Despite the next 40-point game, there was at least slight criticism of Luka Doncic after the loss in Game 3 against the Warriors. This is not understandable. Certain problems just can’t be solved at Dallas Golden State, meanwhile, has other concerns. Insights into Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.
1. Dallas Mavericks: Kritik an Luka Doncic ist absurd
After the third loss in a row against the Warriors, numerous statistics appeared on social networks that should at least begin to suggest that a large part of the blame could be found with Luka Doncic. To put this in context: He had just played his eighth playoff game with at least 40 points (even if 21 of them came in the final quarter when it was too late).
The figures given: With Doncic on the field, the net rating against the Warriors is -18 in 79 minutes (off rating: 112.0; def rating: 130), without him the value shoots up to +36.7 in 26 minutes up (Off-Rating: 136.7; Def-Rating: 100). In addition, six of Doncic’s eight 40-point games were lost, most recently four in a row. Only Rick Barry can boast a similarly long streak.
After the game, Doncic was self-critical as usual: “I played really badly in the first three quarters. That’s my fault.” Then he referred to the aspect that all critics should keep in mind: “I’m only 23 man. I’m still learning a lot. After the season, whenever that will be, I’ll look back and learn a lot. That are my first conference finals. Nobody was expecting us here. The Warriors are playing amazingly, everyone knows their role.”
In addition, the numbers – even if Doncic tends to take a heavy throw too many and sometimes makes a wrong decision – can be explained: His minutes largely match those of Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins, the best warriors so far Series. In the minutes against Thompson, Green plus the reserves, Dallas looked a lot better, and there was also extensive garbage time in Game 1.
And most importantly: Doncic can hardly be blamed for the fact that the Mavericks did not hit a barn door from a distance in game 1 (22.9 percent, 11/48) and 3. Again and again the Slovenian found the open shooter in the early stages last night, again and again the ball hit the ring. While he still got 4/9 threes, his colleagues, with a few exceptions, didn’t do anything at all. The negative examples: Maxi Kleber (0/5) and Reggie Bullock (0/7).
To pin the defeats on a youngster who led his team into the conference finals without a clear number two and put up 31.4 points, 94 rebounds and 6.5 assists with almost 47 percent from the field is absurd. Doncic’s coach Jason Kidd also made it clear that the current playoff run for Dallas was “just the beginning of our journey”: “It’s cool to experience that, but it’s not the end.”
2. Warriors: Despite the curry gala, the stage belongs to Wiggins
Post-game interviews were dominated by Andrew Wiggins, despite Stephen Curry’s strong performance (Kerr: “He was brilliant today. It’s impressive to watch him.”) First and foremost, of course, this was due to his crazy dunk over Luka Doncic in the fourth quarter, probably the best of the playoffs so far. At first, referee Marc Davis counted it as an offensive foul, but after the Warriors challenged the referee team changed their decision.
According to Klay Thompson, Wiggins looked like Dominique Wilkins, Green gave the dunk even more meaning because it was completed via a Superstar – and Curry quipped: “It was amazing. And we got to watch 800 replays because of the challenge. So thanks, Marc. That was nice.” Wiggins himself said he “just felt the energy. The ring was all I saw.”
Doncic, who Wiggins pushed aside with his forearm as usual, only had words of praise left: “I was hit a bit, but I don’t want to lie: that was impressive. I saw it again in the video and thought to myself: Wow, that could be me too.”
But it’s important to emphasize: Wiggins also put in an excellent performance beyond the dunk, ending the game with a playoff career high of 27 points and making it out of the field on a strong 11/20. He also had 11 rebounds and had the best plus/minus of all players (+22). In this regard, he even stands at +66 across the series, followed by Curry at +57. “It’s great to see that he can shine like that on the biggest stage,” he said of his colleague.
Especially at the beginning of the series he proved to be an extremely useful defender against Doncic, in game 3 he showed his best offensive performance. He grabbed 6 of his 11 rebounds on the offensive board, and in the fourth quarter he sunk a particularly important one directly into the basket. Previously, he had shown his class from the midrange and in the zone while the three-pointer refused to fall compared to the previous two games (but was 39.2 percent across the series).
“I love it. It’s the biggest stage to play on and brings out the best in everyone,” Wiggins said of the playoffs, which will likely see the Warriors progress to the grand finals. Because Thompson’s throw rarely fell as usual, Green only delivered conditionally and Jordan Poole had a weak day, Wiggins’ top performance could not have come at a better time. And there was also praise from the highest authority: “Andrew Wiggins plays the best basketball he’s ever played”said Magic Johnson.
