit there and shoot. I am thankful for the result. 

"But the mindset going forward is those are the shots I have to keep shooting if they are going to play me like that," Exum explained. "I've had a solid shot, I want to speed it up a bit. It is just stuff I am going to keep working on, but I want to speed it up if they close out strong."

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With Irving sidelined, the Mavs' supporting cast essentially is being put through a more significant stress test of having to take on a greater level of responsibility, serving as release valves for Doncic when he gets doubled. Hardaway, who has played with Doncic for each season of his NBA career, knows he must come out firing to counter when the defense gets aggressive loading up on his superstar teammate. He went on to score 32 points with five made 3-pointers against the Lakers.  

"A lot. [It’s] a little bit of picking and choosing your spots," Hardaway said. "I knew I was going to come out aggressive with how they were going to defend Luka. I just had to try my best to put a stamp on the game. When any shooter has any daylight, and the first shot goes up and in, the basket feels like an ocean."

The greater talent level on the Mavs' roster enables the team to move Doncic around more in the half-court, adding further complexity to how the defense has to account for him. Between greater utilization at the elbow out of Horns sets, playing out of the dunker's spot before receiving a down screen, or being a screener in a small-small action or double-drag, Dallas has gotten creative in off-ball usage in addition to the typical actions out of the corner like Zoom handoffs and double staggers that tend to be part of a team's package. It begins with trust in alternative initiators like Exum to get the team organized and execute, allowing Doncic to play off the ball and benefit from having shooting threats to space the floor.

"You try to take one thing away," Jenkins said of Doncic. "So you take away his scoring ability, he does a phenomenal job of manipulating the playmaking opportunities, whether it's easy paint scores, he'll put himself in different locations on the floor, and then obviously they'll surround him with great shooting. So, you've got to kind of respond to how those guys are playing as well. But it's easy to say, 'Oh, we're going to have to give him different looks and whatnot.' 

"You have to keep him off balance," Jenkins explained. "You've got to toy with what's going on in their minds. Is this a scoring opportunity for me? Obviously, he's going to be in a lot of two-man actions. You know how you will approach that and then obviously kind of counter that throughout the game. So, you just kind of have him maybe thinking a little bit differently."

As the Mavs continue to build continuity with their current roster, the early return of how Doncic's job is made easier lately has been effective. Containing him is a near-impossible task made all the more challenging by having the right personnel equipped with multiple ways to punish an already disadvantaged defense. It'll become all the more challenging when Irving returns from injury.