Aside from the NBA Finals appearance, Dallas made other headlines, such as Luka Doncic’s spectacular season and third-place finish in the MVP race after averaging 33.9 points, 9.8 assists, and 9.2 rebounds per game. Doncic’s burden can continue to grow or diminish, but Jason Kidd and the Mavericks reportedly want to lighten his load in the coming months.
Head coach Jason Kidd knows the Dallas Mavericks are about to enter a high-stakes season, starting with a regular-season home opener against the San Antonio Spurs on October 24th at 6:30 p.m. Central in the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The Mavericks’ season is full of high expectations following a rather unexpected run to the NBA Finals last season. The Mavericks fell short to the Boston Celtics in five games.
Jason Kidd recently appeared in an interview with DLLS’ Marc Stein. Kidd told Stein that he hopes to lessen Luka Doncic’s burden this upcoming season. Doncic’s burden has been a topic of much discussion in recent years. Kidd told Stein on DLLS,
“This is the deepest team that he’s ever been a part of … He has a lot of different weapons. The other part of that is… We can lighten the load with him not having to do everything. And that’s going to be new for him, too, because he’s always felt that he had to do everything. Again, a lot of different weapons. But when you talk about our leader, Luka, it starts with him… He’s up for the challenge.”
Kidd appeared to state that Doncic is up to the challenge as he leads the Mavericks as a leader, but he can only do so much. Doncic’s an efficient scorer with a league-leading 33.9 points per game in the 2023-24 NBA season, but his carrying of the team is arguably unsustainable.
Like most other fields, burnout also exists in the NBA and affects professional basketball players. Doncic can benefit from an elevated supporting cast, which could help him reduce his fatigue, injury risk, etc.
Jason Kidd reportedly believes in the Dallas Mavericks ahead of the 2024-25 NBA regular season. Kidd thinks that the Mavericks can help Luka Doncic as a team better than ever before. The Mavericks’ current roster is the deepest one Doncic has been a part of, and some, if not most, individuals are projected to improve in 2024-25.
Doncic remains a leader of the Mavericks, but Doncic’s wearing down in the NBA playoffs and suffering a plethora of injuries is unacceptable. He can certainly rise to the occasion, as he had the highest or the second-highest usage rate in the NBA for a reason. But the Mavericks’ next plan should be to save him for the playoffs.
Jason Kidd and the Dallas Mavericks made a splash this offseason in their efforts to help Luka Doncic achieve a better work-life balance on the court. Kidd and the Mavericks eased Doncic’s job by acquiring veteran shooting guard Klay Thompson, signing small forward Naji Marshall, and trading for shooting guard Quentin Grimes.
The Mavericks have at least 12 players they’d feel comfortable playing on any night, and maybe more. Let’s see how the Mavericks’ development of forwards Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Kessler Edwards goes in the future.
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