After this impressive win against the Bucks, now is the time to advance the theory that the Mavericks are better without Luka Doncic. Such a theory is often called the “Ewing Theory”, named after Patrick Ewing Jr., who played 9 games for the New Orleans Hornets in 2011 and really sucked, making no buckets in the regular season and one bucket in the playoffs.
Okay, that didn’t seem right, and I just double checked, and the theory is actually named after Patrick Ewing (no Jr.), whose Knicks teams sometimes got better when he got injured even though he was their supposed superstar. Sorry for the confusion.
It’s easy to come up with theoretical reasons why the Mavs would be better without Doncic. The ball moves a little bit more freely. More players get more shots in the absence of one of the biggest chuckers in the league. Possessions don’t end as often in a horrible stepback three. No one gets marginalized anymore besides Boban Marjanovic. Seth Curry gets to do his best impression of his brother.
That last one is the important one tonight. Curry scored 26 points as the Mavs surprised the favored Bucks. This scoring outburst can’t be attributed entirely to Doncic’s absence, since he scored 30 just two games ago and Doncic was still alive with both ankles fully intact bake then, but it was a factor. I’m seeing the majority of these buckets for the first time (my highlight-making duties mean I couldn’t watch the second half, luckily for me), and combined with his 30-burger, I’m wondering what his offensive ceiling is. Because it looks right now like he could score 20 a game. For real.