'Ready For Everything': Mavs Star Luka Doncic Unbothered By Warriors' Defensive Strategies

Luka Doncic has seen a handful of defensive coverages in the first two rounds of the NBA playoffs, but none of them have come close to stopping him.

Dalton Trigg | May 18, 2022

Although the Dallas Mavericks largely remain underdogs as they begin the Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, superstar Luka Doncic is arguably the best player left in these NBA playoffs.

Through two rounds, Doncic is averaging 31.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game. That kind of production should continue against the Warriors, considering that Doncic averaged 31.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists while shooting 47.6 percent from the field, including 38.2 percent form deep in four regular-season games against them.

gettyimages-1373220370-594x594 — Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

Luka Doncic Steph Curry — Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

And although regular-season success doesn't necessarily guarantee that same success in the postseason – as an example, look no further than what the Mavs just did to the league-leading Phoenix Suns – Dallas was 3-1 in those matchups with Doncic facing little resistance.

"For me, maybe I'll see a couple more double teams this series, but that's fine. We've seen double teams the whole season," Doncic told reporters when asked about the Warriors' potential defensive strategies ahead of Game 1.

"I think we play the best when they double team me. You know, 4-on-3 basketball in the NBA. We have a lot of great players. ... We're ready for everything."

7E400FFB-C7D2-4489-AB48-ED54B4771BAC — Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images

gettyimages-1240698781-594x594 — Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images

Being prepared for everything is a testament to coach Jason Kidd and his staff, who have done an outstanding job completely transforming the identity of the Mavs in just one season. Although Kidd didn't get many Coach of the Year votes – he finished tied at 6th with Los Angeles Clippers coach Tyronn Lue – he'll gladly take the seven-game series win over the COTY winner (Suns' Monty Williams) instead.

Regardless of what happens at Chase Center on Wednesday night, we know the Mavs are capable of making the necessary adjustments to win a series even if they don't start off in the win column. Dallas has yet to win a Game 1 in these playoffs, but perhaps that will change this time around.

Stay tuned to DallasBasketball.com for extensive Mavs-Warriors Western Conference Finals coverage.

Published May 18, 2022

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.