November Takeaway: Luka is building his MVP case
It’s never too early to start looking at MVP candidates and through roughly 20 games, no one has a better case for MVP than Luka Doncic.
Pop quiz: Who is the 3rd leading scorer for the Mavericks this year after Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis?
Was your answer Tim Hardaway Jr.? If so, then you already know how valuable Luka is to this team. If not, please take a moment to check out the rest of their roster and join me in questioning how a 20-year-old could possibly have this team contending in arguably the most competitive Western Conference in NBA history.
What would the Mavericks look like without Luka this year? No disrespect to Tim Hardaway Jr., but if you’re designing the ideal roster he’s probably not on the shortlist of guys you would pick to round out your big 3. And while Porzingis is a nice player, the Knicks already showed us that you’re not going to win many games by surrounding him with average at best players.
I also hate to rub salt in the wound (not really), but the Atlanta Hawks and their fans can’t be happy with what Luka is doing down in Dallas. Sure, Trae Young has been a really good player in his own right, but with a cellar-dweller record of 4-16, it’s hard not to wonder what could have been for them if they didn’t trade the pick that ultimately turned into Doncic.
Atlanta fans rightfully love Trae Young, but I would also imagine that they often wake up at 3:00 a.m. in a cold sweat trying to get this image out of their brains.