Original title: Rui Sports: The Lone Ranger is out, leaving many problems, Luka is alone and urgently needs the second master
On May 27, Beijing time, the 2021-22 NBA playoffs continued. The Golden State Warriors are at home in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. After the whole game, the Warriors defeated the Lone Ranger 120-110, eliminated the opponent 4-1 with a total score of 4-1, and reached the finals again after three years.
Losing to the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals is a pity for the Lone Ranger, but from the perspective of the core Luka Doncic, this season is not a failure.
In the fourth season of his career, Doncic has led the team to the Western Conference Finals. He has been selected to the All-NBA first team for three seasons. Such performance is extremely rare even in NBA history. For a young man who is only 23 years old. For people, this achievement is dazzling enough.
Throughout the regular season, Doncic averaged 28.4 points, 8.7 assists and 9.1 rebounds per game. He successfully survived the downturn at the beginning of the season and gradually showed MVP-level output at the end of the season.
Entering the playoffs, Doncic continued to evolve. He came back in the middle of the first round and gradually got better; in the second round against the Suns, he even led the team to achieve a comeback when the team was 0-2 behind. Through actual combat learning, the sun’s defense line was gradually dismantled, and the opponent was completely defeated in G7.
Although, on the stage of the Western Conference Finals, facing the old and hot warriors, Doncic was finally surrendered. But through this round of the series, Luka and the Lone Ranger team may all recognize their shortcomings. The boss, Cuban, through this year’s game, may also have more clarity on the direction of future team construction.
This season, alongside Doncic, Jaylen Bronson has also grown rapidly. On the bench, Dinwiddie also showed the value of the sixth man from time to time after joining in the middle of the season.
But in the offseason, whether to keep the two most important helpers around Doncic is something the Lone Ranger must think about. First of all, Bronson will become a restricted free agent this summer. Prior to this, teams such as the Knicks have shown a clear interest in him. This season, Bronson’s salary is only $1.8 million, but next, the annual salary of his new contract will definitely increase by more than 10 times.
In this case, whether the Mavericks will keep Bronson, and whether they can keep him, is undoubtedly an important suspense this summer.
In addition, judging from the situation in this year’s playoffs, the Lone Ranger has limited talent outside of Doncic. If, in the future, the Mavericks want to continue to compete for the championship, they must find a more reliable and more productive scorer for Doncic. Of this year’s free agents, Zach LaVine and Bradley Beal are perhaps the most worthy of the Mavericks’ consideration. Of course, to sign these two, Cuban may have to be ready to pay the luxury tax.
In addition, in the rotation, Kleber, Bullock, Dinwiddie, Dwight-Powell, Finney-Smith, Bertans and the injured Hardaway Jr. are all under contract. If the Lone Ranger wants to upgrade this summer lineup, then there must be some of these players who will be a bargaining chip.
After 11 years, the Lone Ranger is back on the stage of the Western Conference Finals, but considering that next season, the strength of the Lakers, Clippers, and Nuggets will increase. The Grizzlies and Timberwolves are also on the rise. The Suns and Jazz are still not allowed. Xiaoshi, in this case, it is not small for the Lone Ranger to replicate the results of this season. And if the Mavericks don’t want this trip to the Western Conference finals to be a flash in the pan in the history of the team, then Cuban must spend more on strengthening the team this summer… (Poirot)Return to Sohu, see more
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