1 Improvement that Luka Doncic made makes the Dallas Mavericks unstoppable

Noah Weber

Phoenix Suns v Dallas Mavericks / Ron Jenkins/GettyImages

The Dallas Mavericks are riding a seven-game winning streak going into tonight's matchup against the Indiana Pacers, and the team is playing their best basketball of the season.

Dallas is 4-0 in games that both P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford play in, and this new duo has helped the Mavs' defense tremendously. Other than Gafford and Washington, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are dominating offensively.

Over the last seven games, Doncic is averaging 31.3 points, 10.1 rebounds, 9.4 assists, and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 40.6 percent from downtown on nearly 10 attempts per game. Irving is averaging 27 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 58.1 percent from the field.

1 Improvement that Luka Doncic made makes the Dallas Mavericks unstoppable

This duo is firing on all cylinders, and Doncic has made a few improvements this season that could truly make the Mavs unstoppable. One improvement that is the most obvious is his defense. Doncic is no longer a traffic cone on the perimeter and can get a stop when needed.

His hands have become much quicker, and he often pokes away a steal in situations that he wouldn't have in seasons past.

Another improvement that he has made, that seemingly no one is talking about, is his shooting off the catch. Early in Doncic's career, he was strictly a shooter off the dribble. Doncic would shoot his signature step-back 3-pointer, and an occasional pull-up three, but he wasn't consistent off the catch.

Doncic is shooting 41.3 percent from downtown off the catch this season on two attempts per game. Last season, Doncic shot 35.2 percent off the catch from downtown on 1.1 attempts per game. The season before, he shot 32.3 percent off the catch from three on one attempt per game.

The numbers don't lie, and Doncic has turned into an elite catch-and-shoot 3-point shooter. This allows him to play off the ball occasionally when he is playing with Irving, and it adds another element to the Dallas offense.

Doncic is constantly moving without the ball, and his ability to play off the ball rather than only doing damage when the ball is in his hands could make the Mavs unstoppable.

For all the latest on Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and the Dallas Mavericks this season, stay tuned.

Noah Weber

Noah Weber is the Site Expert for The Smoking Cuban, covering the Dallas Mavericks as a credentialed media member since the 2022-23 season. With a Bachelor of Science in Sports Media from Oklahoma State University, Noah has worked in sports journalism since 2019. While he's covered the Dallas Cowboys and Oklahoma State Cowboys, he has now established himself as a go-to voice for Mavericks coverage. Noah's expertise includes in-depth game analysis, social media content creation, and offering unique perspectives through his reporting. His work has been featured on major platforms such as ESPN, Bleacher Report, and Overtime. During his time at Oklahoma State, Noah won first place in the Oklahoma Broadcast Education Association Awards for a show he co-produced. Outside of covering the Mavs, Noah enjoys working out, playing basketball and Spikeball, and spending quality time with friends and family.