Dallas Basketball

Luka Warning: 'Don't Try To Bully' Him; All-Star Voting Update

"If you think you’re just going to bully and rattle him, it actually builds more of his strength, his confidence, his dominance,” says an opposing coach about Luka

Mike Fisher

DALLAS - Atlanta Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce recently provided a scouting report on Dallas Mavs superstar Luka .Doncic, and it is essentially a blueprint on what not to do.

"If you think you’re just going to bully and rattle him, it actually builds more of his strength, his confidence, his dominance,” Pierce said.

Given the fact that Luka's Mavs just downed the Hawks twice over the span of seven days, Pierce has first-hand knowledge of the problems Doncic creates for opponents. Yes, Luka this week told ESPN that "I'm not playing very good,'' but in truth, that self-analysis was about the team's results, not the individual's.

READ MORE: Dallas Mavs' Luka Doncic To Stephen A. Smith: 'I'm Not Playing Good'

And now, suddenly, hopefully, the team's results are coming around as well, as Dallas (now 12-14) has recorded three straight wins - all crunch-time successes - as it preps to play host to the 11-13 Pelicans tonight at the AAC in a 6:30 tip.

The 21-year-old Doncic is currently averaging 27.8 points 9 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game and remains, as has been the case since the start of this season, in the MVP conversation.

Luka is also in the All-Star conversation, of course, as the recent vote totals are out. In Western Conference backcourt voting, Golden State’s Stephen Curry is in the lead with 4,033,050 votes, with the Slovenian star Doncic in second at 2,484,552.

The Lakers' LeBron James is the top vote-getter with 4,369,553, trailed by 4,234,433 votes for Brooklyn's Kevin Durant.

CONTINUE READING: Dallas Mavs' Luka Doncic Answers: NBA All-Star Game In Doubt?

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Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NBA and the Dallas Mavericks since 1990. He has for more than 20 years served as the overseer of DallasBasketball.com, the granddaddy of Mavs news websites.

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