Luka Dončić, Mavericks miss Jalen Brunson ‘a lot’

Luka Dončić, Mavericks miss Jalen Brunson ‘a lot’

The Dallas Mavericks have been spiraling out of control for the past few weeks. Superstar Luka Dončić understands how frustrating this season has been, and spoke to the media after practice on Tuesday.

Dončić expressed how this team doesn’t have chemistry. One reporter asked Dončić if he missed playing with former teammate Jalen Brunson.

“A lot,” Doncic said in response to the question. He shrugged his shoulders and gave a disappointed smile. “I mean, amazing guy, amazing player. For sure.”

Brunson was a Maverick for the most successful season that the team has had with Doncic, last season. He was there when the Mavericks went 36-12 down the stretch of the regular season, he was there when the Mavericks got all the way to the Western Conference Finals.

Brunson signed a massive four-year, $104 million deal with the New York Knicks in the offseason. He has proven to be a difference-maker for that team, helping lead New York to the five seed in the Eastern Conference.

One of the main topics brought up in the media session was chemistry, something the Mavericks simply don’t have right now.

“I think you don’t see that chemistry that we had before,” Doncic said. “I mean, especially last year. I think that chemistry was at the top with everybody, but you know, chemistry builds and not right away, so it’s a long process.”

Dallas’ Playoff Chances

It’s looking bleak for Dallas to try and make a last-minute playoff push. Dallas sits at 11th in the West at 37-42, not currently making the play-in tournament. However, they’re still only one game behind Oklahoma City for that 10th and final spot with three games remaining. They’ll need the Thunder to lose a few games and they’ll need to win at least a majority. That gives Dallas a six percent chance to make the playoffs, when they had a 96 percent chance on Feb 10, according to Bleacher Report.

This has really turned into a season Mavericks fans want will want to forget. If they don’t make the Playoffs, what’s next for this Dallas team? You sold your soul to get Kyrie Irving and he’s a pending free agent. Is he to be re-signed?

In any event, this doesn’t sound or look like a team that’s ready to compete for a title. They have two superstars, but what do they have beyond that? Every single NBA champion has had a litany of solid role players who do what they’re supposed to do. The Mavericks roster is constructed to have Kyrie and Luka win them a championship, which is just unrealistic. The Mavericks miss Jalen Brunson, but they also miss what he brought, which was depth and flexibility outside of being a superstar.

I really hope that these NBA teams see Dallas as an example of what not to do. Hold your cards and play them right, don’t sell your entire team to get one shiny object in return. It’s killing the Mavericks from the inside out.

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