April 9, 2025, marks one of the strangest days in Dallas Mavericks history that no one could have ever predicted.
After expecting Luka Doncic to be a Maverick forever through watching him take over the NBA in his first six and a half seasons in the league, Nico Harrison blindsided him and traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers in the middle of the night on February 1. This was a move that broke every Mavericks fan's heart, as they wanted to see him retire a Maverick, and last night marked the toughest part of this process yet.
Doncic's return to the American Airlines Center as a member of the Lakers for the first time.
The emotions were high before the game began, as Doncic broke down in tears when watching Dallas' tribute video for him, and the in-game action from both teams did not disappoint. Los Angeles clawed out a 112-97 win over the Mavericks, and Doncic finished with a season-high 45 points while receiving the loudest cheers of the night for the entire game every time he touched the rock.
Nico Harrison's two-big dream is going to be an uphill battle
While this game was pivotal for Doncic and all of the fans that were excited to come watch him, it was also an important game for Anthony Davis, as he had the chance to prove something to Mavericks fans. Davis has played in plenty of Mavs home games, including his dominant 26-point Mavs debut, but none with stakes as high as Doncic's homecoming game. The game against the Lakers was the perfect opportunity for Davis to ball out and potentially cut Harrison some slack to show that he can perform when the lights are brightest, as all eyes were on him and Doncic heading into this game, but Davis disappointed on the big stage.
April 9, 2025, marks one of the strangest days in Dallas Mavericks history that no one could have ever predicted.
After expecting Luka Doncic to be a Maverick forever through watching him take over the NBA in his first six and a half seasons in the league, Nico Harrison blindsided him and traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers in the middle of the night on February 1. This was a move that broke every Mavericks fan's heart, as they wanted to see him retire a Maverick, and last night marked the toughest part of this process yet.
Doncic's return to the American Airlines Center as a member of the Lakers for the first time.
The emotions were high before the game began, as Doncic broke down in tears when watching Dallas' tribute video for him, and the in-game action from both teams did not disappoint. Los Angeles clawed out a 112-97 win over the Mavericks, and Doncic finished with a season-high 45 points while receiving the loudest cheers of the night for the entire game every time he touched the rock.
Nico Harrison's two-big dream is going to be an uphill battle
While this game was pivotal for Doncic and all of the fans that were excited to come watch him, it was also an important game for Anthony Davis, as he had the chance to prove something to Mavericks fans. Davis has played in plenty of Mavs home games, including his dominant 26-point Mavs debut, but none with stakes as high as Doncic's homecoming game. The game against the Lakers was the perfect opportunity for Davis to ball out and potentially cut Harrison some slack to show that he can perform when the lights are brightest, as all eyes were on him and Doncic heading into this game, but Davis disappointed on the big stage.
In 33 minutes, Davis finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, and one block while shooting 5-13 from the field and 0-2 from downtown, and he was not able to leave his mark on this game like Mavs fans hoped. This quiet game from Davis exposed a new problem that could cripple the Davis-led Mavericks now and deep into the future.
As shown by his stats and by watching the game, the Mavericks struggled getting Davis the ball, especially in the first half, as he only attempted five shots in the first 24 minutes of action. With Davis sharing the floor with Dereck Lively II or Daniel Gafford, the Mavericks' spacing is extremely hard to work with, and Davis had no space to get the rock and go to work.
This is a major problem that Harrison created, as Dallas' two-big lineups may not be as powerful as he expected against certain lineups. It's not like Los Angeles' frontcourt is strong to begin with, but the constant pressure and double teams held Davis in check for most of the game. He did not look fully engaged, and he was not in killer mode like the man that he was traded for was.
It's not like Davis can bring the ball up every time down the floor, and it's much different getting him involved than what the Mavericks had with Doncic. Getting Davis into the flow of things could continue to be a major challenge with Dallas' current roster construction, especially with Kyrie Irving out of the lineup for the foreseeable future due to a torn ACL.
Davis was Harrison's guy, as he only pursued him when shopping Doncic, and Harrison's vision of a dominant frontcourt in Dallas with Davis and Lively II and Gafford is still feasible, but it is going to take considerable time for them to get into the swing of things and figure out how to best utilize Davis.
Seeing Doncic dominate and Davis flounder on the biggest stage was a hard sight to see for Mavericks fans, and it further justifies what every fan knew when the trade went down.
That Dallas made a mistake.
