“If you want to win a championship, you’ve got to beat everybody”: Mavs star Luka Doncic softens his stance on the 2021 NBA play-in tournament

Dallas Mavericks point guard Luka Doncic was against the newly introduced play-ins but now has made peace with it.

The Dallas Mavericks are out of contention for the newly introduced play-ins. They are currently in the fifth spot in the Western Conference ahead of the Portland Trailblazers and Los Angeles Lakers.

However, a month ago Luka Doncic and company were in a fierce battle with the other two mentioned sides as none of the teams wanted to drop into that play-in spot.

At that time, the Slovenian point guard was among some people who criticized the newly introduced system which also allows the 9th and 10 seed to have a go at the playoffs.

Luka pointed out that he did not understand the logic of playing 72 games to make the playoffs, and then how two games can simply change the fortunes of a franchise.

“I don’t understand the idea of a play-in,” Doncic told reporters. “You play 72 games to get into the playoffs. Then maybe you lose two in a row, and you’re out of the playoffs.”

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Mavericks star Luka Doncic softens his stance on the controversial play-in tournament

Now things have changed and the Mavericks are in a better position than their counterparts. Therefore Doncic had to soften his stance on the overall scenario.

The Mavs are currently in the fifth position with a 41-29 record but they not completely out of contention to drop in the play-ins. The seventh seed Los Angeles Lakers are just a game behind Luka and company and hence the danger is not yet averted.

“If you want to win a championship, you’ve got to beat everybody, so I think we’ll go from there,” Doncic said, via Tomer Barzani of SI.com.

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Dropping down to the play-ins will mean that they will have to face either of Golden State Warriors or Memphis Grizzlies. Both the sides are tied with identical records but they will play a tiebreaker with the winner getting the higher seed.

The only good thing about the whole scenario for Rick Carlisle’s men is that they have their fortunes in their own hands. The Mavs will have to win the remaining two matches to secure a playoffs berth.