The Los Angeles Lakers visited the Dallas Mavericks on Christmas Day, and it was fascinating to watch how they dealt with Luka Doncic.
The Mavericks scored just 43 points in the first half and trailed by 11 points. Dallas then managed to score 51 points in the third quarter, which was the most points by any team in any quarter thus far this season. The Mavs wound up victorious.
So what happened? Doncic attempted just 6 field goals in the first half, which was actually his second-lowest total during the first half of any game so far in the 2022-23 campaign.
The main reason why it was so hard for him to get many good looks is that the Lakers were not shy about double-teaming him. In fact, per Kirk Henderson, the MVP candidate was double-teamed on 18 possessions in the first half.
This is a great double from the Lakers and it isn't just Bryant coming over but LeBron rotating over to take Wood who flashed to the rim once Bryant went to double. pic.twitter.com/ve2dJ9i736
— Mo Dakhil (@MoDakhil_NBA) December 25, 2022
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham wanted to make sure Doncic felt constant pressure whenever he had the ball, which is not unusual against the Mavs.
Doncic is the player who sees the most possessions double-teamed per game, via NBA Court Optix. Even when he is not double-teamed, he is defended very tightly. He has taken 57 field-goal attempts where the nearest defender is within two feet, which is the third-most in the NBA.
Los Angeles clearly intended to trap Doncic in the pick and roll, which they did on 7 possessions in each half of the game, according to Synergy. For comparison: That is far more often than how opponents typically guard Doncic, who had previously been trapped on 2.6 ball screens per game.
You can’t double Luka man. I would rather have him trying to get 50, because he’s too unselfish and too good at passing and Dallas will eventually start hitting 3s off these doubles
— Nate Jones (@JonesOnTheNBA) December 25, 2022
The problem with trapping Doncic on ball screens, though, is that it tends to leave his teammates wide open.
Doncic is also one of the best playmakers in the NBA, and he is smart enough to make adjustments. He is unselfish enough to pass out of tight coverage, and he was excellent when dishing out of hard double teams in the post and during possessions when he was trapped in the pick-and-roll.
Dallas knew what to expect from Los Angeles during the second half, but Ham and the Lakers didn’t make enough changes to their approach.
Luka Doncic has done a good job this year when he plays with his back to the basket by creating a mismatch and attacking that same mismatch along with recognizing a double then feeling a double and passing out for a better look.
— Ross Kreines (@rosskre) December 25, 2022
So is it actually worth the gamble to dare the Mavericks to give the ball to anyone on the floor except for Doncic, even if that means everyone else is getting easy looks?
The Dallas superstar has an excellent spin move, which can effectively mitigate the impact of the double team by shaking off multiple defenders before either shooting or kicking it out to an open shooter.
Dallas had excellent shot quality in both the first half and the second half. But starting in the third quarter, the uncontested shots starting to actually go in.
Doncic eventually figured out exactly how to pick apart the opposing double team, and even though double coverage on Doncic was why the Lakers won the first half, it was also why they struggled in the second.
Although it seemed like Los Angeles had figured out the key to defending Doncic, as it turns out, no such thing exists for this phenomenal basketball player.
