Dallas Mavericks: Why Luka Doncic struggles to hit threes


Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic became a superstar this season, but his 3-point percentage remained below league average. Here is a look at why.
The Dallas Mavericks played 67 games before the NBA suspended play because of the novel coronavirus. It was 15 contests from a full regular season, but it was not short on surprises. Luka Doncic became a superstar and lifted everyone around him.
He averaged 28.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 8.7 assists per game in his second NBA season. Doncic and Russell Westbrook were the only two players to finish inside the top 20 in the league in all three categories this season.
The 21-year-old was incredible. He started his first All-Star game in 2020. Luka was well on his way to a top-five MVP finish and taking home the Most Improved Player award this season.
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The reigning Rookie of the Year also had the Dallas Mavericks back in the playoffs. They sit seventh, but with a 10.5 game lead over the ninth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers. It would be the Mavs first time in the playoffs since 2016.
Doncic led Dallas to a historic offensive rating and had his teammates setting new career-highs left and right.
Luka Doncic did not struggle much this season, but one area was his 3-point shooting. He connected on just 31.8 percent from downtown over 491 attempts. Luka took 9.1 threes per game. In fact, Doncic finished 141st of 149 qualified NBA players in 3-point percentage.
Do not get it twisted. Luka can shoot. The question is why was the percentage so low? He shot 32.7 percent as a rookie. Still below the league average, but not as bad. Let us examine his 3-point shooting struggles.
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