Recently fired Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff praised Luka Doncic for pushing through various injuries to stay available for the Mavericks through the Playoffs.
Luka Doncic just wrapped up the first NBA Finals run of his career, falling to the Boston Celtics in a 4-1 series. Doncic’s impact on the game can be heavily debated, as his offense was streaky while his defense was largely non-existent. He was playing through a whole host of injuries in the Finals, which led to former Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff praising the Slovenian guard.
“This is the guy that was taking shots in his ribs so that he could go out and play, right? He was playing through pain. He wasn’t complaining. He was still playing 40-plus minutes, trying to go out and get it done Give him the opportunity to learn from this.”
Bickerstaff’s comments are funny, as the team that just fired him had a player who sat out at the end of the NBA Playoffs because he refused to take painkillers after suffering a rib injury. The former Cavs coach could be ripping on Jarrett Allen for sidelining himself in a similar situation, a move that upset many people in the Cavs locker room during their second-round loss to the Celtics.
Doncic played through three major reported injuries over the series. He hurt his knee in the first round against the Clippers and played the entire postseason without that knee healing fully. In their second-round series against the Thunder, Doncic picked up an ankle injury following a trip and continued to play through that as well.
Finally, Luka picked up a ‘thoracic’ contusion in the NBA Finals, the rib injury which Bickerstaff is referring to. Doncic didn’t miss a single postseason game, averaging 28.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 8.1 assists in 22 appearances while averaging 40.9 minutes per game.
Almost every game the Mavericks have had this postseason has had the caveat of, ‘What if Luka was fully healthy?’ Everyone has seen him labor on the court trying to play through multiple lower body injuries and constantly bleeding on the court, but Doncic holds firm that his injuries don’t matter when it comes to evaluating his level of play in the series.
“It doesn’t matter if I was hurt, how much I was hurt. I was out there trying to play. But I didn’t do enough.”
Doncic’s willingness to take accountability is a great sign, especially after comments about his lack of maturity toward the end of the series. He averaged 29.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 5.6 assists in the Finals on 47.2% shooting. He was absolutely ice-cold from three-point range, shooting 24.4% on 9.0 attempts per game.
Luka played improved one-on-one defense, especially in the post during the Playoffs, but he was a cone on the perimeter. His limited lateral movement due to the ankle and knee injuries could have played a part, but the only way for Doncic to change his reputation is by coming back even better next season.
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