Mark Cuban shared that he didn’t truly recognize the greatness of Dirk Nowitzki’s Mavericks run, and won’t do the same with Luka Doncic.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban got real about his experience with Dirk Nowitzki. In an interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Cuban noted that he did not fully appreciate how great Dirk was in his prime.
But he promised not to make the same mistake again with Luka Doncic. He also praised the Mavericks franchise and the rest of the players for their heart and determination.
“The nonstop brilliance of Luka. I don’t think I fully appreciated watching Dirk. I’m not going to make that mistake again. And, of course, the Mavs as a team, I love our heart. Our determination. Our character.”
Cuban clearly has a lot of respect and admiration for what Dirk Nowitzki did for his franchise. Nowitzki is undoubtedly the biggest legend in Mavericks history, as he brought the team their one and only (for now) NBA championship in history, as they overcame the big three of the Heat in 2011.
Dirk was absolutely sensational during the series, averaging 26.0 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists, as he led the Mavs to win the series in six games. For his performances, Nowitzki was named the Finals MVP, as he was the best player for the Mavericks.
Right now, Luka Doncic is attempting to replicate Dirk’s accomplishment, as he and the Mavericks are playing in the NBA Finals against the Celtics. Much like Dirk’s squad, Luka and the Mavs are the underdogs against the Celtics, and have gone down 1-0 to them.
The Mavericks will be hopeful that this series turns out like the 2011 series against the Heat. Doncic will have to be at his absolute best in the series if the Mavericks want to overcome this adversity and walk away with the Larry O’Brien trophy at the end of the series.
Luka Doncic was great in Game 1 against the Celtics, despite the Mavericks losing the game. He put up 30 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals in the losing effort. Luka reflected on the team’s Game 1 loss, stating that the team needs to refocus, get ready for Game 2, and not let this loss get to them.
“They mostly play one-on-one, they don’t send a lot of help, so that’s why… Their spacing is great and they have a lot of shooters. So I think we have to do a better job taking those threes away.”
“You lose or you win. First to four. We have to focus on the next game… Just focus on the next game. I think we really got good shots. We just didn’t make them. But we’ve got to go game by game. The Game 1 is over. We’ve got to watch film, what we did wrong, and focus only on the next one.”
“In those moments, we were playing our basketball. We were getting stops, we didn’t let them get offensive rebounds. We were having fun out there in those moments and that’s what we need to do more often.”
Luka will need the rest of his team to step up if he wants to win the NBA championship, and it will be up to him to get the rest of them involved.
The Mavericks have been a solid team throughout the playoffs, but that wasn’t the case in Game 1. Kyrie Irving especially had a poor night, scoring 12 points and going 6-19 from the field, as he underdelivered against his former team. Given how good Irving has been in the series, it was a surprising showcase from the former NBA champion.
Doncic has had a solid playoff run so far, averaging 28.8 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 8.4 assists. But he cannot do it alone. The Finals are far from over, but the Mavericks need to act now if they want to make a comeback in this series and win the NBA championship this year.
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