Game 2 Won Because The Mavericks Have Luka Doncic And The Timberwolves Do Not

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The thing about Luka Doncic, despite the wild game winners, ridiculous trick shots, the meteoric scoring barrages, at his core he likes to pass.

When Doncic is at his best, and when the Mavericks are at their best, Doncic is beating teams with the pass first, shot second. It sounds silly for a guy who just led the NBA in scoring, and who also drilled another wild game winner Friday night in Game 2 against the Timberwolves, but it feels true.

In Game 1, the Wolves dared Doncic to beat them with his shot. They played their normal drop coverage with defensive anchor Rudy Gobert, and dared Doncic to play 2-on-2 in the pick and roll and make contested two point looks. Minnesota stayed glued to Dallas’ shooters, and the Mavericks only made six total three pointers. Despite all of that, Dallas won, thanks to its newly improved defense, but also because Doncic beat what the Wolves threw at him — he made 4-of-7 from the midrange, including a dagger over Jaden McDaniels in the final minute.

Even though Dallas had an overall pedestrian offensive game in that win, the Wolves were apparently spooked enough to throw most of that defensive scheme in the trash. Perhaps worried about Doncic killing them with more long twos, or just wanting to mix up it to try and keep him on his toes, the Wolves played Doncic tight in Game 2, blitzing and putting two on the ball in the pick and roll almost all night. This time the Wolves dared Doncic to beat them with his pass, and Doncic obliged with one of the best passing games of his life.

Doncic finished with 13 assists and four turnovers, despite being doubled for a majority of the game. He would have had even more if the Mavericks role players made more shots, as the non-Doncic, Kyrie Irving Mavericks combined to shoot 3-of-13 from three, including an 0-for-7 mark from starting forwards Derrick Jones Jr. and PJ Washington. In the fourth quarter alone, Doncic only scored five points and made one bucket (of course, the game-winner) but did have five assists and zero turnovers. From the opening tip to the final buzzer, Doncic was in control of this game, with some of the most pinpoint passing I’ve seen in a single game from him in his entire career.

Considering that most of these passes came under pressure of two long, big defenders and a hostile crowd roaring, it just made Doncic’s orchestration all the more impressive.

The thing with Doncic is that when he has two on him, he rarely panics. You don’t see Doncic airmail many passes out of double teams into the third row, and a recurring theme in Game 2 when Doncic was doubled was how quick and decisive Doncic was with his decisions. There wasn’t much surveying the floor, because to Doncic, the floor is already surveyed — he knows what the defense is doing before they do it and he knows where his players will be before they’re actually there. That showed in the countless drop offs to rookie center Dereck Lively, who was excellent making decisions in short roll, 4-on-3 situations.

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