Celts
Things proceed to go downhill for Mavericks star Luka Doncic.
The 25-year-old guard was the goal of heavy criticism for his performance in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The talented scorer was sent off for a foul within the fourth quarter as Dallas attempted to orchestrate a comeback within the decisive period against the Celtics.
Not only did Doncic put his team in a brutal situation with fouls (including 4 fouls within the fourth period), he also questioned the referee's performance in his post-game press conference as a substitute of taking responsibility for his own undisciplined play.
“I mean, I don't know. We couldn't play physically, so, I don't know. I don't want to say anything, but [a] sixth foul in the NBA Finals when I'm basically like that?” Doncic told reporters, gesturing as if he had been standing still. “Come on, man, this is better than that.”
Doncic's play and his postgame comments prompted ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst to call his performance “unacceptable,” adding, “The fact that he came out after the game and blamed the referees tells me he's nowhere near that point.”
Windhorst was removed from the one ESPN media star to sharply criticize Doncic and his comments following Boston's 106-99 win, which gave the Celtics a commanding 3-0 lead within the series.
Considering how much criticism former Boston star Kendrick Perkins has faced with the Celtics over the past few seasons, you realize Doncic has put himself in a difficult position if Perkins is the one calling him out.
“Let's put the (expletive) nonsense (expletive) aside. … We look at the Dallas side of things: Kyrie Irving showed up and did what he was supposed to do.” Perkins said on Wednesday night on the podcast “Road Trippin'.” “There’s no getting around it: Luka (swear word) is out of the game.
“He drained his team emotionally, even (Mavs head coach Jason Kidd). It started on offense, whining every damn turnover, falling to the floor, not getting back in transition, not trying for a second attempt. He didn't punch out once.”
Similar to Windhorst, Perkins emphasized that Doncic focused on the wrong things during Wednesday's game – even before he took out most of his frustration on the referees.
“It was a timeout, he was yelling at his teammate, and his teammate wasn't involved in the play at all,” Perkins said. “Who's mad? The cop committed a foul. That wasn't a foul. Why did you even put yourself in that position? He quit.”
“That was by far the worst performance I've seen from Luka in the playoffs. He lacked energy, leadership, and emotions. He wet the bed in the crib.”
On Thursday: Stephen A. Smith of ESPN took part in the criticism of Doncic on “First Take”, Smith challenged the Celtics to finish the sweep on Friday night in Dallas.
“It was the level of selfishness and the lack of responsibility,” Smith said of Doncic's performance on Wednesday. You're the superstar of the team. You're speculated to be the leader of the team. Let's put you all in perspective. We're sitting here and Kyrie Irving is seen because the reasonable one.
“The reasonable person who has to step up and help bring Luka Doncic back in because Luka Doncic is so petty and so petty. Let's not forget him yelling at his bench and his coaches, 'Damn it, question the decision.' We saw that. He's pointing the finger at everyone but himself, and he's taking himself out of the game.”
image credit : www.boston.com