I can’t believe ESPN chose to put the pupu-platter of Hawks vs Mavericks on national TV. Did they think that people wouldn’t notice that the teams were bad if they had them go head to head? Highly-touted Euro rookie versus highly-touted Hobbit rookie is compelling, but the main thing viewers were treated to was a career-high performance from Kent Bazemore. That’s cool, especially for me, but that’s not how you draw in the casual fan.
Luke Doncic did come out hot in the first quarter, probably getting ESPN execs really hyped for a 40-burger that would send their ratings through the roof. I knew better, though. I’ve been burned so many times by hot first quarters that I don’t even notice them anymore. I just knew he would slow down and end up scoring in the 20’s. Which is still fine, and way better than the haters thought he would do so early in his career, but it’s not Stephen Curry dropping 51 in three quarters.
Doncic’s low assist totals this game concern me, but I’m not yet going to suggest that they trade Dennis Smith Jr. That will come later in the season I’m sure. Putting a non-shooting PG next to Doncic doesn’t seem like a long-term strategy for success, and I can say this because all the people watching this vid secretly or openly agree with me.