The Mavericks and Clippers will face each other in the first round, and CBS Sports brought up an interesting topic: Doncic is actually Harden 2.0, he's a great scorer, but his style of play is too difficult to win a championship in the playoffs.
Doncic averaged 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds and 9.8 assists per game in the regular season this season, becoming the league's leading scorer for the first time in his career. The Harden mentioned here naturally refers to the beard of the Rockets period. Big Van Gundy once praised Doncic as the best offensive player he has ever seen, which is also very reminiscent of Harden's peak with the Rockets: he was the league's leading scorer for three years in a row, but never won the championship.
High usage often leads to a lack of success
This season, Doncic's usage rate reached 35.98%, the 20th highest in NBA history. And the 19 people who have a higher usage rate than Doncic have not made it to the Finals once, let alone won the championship. Of those 19, only three have reached the division finals: Harden in 2017-18, Kobe Bryant in 2005-06 and Doncic in 2021-22.
Of those 19, two also belonged to Michael Jordan. One was in 1986-87 (38.29 percent) and was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, and the other was in 2001-02 (35.99 percent) and did not make the playoffs. The seasons in which Brother Alphabet, Iverson, and Wade were on the list were also out of the first round of the playoffs.
Including this year, Doncic alone accounted for 4 of those seasons, Harden accounted for 3, and Harden has not reached the Finals since leaving the Thunder to become the core of the Rockets. The stats show that relying too much on the individual doesn't lead to a championship.
Doncic's possible dilemma
"When you get a player like Luka [Doncic], you can win a lot of regular season games and some playoffs, but in terms of results, there's a ceiling," an NBA team executive said. ”
Several executives believe that there are many reasons for this, and the high rate of personal usage mentioned above is one of the reasons.
Doncic puts a lot of energy into the offensive end, which is bound to affect the contribution on the defensive end. If Doncic doesn't invest enough on defense, it's a hidden danger for the Mavericks.
The Mavericks are in great shape with 16 wins and 2 losses in their final 18 regular season games, but the playoffs are not regular season games, and the intensity is more intense and more likely to bring exhaustion. Players who are heavily utilized during the regular season may also affect their performance in the playoffs.
Doncic's long-term possession of the ball also threatens to undermine his teammates' ability to prepare for key moments in the playoffs, be in the best position, or develop proper muscle memory.
On the stage of playoff basketball, there tends to be more inclination to curb individual excellence. Even if Doncic plays extremely well individually, it may not necessarily lead to a team victory. This was evident in Doncic's previous two encounters with the Clippers. He put up super luxurious numbers, but the Clippers won both playoffs.
Only winning the championship can crush the doubts
The only way for Doncic to quell such rhetoric is to win a championship, and his good friend Jokic should know that. A year ago, there was a lot of criticism and skepticism around Jokic, and a trip to the championship has silenced all those voices. Jokic's historical status has improved significantly, and more and more people recognize him as the first person in the league now.
Doncic has absolute superstar talent, but it's not the scoring champion who can really cement his position, it's the championship. As long as Doncic can lead the Mavericks to a championship, he also has a chance to get the same treatment as Jokic.
But if the first round of the playoffs collapses, there may be more and more voices about him becoming the Mavericks' version of Harden.