Luka Doncic has seemingly stunned everyone with his skills and talents throughout the season. The Slovenian has been tremendously productive for the Dallas Mavericks in what can be considered another career year for the 4x All-NBA First-Team recipient. After the Mavs recently clinched Game 2 of their opening-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers, Doncic earned much praise from the FS2 analyst, Skip Bayless for his performances throughout the year.
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In a recent episode of the ‘UNDISPUTED‘, Bayless discussed how Luka Doncic has perhaps been the most improved player to look out for this season in the league. Bayless makes his argument based on Doncic’s vast improvement in his three-point and free-throw shooting. The veteran analyst said,
“Luka has improved radically and dramatically in all these areas. Because, all of a sudden I look up this year, and wait a second, he has kicked it completely up to a 38% three-point shooter and wait, he’s almost 80% from the free throw line this year! It’s dramatic impact on how good they can be as a team.”
To make a case of Skip’s analysis, Doncic improved from 34.4% three-point shooting & 79% from free throws in the 2022-23 season to 38.4% from beyond the arc and 80% from the FT line in the 2023-24 season. While his free throw percentage isn’t what may be expected from a shooter of his caliber, his 4% improvement in 3-point shooting is something that may end up being extremely valuable for the Mavericks. Luka attempts 10.6 3-pointers per game and makes 4.1. In a team that otherwise lacks offensive firepower, the Slovenian’s increase in efficiency while also increasing his attempts per game could end up being the difference between an early elimination or a deep playoff run for the Mavs.
Doncic’s new form, as Bayless suggests has also complemented well with his co-star, Kyrie Irving. As Skip suggests, Doncic has ‘made peace’ with Irving to complement each other on the floor. The result has been significantly efficient, as this dynamic duo went on to win 13 of their last 15 games playing together.
Now that the Mavs have tied their ongoing playoff series against the Clippers, the duo could perhaps even exploit the existing loopholes that continue to plague the LA team heading further into this series.
Skip Bayless predicted Luka Doncic’s offensive prowess can help Dallas win against the Clippers
Days ahead of the playoff series between the Clippers and the Mavericks, Skip Bayless suggested how the odds were in favor of Dallas to win the series. One of the underlying reasons for the Clippers to fall short in this series is their star Kawhi Leonard’s injury status.
Bayless had rightly predicted Leonard to miss Game 1 of the series, which would force other players such as Paul George to guard Doncic. The veteran analyst had predicted that no other player could limit Doncic on the court apart from Leonard. Though the Clippers had somehow clinched a Game 1 victory without Kawhi, they failed to match up with Doncic and Mavs’ offense despite Leonard’s return in Game 2.
The Clippers performed beyond the expectations of Bayless’ predictions and gave the Mavs a tight run for defense in Game 2. While Doncic and PJ Washington drilled two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, Kawhi Leonard was also busy deflecting passes and scoring a breakaway dunk in the third quarter. However, the Clippers fell short with their shooting, missing 22 of 30 3-point shots.
The Mavs took home a win by a narrow margin, in a nerve-wracking and tight contest. The Clippers might need to find ways to overcome the Mavericks’ offensive prowess as they head for Game 3 and Game 4 in Dallas.
