By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks have been on a playoff run unlike any in the past decade and their next challenge, the Golden State Warriors, has made a statement in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
Despite Doncic putting up impressive numbers in the playoffs and even catching fire multiple times against the Warriors during the regular season, this time around, Golden State managed to limit the Slovenian and he had no choice but to admit it.
“They were doing a great job on me, especially in the second half. But I think I’ve got to be better. That’s on me. As a leader, I’ve got to be better for the whole group, so that’s on me.”
Coach Jason Kidd gave props to Andrew Wiggins and the Warriors’ whole defensive strat going into the game.
“They did a really good job, Wiggins picking him up full court. They were box-and-one, went zone. But they did a good job. Give them credit. Wiggins did a really good job. We understood coming into the series that we were going to see that. We’ll go back and look at the video and see what we can do better.”
Wiggins was happy with the performance he gave and pointed to his youth as the crucial factor to keep going on both ends of the court consistently.
“I feel like I’m still young. I don’t really get too tired. “I’m locked in. I’m motivated, and when you see it work or I feel like it’s helping us play better, it just motivates me to do it more. I’m not tired or nothing. You know, it’s adrenaline. I just feel good.”
That said, the Mavs have faith in Doncic and Spencer Dinwiddie explained why.
“He’s just brilliant. I think he’s seen every defense. … If you’ve seen it before, you’ve probably developed counters for it. So now it’s just about continuing to improve game by game, and he’s one of the best in the business at doing it.”