Game 65: Dallas Mavericks (36-28) vs. Chicago Bulls (31-33)

[KillerLeft]

It is not even necessarily stopping him. In the last losing stretch Mavs were losing even with Luka and Kyrie scoring 70+ points combined on good efficiency, as they were able to limit rest of team. Although really bad defense in those games was probably more of a factor than not having solutions on offense.

Agree about the defense, but to your point, even if Luka scores well and the opponent pivots to trapping or doubling late, it's really hard for the others to hit those big shots having not gotten any rhythm throughout the game. And honestly, I suspect people not touching the ball on offense contributes a fair amount to their level of defensive effort. It shouldn't, but I bet it does. If I were game planning against the Mavs, I'd try to play Luka straight up as long as possible, up to and including convoluted pre-rotations, even.