The Houston Rockets defeated the Dallas Mavericks 108-102 on their home court on Thursday night, the Mavericks’ second loss of the season. Compared to the club that defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves two nights prior, Dallas appeared entirely different. The Mavs’ frequent fouling and Houston’s dominance on the glass were two major factors in this defeat.
Dallas rallied from a 23-point deficit to win the game, trailing by as few as three points in the closing minutes. Despite having a poor start, the Mavs never fell behind in this game.
The Mavs had no offensive flow and were behind 34-21 at the end ofthe first quarter. Luka Doncic usually learns how the officials are calling the game and how the opposing team is protecting him in the first quarter and makes the necessary adjustments, but Dallas is suffering from a string of poor starts lately.
Doncic accepts responsibility for the sluggish start and sets goals for improvement.
Doncic received three fouls and shot 5–13 from the floor and 2-4 from the free throw line in the first half of the game against Houston. Doncic, who is well aware of his difficult starts, was missing shots that he usually makes.
Doncic said that he needs to improve after accepting responsibility for the team’s sluggish start after the game.
Doncic responded, “That’s me,” when questioned about the team’s sluggish start. “I’m just getting started, and it’s going very rough. I must perform much better than that, so I’ll accept the responsibility.”
Doncic went on to stress that he is aware that he needs to perform better early in these games and that his season-long figures demonstrate how badly he has been starting.
Doncic needs to start starting these games well to put the Mavs in a solid position to take control of the game early. He is averaging 5.8 points per game, shooting 29 percent from the field, and 9.1 percent from three-point range in the first quarter of games this season. Last year, Doncic and the Mavs frequently took control of the game from the first tip. His excellent play early on helped Dallas establish the tone and placed them in a perfect position to play their gamethe entire game and win easily.
Luka Doncic, the team’s best player, is the first reason why it hasn’t been the case in the 2024–25 campaign.
While recognizing that he needs to improve before the start of games is a positive step, taking action is a different matter entirely. And time should bring that about.
It’s challenging to determine his exact level of rhythmic ability, and it’s crucial to keep in mind that he did miss the entire preseason due to a calf strain. He stated that he is “just trying to get back into my rhythm” after missing all four preseason games, but once he gets his legs beneath him,he should be able to turn around these slow beginnings.
Doncic claimed after the game that he “felt a little bit like myself” during the fourth quarter, when he scored 15 points on 6-8 shooting from in the lane. Such outbursts demonstrate his dominance when he is in rhythm.
To be able to dominate like everyone knows he can, Doncic needs to be totally focused on just playing the game early on rather than getting caught up in foul baiting. Sunday night’s test against the Orlando Magic should be the ideal opportunity for him to do just that.
He is also not benefiting from his ongoing arguments with the referees, as this detracts from his ability to focus and perform at his best. One of Doncic’s strengths is his passion, but in order to realize his full potential, he needs to figure out how to minimize his whining.
Though he kept it to a minimum during many of the first few games, Doncic’s tendency to complain to the officials is perhaps his biggest weakness. Against the Rockets,his emotions overcame him.