Mavericks' Luka Doncic ruthlessly clowned for falling asleep on game-losing play vs. Jazz
The Dallas Mavericks let a very winnable game slip from their fingertips on Thursday night after an inexcusable defensive blunder in the penultimate possession of the game gave the Utah Jazz an easy basket to give them a 115-113 win. Losing to the Jazz was already bad enough as it is as it extended their losing streak to four games, but the manner in which Luka Doncic and company broke down in the end is simply painful to watch — and even more confounding to see unfold in real time.
Doncic was the primary defender on John Collins during the Jazz's final offensive possession. Collins, who was having a good night offensively, was parked near the baseline — perhaps waiting for a rebounding chance with Jordan Clarkson isolated at the top of the key. However, the Mavericks collectively experienced a rush of blood to the head, with their entire defense suffering from the miscommunication between Doncic and Quentin Grimes which then gave Collins a wide-open game-winning dunk.
The Mavericks have defended similarly during crunch-time in the past. However, they were unable to set up their defense following a made basket, and it was simply inexcusable for Doncic to try and guard a certain space instead of defending Collins. And for his troubles, Doncic was the recipient of plenty of criticisms on social media following his blunder.
"i love luka but he part of the problem rn – doesn't move his feet on defense, doesn't stay in shape, complains instead of running back, forces too many shots/holds the ball too long. role players brought them back last night," wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
"Luka playing no defense this season, his defense got worse for some reason. Looks like he doesn't even wanna play ," added .
"Luka brotha. Just zero idea how to play defense. This is so bad," furthered .
"Luka gotta step it up , we can't do the crying and no defense and expect to get back to the chip," expressed .
Luka Doncic and the Mavericks fall to 5-7 on the season
There was an expectation that the Mavericks' run to the 2024 NBA Finals will be spurring them to greater heights. But it hasn't quite materialized yet for the Mavs in the early goings of the 2024-25 season. Their loss to the Jazz on Thursday night is their fourth in a row, with all losses coming in such heartbreaking fashion. What makes their loss to the Jazz an even more crushing one is the fact that their efforts in coming back from 16 down were all for naught.
Even with PJ Washington out for the past five games, the Mavericks should still have more than enough depth to be winning basketball games. Instead, they have been outplayed in crunch-time during their losing streak. Their total margin of defeat in their four-game skid is eight, and that should be telling enough of their execution woes late in the game.
The Mavericks will look to get back on track when they travel to San Antonio to take on Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs on Saturday night.
