We are eleven games into the 2018-2019 season and it has been a roller coaster ride with a lot more downs than ups. Dallas Mavericks fans realistically knew that the Mavericks were not gonna be a championship contender this year but it was reasonable to believe that with the talent in the roster that the Mavericks would be right outside of the playoff hunt or even make the playoffs in a 7th or 8th seed. However, even through all this, the wonder-boy Luka Dončić’s talent is shining through the rubble. Where is his ball game positioning him in comparison to his fellow rookie classmates?
Dončić after eleven games has been a consistently pleasant surprise. Mavericks fans might have many reasons to be smacking their forehead about but Dončić is not one of them. He is scoring 20 points per game while shooting about 48% from the field while grabbing 6 rebounds per game and dishing out 4 assists per game. These statistics are great and it doesn’t look like Luka has no intentions to slow down and it should be no surprise if Mavericks fan see these statistics go up a couple notches. It is easy to start to believe that Dončić is going to win Rookie of the Year, but first fans should see where he ranks amongst other rookies.
It should come as no surprise that Luka is leading the rookies in scoring by scoring 20.2 points per game, however, Trae Young is on his heels with 18.6 points pr game. It will be interesting to see how these two continue to develop and how it affects their race for the Rookie of the Year Award. When it comes to rebounds, Luka is ranked 3rd with 6.5 rebounds, which to be quite frank is not too bad. Some analysts and fans were worried that Luka would not be able to rebound well because he would be getting bullied in the paint but so far he is holding his ground there. His rebounding game is not perfect and there is space for improvement and there probably will be, as long as DeAndre let’s Luka grab a couple of more boards.
With shooting percentage, it seems that Luka is inching closer and closer to shooting .50% from the field every time the Mavericks have a game. However, even though it seems like he is shooting lights out, he is only ranked 6th with his field goal percentage sitting at .478%. This statistic will hold more value towards the end of the year, since a couple of the people ahead of him have shot 100 shots less than Dončić. His maturity and experience definitely is seen in his shot selection, and it is fun to see him reach into his bag of tricks and seeing the different ways that he is able to score. In passing out dimes, Luka comes in second right behind Trae Young with 4.2 assists per game. If Luka works on his turnovers and his teammates begin to actually make more buckets, he will easily increase this statistic.
For Rookie of the Year, two factors that come into play in deciding the winner are 1. best rookie season statistics and 2. impact on the team. A factor that plays a major role in Dončić’s stats are his teammates. The Mavericks roster needs to play better defense. The Mavs are a great team when it comes to scoring in transition, but being able to run with the ball starts with defensive stops. Coming into the season, Mavs fans knew that the Mavericks were not the most defensive capable team but no fan thought it would be this bad. The better defense that the Mavericks play, and this might come as a surprise, the more the opposing team will miss their shot, therefore, leading to more rebounds, especially for the front court. So if the Mavericks play better defense, it will most likely boost Dončić’s rebounds by a couple numbers. Also, if the Maverick start to drop more buckets, the more assists that Dončić will get. Overall, if the Mavericks play better and win more games and the team improve their record from last year, it will all help Dončić’s case for Rookie of the Year.
Once another 15 games are played, there will be another blog uploaded, updating these rankings to see where Luka stands amongst his fellow rookie class. For now, try to enjoy the games and watch the team develop and see their chemistry get better.
Comment below in the comment section or in our social media outlets your thoughts on how Maverick’s can improve their defensive game. Is it their energy? Are trades necessary? Is it the coaching staff? Let us know what you guys think!
Photo: Mavs.com
