Dallas Mavericks
What happens when you pair the European Prince Who Was Promised with the Latvian Unicorn?
You instantly get the best European duo in the NBA.
Even better, the ole ‘gram shows that we might be in store for Skinny Luka and Jacked Kristaps. We are HERE for this.
It just feels right that Luka showed up as Dirk walked into the sunset. And now that Porzingis is also in Dallas, the European-NBA-sucess-ceiling seems very high. (Higher than we are after numerous volcanoes.) This is partly because of how much we have loved watching these two play ball. Porzingis at MSG, breathing life into the Mecca, was must-see TV in our book. The same went for Doncic last year as a 19-year-old Rookie of the Year straight from Slovenia. But it’s also because of how well their styles should mesh and compliment each other's games.
Luka already plays with a vast control over the game. With his high school days spent playing professional ball in Europe, and as the EuroLeague MVP for Real Madrid at 18 years old, Luka’s game is years ahead of most of his peers. He had the highest usage rate by any rookie in the history of the NBA. Luka sees plays develop in slow motion with a court vision into the future, like LeBron and Harden. Speaking of Harden, The Beard’s signature step-back 3 is a move that The Don already has in his arsenal. Luka’s confidence is unwavering, and he plays with his emotions on his sleeve. He smiles a lot, because his game is a brand of happiness that does exactly that — it makes us smile.
*Darth Vader voice*
The clutch gene is strong with this one.
Fearless step-back threes with the game on the line? You betcha. A posterizing power dunk in the final seconds of a game on Paul Millsap and Mason Plumlee? Yes indeed! (He dunked it so hard that he hurt his hand.) An unbelievable fadeaway buzzer-beating three from the absolute corner in Mo Harkless’ grill with 0.6 seconds left to send the game to OT? Holy fuckballs, Wonderboy.
Critics questioned whether Luka’s game had any room to grow and if he was athletic enough to prosper in the NBA. He proved that he most definitely has the strength to be an NBA player and he’s only going to get in better shape. Luka’s size at 6-foot-7 and 218 lbs makes him a unique point guard built more like a small-ball 4. He was a bit thicc as a rook, but we’ll see if this summer’s Instagram photo comes to fruition and we get Skinny Luka. (We are soo pumped for the new accurate heights and weights to be released!)
Kristaps Porzingis is a perfect fit next to Doncic because he can shoot from anywhere and protect the rim at an elite level. At 7-foot-3, 240 lbs and with a 7-foot-6 wingspan, his mammoth size allows for breathtaking put-back dunks, an unguardable shot from outside, and blocks that look like volleyball spikes. The issue and question mark, however, is his health. Porzingis hasn’t played an NBA game since February 2018 when he tore his ACL. Mark Cuban and the Mavs are banking (read: gambling) on KP getting back to 100% with a 5-year $158 million contract extension signed this summer.
Cuban has stated he wants Luka and KP to play together for the next twenty years. It’s hard to imagine that this European duo will win as many rings as Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, but we think it’s possible they could still go down as the best European duo in NBA history based just on how fun it is to watch them play.
We hope that Rick Carlisle draws up a billion Luka-KP pick-and-rolls. Outside of those two, Carlisle will have his work cut out for him. We’re not crazy about any of the rest of the roster other than Seth Curry and Boban who are fun role players off the bench. Tim Hardaway Jr. is a decent player, sure, but he’s perpetually linked to that erroneous contract the Knicks gave him. And the likes of Jalen Brunson, Dwight Powell, Delon Wright, Justin Jackson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Maxi Keleber and Courtney Lee just aren’t doing much for us. There is a definite lack of shooting and versatile players who can contribute on both ends of the floor, which just so happen to be imperative parts of today’s game.
League Pass Notes
Porzingis was a power dunker — and the #1 put-back power dunker — before he tore his ACL. Doncic only had 25 dunks last year but there were several posters in those 25.
Seth Curry heat checks. J.J. Barea heat checks!? Barea has apparently fully recovered from an Achilles tear less than 10 months ago.
BOBAN DOES DALLAS.
The Final Question / The Final Take
Can Rick Carlisle get the most out of the other Mavs?
Dallas will be wildly entertaining to watch with the fascinating Doncic-Porzingis duo, but a weak supporting cast and bench spells trouble in the stacked West. We are leaning UNDER 40.5 wins.