In a season where Luka Doncic’s greatness has been the story of the Dallas Mavericks, the ankle injury he suffered Saturday night against the Miami Heat could be a critical moment. According to ESPN’s Tim McMahon, Doncic could miss two weeks with a sprained ankle after rolling it within the first three minutes of the game.
Without Doncic, the Mavs brought the Heat to overtime but ended up losing 122-118. While they lost the game and lost their star player, they shouldn’t lose hope. After a disappointing first half, the team came out strong in the second half and proved they’ll still be fun to watch in Doncic’s absence.
Brunson’s Luka Impersonation
In Doncic’s absence, Jalen Brunson stepped up as the team playmaker. He finished the game with 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists, including this gem.
https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/1206050281370398720
Brunson has plenty of options on this play. The threat of a Kristaps Porzingis 3-pointer looms and the Heat defense falls for the fake pass back to him. Brunson has space to shoot from mid-range as Derrick Jones Jr. falls back to prevent a drive. Instead, he chooses Maxi Kleber who sneaks into the lane and takes the pass for the and-one. The Mavs won’t need fancy no-look passes every play, but they will need well-executed ball-screen plays to make use of their many options.
Dwight Powell Ball-Handler Screen
https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/1206049109569867776
To be fair to Meyers Leonard, the Mavs gave him no choice on this play. Dwight Powell takes the pass from Brunson where he can act as a screener on Brunson’s defender, Jimmy Butler. Leonard has to drop to help defend Brunson, leaving Butler with no help after Powell screens him and passes to an open Tim Hardaway Jr.
While Hardaway Jr. won’t shoot 6-for-14 from the 3-point line every night, giving him and other shooters like Seth Curry space to take their shots will be difficult without Doncic there to take up defenders. Plays like this should shift the defenders around enough to create mismatches or give space to their remaining weapons.
Jalen Magic?
https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/1206058559764606976
It doesn’t have the same ring to it as “Luka Magic”, but Brunson had the Dallas crowd roaring. Brunson looks to be the focal point of the team in crunch time in Doncic’s absence. They gave him the ball in the final minutes of regulation and overtime, including this clutch shot over the head of Derrick Jones Jr.
The spacing there is the key to this play. Hardaway Jr.’s screen lets Brunson by Kendrick Nunn and he gets enough speed to blow by Butler. Likely expecting help defense, Butler can only turn and find a wide-open key for Brunson to drive into. Near the basket, Kleber makes a subtle movement towards the perimeter to get Jones Jr. to move out of the lane and gives Brunson an extra step to get his shot off before Jones Jr. gets there. Brunson may not be Doncic, but plays like this prove the Mavs have another option for crunch time.
Doncic’s ankle injury came at one of the toughest parts of their schedule. Their game against the Heat was the first of five straight games against the top five Eastern Conference teams. Without Doncic, their expectations of this stretch have to be lowered. But while they won’t have “Luka Magic”, the team proved they can still create some magic of their own.
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