Luka Doncic reveals key to Dallas Mavericks’ shocking defensive resurgence

Will Miller

Dallas Mavericks v Sacramento Kings / Ezra Shaw/GettyImages

The Dallas Mavericks have gone an astounding 9-1 in their last 10 games, as they have changed their defensive identity as a team as we approach the playoffs. This improvement defensively comes off the heels of Mavericks' head coach Jason Kidd inserting Derrick Jones Jr. and Daniel Gafford into the starting lineup 10 games ago, as the Mavericks have the second-best defensive rating in the entire NBA throughout their last 10 contests at 106.5.

The Mavericks' most recent win versus the Sacramento Kings was emblematic of the strides that Dallas has made defensively in this recent stretch, as Dallas held the Kings to only 96 points whilst shutting down the likes of De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis.

The Mavericks have done a great job with their doubles and switches on defense recently, as Dallas' guards have been extremely aggressive when hedging or helping.

Luka Doncic reveals key to Dallas Mavericks’ shocking defensive resurgence

Dallas' bigs and wings have done a great job at closing out to shooters and rotating as the low-man when they've been positioned too, as the Mavericks have looked extremely interconnected with their defensive scheme across the board recently. After Dallas' victory over Sacramento, Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic talked about what has ignited Dallas' defense recently in a postgame interview with TNT.

Luka Doncic on Dallas’ defense:

“We’re getting better and better on our defensive end. We have guys who can really defend. The whole team is listening, we talk a lot on defensive end, so we just got to just keep going like that.” pic.twitter.com/wFQIQceD0B
— Noah Weber (@noahweber00) March 27, 2024

Doncic isn't the most talkative guy in the world when it comes to postgame interviews, so anything that he does reveal to the media is typically pretty relevant. Doncic talked about how Dallas' players have been listening and talking more on the defensive end, something that is crucial for a prospective contending team.

Despite how loud NBA arenas are, this switch in Dallas' defense has been evident from an outsider's perspective as well, as Dallas has been much more tight and vocal with their defensive rotations. Communication will be even more important for the Mavericks come playoff time, as opposing head coaches will empty their playbooks to figure out ways to disrupt Dallas' newly-found ironclad defense.

The Mavericks take on the Kings once again tonight, in a game that has huge implications for the Mavericks' odds of avoiding the Play-In Tournament, so make sure to stay tuned to us for postgame coverage.

Will Miller

Will Miller is a senior contributor and is in his second year with The Smoking Cuban. Will has been following the Dallas Mavericks for over a decade and is currently working on getting a Bachelors in Science in Sports Journalism from the University of North Texas, as he is also covering sports for the North Texas TV station. While Will is opening up his coverage to cover other sports for UNT, basketball and the Dallas Mavericks are his true passion and he hopes to continue writing and producing Mavericks related content as his career continues. Will has very solid in-game analysis and knowledge about the intricacies of the game, and has a very broad understanding about the NBA as a whole. Going forward Will is looking to be more expansive in his coverage of the Mavericks beyond writing as well. Outside of writing about the Mavericks, Will enjoys hanging with friends, going to the gym, and watching other sports and live events.