The Western Conference Semifinal series between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder is scheduled to begin on Tuesday. One of the big topics is how OKC will protect Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic.
“Just making sure Lou (Dolt) is ready in time for the game,” Thunder head coach Mark Dainot said Monday when asked about his game plan to protect MVP finalist and league leading scorer Luka Doncic. answered.
At least initially, OKC isn't going to double-team and blitz Doncic and appears to have faith in the young defender.
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“[Luka Doncic is] He's a great player. He is very capable of creating shots. “He's taking a lot of tough shots, the ball is going to be in his hands a lot, so my number one objective is to make everything tough,” Dort told the media at his Sunday practice. That's true.''
Dort also knows a lot about what Doncic will try to do throughout a game, especially when it comes to drawing fouls and getting to the free-throw line. This series will feature two of the top three players in free throw attempts this season: Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“(Doncic) is good at that,” Dort said. “Drawing fouls and things like that. Every time he gets in his position, I have to be aware of that.”
Doncic has praised Dort in the past, calling Dort “one of the top three defenders in the NBA” a few seasons ago. According to the NBA, the Mavericks star scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting in four minutes of game time, guarded by Dort, so Doncic had his way with Dort the last time they met in February. The NBA has announced that it did not. .com with a big win with 32 points.
The first round was a struggle for Doncic, at least by his standards, as he was plagued by illness and a sprained knee. Still, he averaged 29.8 PPG, 9.5 APG, and 8.8 RPG, but shot just 40.5 percent from the floor and 23.9 percent from 3-point range against the Clippers. It's encouraging for the Mavs that they can win without him being the best player in the series, but they'll need one of the best versions of him in this series if they want to move forward.
OKC has several options to throw at Doncic if Dort isn't successful initially, adding Jaylen Williams, Gilgeous-Alexander, and even Kason Wallace if needed. He also dealt with Kyrie Irving, who averaged more points (20 PPG) in all Clippers games than any player other than James Harden (21.2 points) in the second half of the first-round game. would have to.
Game 1 will begin at 8:30 PM CST at Paycom Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
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