Dallas Mavericks: Two guys that need a strong game tonight

Luka Doncic

Luka’s first regular season game in a Mavs uniform was a good one but still left a lot to be desired for maybe the most talked about rookie of this draft class. His shot did not look good and he looked a little lost on the defensive end right off the bat. His passing, however, is going to be something special.

I picked the two backcourt starters in part because we all want to see them grow together and find a happy co-existence on the court. This was a main area of concern for Mavs fans coming in to this season because we did not want the draft pick of this year to cancel out the draft pick of last year.

For Luka to have a better game tonight, he will need to be more assertive and take charge of the offense when the play call is for him. His shot was not looking good in the first game, but that may have just been rookie jitters. Tonight that shot should start dropping a little more frequently.

Luka is also going to need to keep his eyes up for the pass opportunity. He is an incredible passer with great vision, but if he gets too much tunnel vision focusing on his shot, he will miss open opportunities for Wesley Matthews and DeAndre Jordan. I don’t think that will happen, but just in case.

The big thing that Luka needs to figure out is his defense. He wasn’t all that terrible in his first game, but he found himself out of position and a little overwhelmed on occasion against the Suns. Once again, I think that this concern can be attributed to first game jitters.

The Dallas Mavericks tip-off against the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight at 7:30 central time for the team’s first home game. Dennis and Luka will have their hands full, but I expect a better game from each of them tonight.