The Chemistry: Luka Doncic Adapting to Klay Thompson’s Playing Style
The Dallas Mavericks moved to 5-3 on Wednesday night with a 119-99 win over the Chicago Bulls, as Luka Doncic finished with 27 points and 13 assists. This offseason’s big story was the Mavs’ addition of Klay Thompson, a future Hall of Famer, and the Mavericks are still learning how to integrate Thompson into their offensive system.
Thompson is averaging 14.5 PPG on 12 shot attempts per game, both marks being the lowest of his career since his rookie year. His three-point percentage of 39.1% is just a tick under his career average, but his standard FG% of 44.8% is right around his career average. The efficiency has been there, but he hasn’t been getting a ton of opportunities early.
Luka Doncic said in a postgame interview with NBA TV that the team is still getting used to having him on the team but that he’s confident they can figure it out.
“I think we’re still trying to figure it out,” Doncic said. “It’s not easy to connect with a guy right away. Me and [Kyrie Irving], we needed some time to connect. Now we have all three on the squad. Obviously, we’re gonna need some more time, but it’s getting easier and easier.”
Doncic hasn’t had the best start to the season either, averaging 28.6 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and 8.1 APG, but his efficiency has dived off; 40.2% from the floor (would be a career-worst) and 32.9% from three. After entering the season as the MVP favorite, he’s down to second on FanDuel in MVP odds just a few weeks in.
It did take time for Doncic and Kyrie Irving to build chemistry after that trade in 2023, but they blossomed into the league’s best backcourt in the 2023-24 season. Jason Kidd has been quick to pump the brakes, saying it may take until Christmas for all of the new additions to be comfortable, but it’s a brutal Western Conference, and they can’t afford silly losses.
The Mavericks will have a chance to exact some revenge with the Phoenix Suns coming to town Friday night. The Suns beat Dallas in the second game of the season on October 26th in Phoenix.
