Mavericks 97, Sixers 111

[mavsluvr]

Part of the problem might (might) be that Luka is just more comfortable with the ball in his hands and not quite experienced enough yet to make a significant impact moving without the ball. Part of the problem might be that the combination of supporting players isn't adequate for the offense to be successful without a star-level threat handling. 

I think these are likely factors. 


I don't think Luka is intentionally hogging the ball out of a desire to run up his triple-double total. He's about winning, and is smart enough and talented enough to learn how to play off the ball, to the extent he doesn't already know. 

It seems like the main issue is that the team is prioritizing wins now, and with the supporting cast being what it is, the game-by-game results are usually maximized by Luka dominating the ball. He is a willing passer, but his teammates often don't take advantages of the open shots he creates, and when they use a secondary ball handler, none of the guys can orchestrate the offense anywhere close to the level Luka does. 

I'm thinking longer term (meaning after this season), they ought to make a concerted effort to get a high-quality ball handling back court mate for him. Many of the top teams in the league have such duos, and that can be their model. For now, they can try Brunson, but I fear he is too limited and too much of a defensive liability to form part of a Steph-Klay type combo. Yes, I know they can cook up schemes to try to hide him, but it would be much better to have a guy who doesn't have a general weakness like that. If I'm wrong about JB, praise be. 

The one-man Luka show is not sustainable against high-quality opponents. So, they are going to have to develop the discipline to share the load if they want to be a contender. Maybe they punt this season, since there doesn't seem to be a likely candidate to help him out. But then it's something they need to address in the offseason in the worst way. Imho.