Are expectations too high for Luka Doncic?
Are the expectations too high for Luka Doncic this season?
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00:00 - Luka Doncic had his best performance
00:03 of the young NBA season after the team admitted
00:05 he wasn't necessarily in the best condition
00:07 coming into the start.
00:09 For more, I'm here with our Ben Pickman
00:10 and the fantasy exec, Corey Parson.
00:12 And guys, Luka's still really, really young
00:14 and he's the favorite for MVP at this point.
00:17 We're anointing him the face of the league and all that
00:20 and he's playing himself into shape a little bit.
00:22 So I guess the question is,
00:24 are the expectations too high for Doncic,
00:27 all things considered, Ben?
00:29 What do you think?
00:30 - I still don't think so.
00:31 I mean, I don't think we are really considering
00:33 the Dallas Mavericks as a potential NBA Finals contender.
00:37 I think we put them a little bit of a tier below
00:39 and Luka Doncic, I think, is correctly regarded
00:41 as one of the top players and budding stars in the NBA.
00:44 You know, he's having a down year statistically right now,
00:47 but he's still averaging 26, nine and seven.
00:49 Of course, the 19% shooting from three
00:51 is a little bit concerning,
00:52 but that is going to improve throughout the year.
00:55 Luka is still kind of putting up historic cases
00:57 on these triple doubles
00:58 and he's still starring.
00:59 As he plays himself into shape more,
01:01 we're gonna see those stat lines continue to go up.
01:03 And so I think he's justly, you know,
01:05 the player you'd wanna build your franchise around
01:07 if you had to choose either him or Giannis Antetokounmpo.
01:10 He's right there for me.
01:11 - The trackers might say, you know,
01:12 you have all these expectations come in in shape
01:15 at the same time, it's a long season, who really cares?
01:17 I'm sure it'll be fine.
01:18 As it progresses, they'll get Porzingis back,
01:20 which should help the team.
01:22 And that is a good point, Ben,
01:23 because I don't think anybody's anointing the Mavericks,
01:26 but nevertheless, Corey, we have anointed Luka.
01:29 - Yeah, and that's why the expectations
01:30 are right where they need to be.
01:31 And I agree with Ben,
01:32 because he's the favorite to win the MVP,
01:34 but the Mavericks are nowhere near the favorite
01:36 to win the NBA championship.
01:37 He's looking like the best player in the league
01:39 when he steps up, you know, outside of LeBron James.
01:42 When he steps up in his game, really gets going.
01:44 We saw how phenomenal he was in the bubble.
01:46 And a lot of this is driven by fans.
01:47 Fans love Luka Doncic.
01:49 As a guy who watches, you know, basketball
01:52 and looks at sports betting and lines,
01:54 the Mavericks are always a favorite.
01:55 They're always big on the public.
01:57 People want to sit down and watch Luka Doncic.
01:59 Then you look at that 2018 draft class.
02:02 It's looking like it could shape up
02:03 to be one of the best draft classes in the NBA history.
02:06 And Trey Young is another guy
02:07 who's moving up in that draft class as well.
02:09 So these expectations for these young stars
02:12 is well worth it, it's well deserved,
02:13 but I don't think it's too much for them to handle.
02:15 - It comes with the game, right?
02:16 And in Luka's case, he earned it,
02:18 'cause it felt like Zion was the guy.
02:20 They were positioning there, and Luka kind of snatched that.
02:24 And we'll see if he relinquishes it or gives it back,
02:27 but I don't think a couple weeks of the season
02:30 is enough to prove that.
02:31 [BLANK_AUDIO]