Luka Don was overweight, complaining to officials too much, and the Dallas Mavericks' record was under.500. The story of Don and the Mavericks was told in December. The Mavericks are one of the hottest teams in the NBA after four months. They are 19 games over.500 with three more to play and earned their best win of the season against Milwaukee.
The Milwaukee Brewers won 11 games in March, including two road victories against the Philadelphia 76ers. They lost at home against the Mavericks. Don led the way with 32 points, eight rebound and 15 assists. He took over the game in the fourth quarter despite his poor percentages from the field and 3-point line.
He scored or assisted on every Mavs basket after he came back in the fourth quarter. The Mavs went from being down one to up eight. The deficit was six points for the rest of the game.
Don was able to control the game despite only making one field goal in the fourth quarter. He got to the free throw line, set up his teammates, grabbed a rebound, and showed that not all shooting performances should be viewed the same. His fingerprints were all over that game and the rest of the season. The Golden State Warriors are the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. Don't have to worry about the early season struggles he has had because he should finish the season ahead of Antetokounmpo in the voting. Don is gaining ground on becoming the best player in the NBA even though he won the Most Valuable Player award.
Don is scoring 28.3% points per game on 45.6% shooting. He has averaged 29.7 points per game since the Mavericks started rolling in January. He shot 41.2 percent from the 3-point line in February. Don averaged under 30 points per game last month, while shooting 48.8% from the field and 39.6% from three.
He has been doing whatever he wants on the court. He isolated one-on-one against Giannis. This is a 7-foot player who is bigger, faster, stronger, and longer than him, and he is also one of the best defensive players of his generation. Don did to Antetokounmpo what Allen Iverson did to Michael Jordan, except he buried a 3-pointer. Look at the bench reaction. Everyone would rush the court if this happened on Streetball.
His assists are getting ridiculous. He had a season-high 15 yesterday, and threw just about every pass in the book. Don was going behind the back and throwing it down the court on the break. The passing display that he put on against the Bucks was spectacular and it is becoming more and more commonplace for him. He threw a no-look pass to Maxi Kleber. Don threw the pass over his opponent's shoulder because he was almost at the rim.
It is not fair to the players who have been on their game all season to give him that reward. Joki has been on an advanced analytic rampage all season, while keeping the Denver Nuggets out of the play-in. The Bucks almost got the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference because of injuries, but Antetokounmpo kept them afloat. Even though the Philadelphia 76ers are struggling, do not forget that they have one of the best players in the NBA in Joel Embiid, who is playing the best basketball of his career, and has played in the most games in a season of his career.
None of those players should be overlooked for the half of the season because they are the top five players in the NBA. Luka Don put on a performance that was worthy of the best player in the league. He doesn't deserve a place in the conversation about the best player, but he might need to be the person that the conversation revolves around.
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