(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The Dallas Mavericks have officially arrived.
Following a case of the jitters in their postseason debut, this new group of players rallied together to make a statement and steal one game on the road vs. the Los Angeles Clippers.
Of course, it’s never been surprising to see Luka Doncic put up big numbers on offense, as he’s almost averaged a triple-double for three years straight now.
However, we just saw a version of Doncic we had never seen before.
As pointed out by Brian Windhorst of ESPN, Doncic held the Clippers to 2 of 17 shooting as the primary defender, finally taking a step forward on the defensive end of the floor.
That’s why, on his most recent appearance on Get Up, Windhorst claimed that this should be a warning to the rest of the league, including the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets.
Windhorst praised Doncic for being in control and mature throughout the course of the entire contest, adding that he went from being a hole on defense to actually making an impact.
“This is a warning sign to the rest of the league that [Luka Dončić] is developing like this.”@windhorstespn believes Luka and the Mavs are the biggest threat to the Nuggets in the West pic.twitter.com/rF8np09PXe
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) April 24, 2024
Doncic’s offensive game has always been borderline perfect.
He’s drawn criticism for being slightly out of shape, complaining after every call or no-call, and not even trying on defense.
But it seems like that’s no longer the case.
Doncic is proving that he can also be a lockdown defender, and the league will be in a lot of trouble if that’s the case.
It’s still early, and they have to win several more games.
But if Doncic gets the job done on both ends, you have to like this team’s chances against anybody.
The post Brian Windhorst Names The ‘Biggest Threat’ To Nuggets appeared first on The Cold Wire.