Former Maverick Slams Luka Doncic Criticism
By Cem Yolbulan
Ever since the Dallas Mavericks lost Game 3 at home against the Boston Celtics, there has been a ridiculous amount of Luka Doncic slander. Talking heads in the media and fans on social media wasted no time pointing fingers at the Mavericks superstar as if he is the sole reason Dallas is down 3-0 in the series.
Dallas is severely overmatched in the NBA Finals. Role players have struggled to make shots, Kyrie Irving has not been effective, and the Celtics have been playing very well on both ends of the floor. However, Luka Doncic and his defense is the only thing being talked about right now.
Former Maverick Theo Pinson had enough of this. Taking to social media to respond to criticisms against his former teammate, Pinson called out the haters.
Mavericks News: Theo Pinson Calls Out Luka Doncic's Haters
Pinson has a point. At the beginning of the playoffs, nobody gave the Mavericks a chance to make the NBA Finals. Luka Doncic, by being the best player in the postseason, carried them to the finals, going 12-5 in the process against a stacked Western Conference. Dallas was excellent defensively, with Doncic playing some of the best defense of his career.
Fast forward to the NBA Finals and all of that is forgotten. Just because a deeper, more talented team in Boston is beating the Mavericks, Doncic suddenly became a scapegoat.
Despite the fact that Doncic has struggled defensively against Boston, the Mavericks are not losing this series on the defensive end. Their issues are on the offensive end, where the Celtics have completely shut down the hyper-efficient Dallas offense. Instead of praising Boston's defense, analysts have taken the easy route to criticize Doncic.
It is nice to see Theo Pinson come to Doncic's defense. There is a reason he was a fan favorite in Dallas during his two seasons with the team.