Luka Doncic's powerful message to the Dallas Mavericks amid NBA Finals struggles

As it stands, no other team in NBA history has ever come back from an 0-3 deficit in the Finals. For Dallas Mavericks All-Star guard Luka Doncic, it’s not over yet for their team as they take on the Boston Celtics.

In the third game, Luka Doncic’s defensive performance left a lot to be desired. Although he consistently demonstrated his offensive prowess throughout the season, he failed to make a defensive contribution against the Celtics in the NBA Finals.

It’s clear that defense is not Doncic’s strong point. Despite his 6’7″ stature, the goalkeeper does not invest as much effort on defense as on offense, where his skills are diverse and impressive. Even if that is the case, the Slovenian All-Star still averaged 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds and 9.8 assists during the regular season.

While this approach can be effective during the regular season, it becomes increasingly difficult to mask Doncic’s defensive weaknesses in the high stakes of the Finals. This was seen when the Mavs star attempted to make a charge against All-Star wing Jaylen Brown in transition, only for the referees to call a blocking foul instead. As a result, he fouled out of the game.

Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic drops powerful message amid NBA Finals struggles

After the game, Doncic faced reporters and shared his thoughts on Dallas’ performance against the Celtics. In a post shared by Grant Afseth on X, the Slovenian star dropped a provocative take on the NBA Finals:

“Luka Doncic on a 3-0 series deficit: “Like I said, it’s not over until it’s over. We just have to believe it. Like I always say, it’s four to the first. We will stay together. We lose together, we win together. So we must stay together,” Afseth tweeted.

Over the 20 playoff games, Doncic averaged 28.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 8.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He also shot 44 percent from the field and 34 percent from deep on various playoff teams, including the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves and Celtics.

It remains to be seen whether Doncic and company can bounce back in Game 4. Otherwise, they would be the target of so much criticism for getting swept in the NBA Finals.