The Dallas Mavericks play the Detroit Pistons on the road tonight, looking to extend their winning streak to two games after defeating the Miami Heat on Thursday night.
Dallas' previously struggling defense has gotten much better, and Luka Doncic and company have put in the work. While the story of the night was Dante Exum's clutch play and return as a key piece for Dallas, Doncic's dominant night was also hard to overlook.
Doncic also recorded a 30-point triple-double, becoming the second player in NBA history to record five consecutive 30-point triple-doubles. Doncic seems to perform like this almost every game, so these performances are starting to be ignored by the media and fans.
But that doesn't mean Doncic shouldn't accept the bouquet, which is exactly what many in the NBA are doing. Doncic is going through a bad boy era, with many in the NBA criticizing his style of play.
Reggie Miller and Charles Barkley did this during Thursday night's TNT broadcast of the Mavs vs. Heat game, and former Mav Chandler Parsons did it the next day. “As a teammate, it's a little tiring seeing the same (expletive) word over and over again,” Parsons said of Doncic.
Parsons also advised Doncic to take a page from Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic's book.
“What do you do when you make the most shots, play the most minutes, have the most assists and triple-doubles? [Nikola] Jokic does that,” Parsons said. “But find a way to make everyone happy and win the game.”
“I think [Luka Doncic] He has incredible talent and is literally the guard version of [Nikola] Jokic, he can do anything… But as a teammate, it's a little tiring to watch the same games over and over again. ”@ChandlerParsons About Luka Doncic. pic.twitter.com/tZBT7sPXke
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) March 8, 2024
Parsons' opinion of Doncic is unfounded considering he's never been a teammate, and all of Doncic's teammates seem to love playing with him. It's also a little strange that he would advise Doncic to be more like Jokic. Because they are completely different players and play on different teams.
This comment hints that Doncic will involve his teammates more, similar to Jokic. It's also possible that Doncic was hinting at being more aggressive without the ball in his hands like Jokic.
Doncic and Jokic are great friends off the court, and it's possible the star duo will team up in the future.
Stay tuned for updates on Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks this season.
