"All-time terrible clutch shot taker" - Fans berate Luka Doncic's late-game decisions after another 'awful' showing
Luka Doncic's performance in the clutch has been questionable in the opening 11 games for the Dallas Mavericks as they dropped to 5-6. The All-Star struggled to deliver again on Tuesday in a close 120-117 loss to the Golden State Warriors. The Mavericks could have won this matchup after leading 115-110 with four minutes left.
Some ball movement and quality shot creation could have helped them keep the lead and get over .500. However, Doncic's emphasis on playing iso ball during crunch possessions stagnated the Mavericks offense. He also couldn't do much in those situations.
Wiggins successfully guarded Doncic in iso situations, once with 50 seconds left and the Mavericks trailing one and the other time on the last possession with Dallas trailing by three.
Per NBA.com's clutch tracking stats, Doncic has gone 1-for-7 in the final three minutes of the games that the Mavericks have either led or trailed by three points. He's 0-for-5 from 3-point range.
He's scoring a measly 0.92 points per possession, shooting 37.2% on iso. Meanwhile, Kyrie Irving is scoring 1.36 points per possession in iso on 51.2% shooting. He's also 3 of 7 in the clutch with the same metrics used for Doncic above.
Fans didn't let Luka Doncic escape from criticism after another questionable showing from the Mavericks superstar in the clutch. One fan wrote:
"Luka can't be real, went from an all time clutch shot maker to an all time terrible clutch shot taker. "
Another fan said:
"I adore Luka but that's 3 straight games he's put up an awful final shot to lose it."
One neutral fan shared their thoughts on the Mavericks' season, saying:
"Your team has no balance Kyrie just gets iced out cause he watching Luka dribble the air out the ball Luka numbers wil always look good but the Mavs won’t reach their potential if he doesn’t adjust"
One fan added:
"Luka has been poor. We can’t run such a high percentage of offense through him if he’s going to be playing like this. He’s not even the same player as what he’s been the past 2 years."
One fan suggested Luka Doncic to drive more:
"Luka gotta start driving more and stop being scared in the 4th, had 31 going into the 4th and didn’t score…."
One fan vouched for Kyrie Irving to have an increased shooting volume:
"We can't have Luka shoot 27 shots and Kyrie only shoot 13. Can't have that"
Luka Doncic reacts to his decision-making in the clutch
Luka Doncic wasn't a fan of his decision-making in the clutch, either. The Mavericks star owned up to his mistake against the Warriors.
"I think it could've been way better," Doncic told reporters (h/t Sportskeeda's Grant Afseth).
"The shot clock was going down, so I was kinda trying to get to my spot, and then on the last shot I was trying to look if somebody was open, so I saw there’s three, four seconds to go, so I just took the shot."
The Mavericks must move on from going iso heavy, especially with Luka Doncic struggling. They need to use the space well, especially with someone like Klay Thompson and Kyrie Irving playing with Doncic to space the floor. They are easier to guard if there is no player and ball movement, and that's one of the most significant reasons behind their offensive struggles.