The NBA playoffs continue with the Mavericks traveling to the Thunder today to kick off their Western Conference semifinals matchup. In the end, they lost to the Thunder 95-117 and swallowed their first loss. In this game, Doncic, the star of the Mavericks, had 19 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists on 6-of-19 shooting from beyond the three-point line, and also had five turnovers. Irving scored 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting. On the Thunder side, Alexander scored 29 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists, and the Thunder had five players score in double figures in this game.
In today's game, we can clearly feel that the depth of the two teams' lineups is completely different, the Thunder have at least nine players who can make consistent contributions on the court, while the Mavericks rely too much on Doncic and Irving, and Doncic is extremely sluggish today, shooting only 1 of 8 from beyond the three-point line. Under the Thunder's high-pressure defense, Doncic has clearly lost his crosshairs from the outside.
In fact, Doncic has an extremely poor shooting percentage from beyond the three-point line in this year's playoffs, only 23% shooting. In his last game against the Clippers, he shot just 1-of-10 from beyond the three-point line, and in the last two games he shot just 2-of-18 from beyond the three-point line. Although Doncic made the second-most three-pointers in the league during the regular season, behind only Curry. But after the playoffs, he completely lost his crosshairs outside the three-point line, and it seems that the playoffs are the litmus test of a player's three-point ability.
I have to say that after seeing Doncic's three-point performance in the playoffs, we really understand how terrible Curry really is. Curry's three-point shooting has been very consistent both in the regular season and in the playoffs. This is what sets him apart from other shooters. He's really a one-of-a-kind presence when it comes to three-point shooting. Why was Curry's three-point shooting consistent in the playoffs? In the end, it's because of his style of play.
You'll find that Doncic's three-point shooting is more of an offense with the ball, and he doesn't play without the ball. Therefore, under the high-intensity defense in the playoffs, Doncic's three-point shot will be inaccurate under the opponent's frequent pinching. Curry, on the other hand, is completely different, he has a strong off-ball ability, and off-ball is extremely difficult for opposing defenders to defend, as long as Curry is given a little space to shoot, he can complete the shot. So Curry's strong off-ball ability is one of the reasons why he is accurate outside the three-point line. This is also something that other players can't compare, and it can't be emulated, after all, the ability to be off the ball especially tests the heart and lungs of players, and Doncic obviously can't run all over the court like Curry on the court.