Luka Doncic's MVP case will never be stronger if this key trend continues

On Wednesday night, the Dallas Mavericks took on the Chicago Bulls in the team's second-to-last home game during a five-game home stand. After defeating Chicago 119-99 in effortless fashion, the team will set its eyes on the Western Conference rival Phoenix Suns in what could be a defining early-season matchup on Friday night.

Throughout the game, Dallas cleaned up most of the team's mistakes, which had plagued them throughout the start of the season, such as the team's sluggish starts. One way Dallas got off to an energized start was by feeding the ball to superstar Kyrie Irving who would end up scoring 15 points by the end of the first quarter.

While the Bulls battled back multiple times after finding themselves in double-digit holes, Dallas proved to be too much and by the end of the third quarter, Chicago had virtually surrendered.

One way the Mavericks made it impossible for the Bulls to complete a comeback was through their defense. As a team, the Mavericks stole the ball 11 times and created 23 total Chicago turnovers
with a majority of them occurring in the third quarter.

Luka Doncic's improved defense could help lead him to his first MVP

While the Mavericks aren't a stranger to creating turnovers and steals, superstar Luka Doncic led the team in takeaways this game with four which has surprisingly become a common sight to see early this season.

One knock Doncic has received throughout his career has been his lack of attention to detail on the defensive end of the floor. After proving many doubters wrong during last year's run to the Finals, Doncic has now showcased his defensive improvement in the regular season.

While it is just an eight-game sample size, Doncic has continued to surprise fans with his development on the defensive end to start the season.

Against the Bulls, Doncic recorded four steals which led the team and led to transition buckets on the opposite end but he also used his size very well to deter offensive players from playing bully ball down low.

In addition to Doncic using his strength as a weapon on the defensive end, he has also begun to use his lateral quickness to cut defenders off when they choose to use the baseline as a possible alley to the hoop.

While Doncic still has his lapses when guarding one-on-one in open space, he makes up for it with his ability to read the intentions of the offensive player and anticipate passes.

Doncic has always been elite at cutting off passing lanes which is where he gets most of his steals. Against the Bulls, Doncic recorded most of his steals by cutting off passing lanes in transition and then throwing cross-court dimes to open Mavericks on the opposite end.

Doncic will never be the perfect defender fans want him to be but witnessing his improvement eight games into the season is a very promising sign for what is to come this season.

As the season progresses Doncic will compete for this season's MVP award and his defense could be the deciding factor in him winning or losing his first MVP trophy.

In years past, voters refused to choose Doncic over other candidates like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic due to his lack of defensive consistency throughout the year and because of the Mavericks' record heading into the postseason.

If Doncic can keep up the consistent work on the defensive end of the floor, voters will have zero excuses to not choose Doncic over other big names.