Luka Doncic made some headlines recently for asking the Dallas Mavericks to upgrade their roster and get him some help before the February 9 trade deadline.
The Mavs have limited trade assets in order to get him the co-star or superstar he needs to lift them into championship contention, and it looks like they will be stuck in that unenviable category of “good but not great” for the foreseeable future.
For now, all Doncic can do is turn his frustration into productive play on the court, and he has been doing just that since late December.
In his last 12 games, he has averaged 37.3 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 9.2 assists per game for a Dallas team that has won eight of those contests.
During that span, he has had a 43-point game, two 50-point-plus games, and a 60-point game.
Some of the INSANE Luka Dončić highlights in A HISTORIC 60/21/10 performance vs New York Knicks.
🔥🤯Source: @BallySportsSW pic.twitter.com/7enHKFO0BI
— Luka⁷⁷ updates 🇸🇮 (@LukaUpdates) December 28, 2022
It has been just enough to get Dallas into fifth place in the Western Conference with a mediocre 24-22 record.
The positive for the team is that the West is weaker than it has been in many years, making the race for the conference wide open.
That means that, at least in theory, the door is open for even a virtual one-man team such as the Mavs to make a run at the NBA Finals.
Of course, they got to the Western Conference Finals last season, only to get rolled by the eventual NBA champion Golden State Warriors.
On the other hand, the Mavs’ task has just gotten tougher as big man Christian Wood, arguably their second-best player, has been sidelined with a fractured thumb.
How much longer can Doncic continue to do what he’s been doing before wearing out?
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