Kendrick Perkins Gets Honest About Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic

After defeating the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA Cup, the Dallas Mavericks seem to have gotten the job done and are on the right track. They are currently 8-7 and still have a winning record.

The Mavericks, who have been at the top of their game lately both offensively and defensively, are in a good position to continue moving forward. But before the last few wins came, Dallas superstar Luka Doncic was under criticism for his defensive performance and play.

As the leader of the group, his lack of effort in this regard is unacceptable. But given his injury history and current situation in that regard, some are forgiving him. Kendrick Perkins is not one of them. The NBA champion and longtime veteran ESPN analyst touched on the Slovenian on “The Road Trippin Show.”

“We have to let Luka off the hook,” said Perkins. “Real talk, that’s enough. Like, you know he leads the league in defensive blobies? Nobody’s asking him to be Jrue Holiday… We’re asking you to be a leader, put in some (expletive) effort, and clean up your body language.”

No matter how much he struggles with offensive efficiency to start the season, this will be fixed and his statistical averages will reach a video game-like level by the end of the season. But as a leader, his defensive energy and effort is contagious.

Doncic was effective on that side of the ball last year when the Mavericks reached the NBA Finals. The effort was outstanding, though not consistent since then.

Doncic’s offense is picking up again, but he needs to find his defensive energy again to lead the team.

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