Mavericks Former head Coach Lose Breath For Been Disclosed As The Leader Due To…

The heated race for the sixth spot in the Western Conference continued on Friday night, with the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks duking it out in a matchup that will have major implications on the playoff picture. However, the Kings were struck with misfortune as an inopportune time after Malik Monk sustained what appeared to be a worrying knee injury that will keep him out for the rest of the night, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

With four minutes to go in the first quarter, Mavericks star Luka Doncic drove to the basket against Monk. Monk was whistled for a foul for a bump on Doncic, which makes it a bad interaction for the Kings already. But to add further insult, Doncic’s momentum carried him towards Monk; the Slovenian superstar then bundled over the Kings guard, landing on his knee.

Malik Monk immediately screamed out in pain while lying on the ground, and seeing the Kings guard be in that much discomfort was not a welcome sight at all for anyone. Thankfully, it didn’t take too long before Monk was helped up to his feet by Luka Doncic. However, the worry now is that the Kings guard limped to the locker room, showing ill effects from his collision with the Mavericks star.

Malik Monk is one of the Kings’ most important players, so losing him in an all-important matchup against the Mavericks will put them in a more difficult spot in their quest to grab the result they want.

The Kings were already down a sharpshooter and a secondary shot creator (of sorts) when they lost Kevin Huerter to a season-ending shoulder injury. Keon Ellis has stepped up admirably in Huerter’s absence, but Ellis, as great of a defender as he’s been despite his youth, is extremely raw on the offensive end of the floor, leaving Sacramento one player who can create his own shot short.

Without Malik Monk, the already-heavy burden shouldered by De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis only stands to get even more cumbersome. After all, the Kings’ supporting cast consists mostly of play-finishers rather than creators in Monk’s mold.

Nonetheless, Harrison Barnes and Keegan Murray should have more opportunities to generate offense; Barnes, in particular, should be more proactive in hunting for his own shot with the Kings in dire need of reliable shot-making outside of the team’s two best players.

Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks are looking to win their second consecutive game against the Sacramento Kings on the road Friday. Dallas cruised to a victory over Sacramento on Tuesday, earning a convincing 132-96 win. The Mavs are also now in sixth place in the Western Conference and have won nine of their past 10 games.

The Dallas Mavericks have performed well in recent action but are preparing for the second of a road back-to-back on Tuesday against the Sacramento Kings. Tuesday’s game also represents the first of consecutive contests against the Kings in Sacramento.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, Luka is the second fastest player in NBA history to reach the 75 triple-double mark with just 392 career games played, via Mavs PR as well. Only Luka Doncic (182 games) accomplished the feat faster than Doncic.

After the game, however, Luka Doncic did not have much interest in talking about his own individual accomplishments. Instead, the Mavericks superstar placed the focus on the team.

“We got to get the win,” Doncic said when asked about his mindset in the second half of the game. “We’re in a tough spot right now, we won nine out of ten I think. We just got to keep getting those wins up.”

Luka loves dishing out assists. Whenever he gets his teammates involved it seems to excite him just as much as a bucket of his own. Doncic was also asked about getting double-digit assists in the victory.

“When I get aggressive, enter the paint, good things happen,” Doncic said. “I just got to do that more. I got to read. If the low man helps, (Daniel) Gafford, (Dereck) Lively, are up there. If the other low man helps there’s a corner open so I just try to read the game.”

The Mavericks trade deadline acquisitions have been crucial. Kyrie Irving has been arguably the best co-star in the league. Doncic mentioned Gafford and Lively, who have performed well in the post.

In the end, Luka leads the way on the court. He has continued to establish himself as a legitimate NBA MVP candidate and is becoming one of the best players in the entire NBA.

Luka Doncic wants to win. The Jazz held strong early in the game before Dallas began to pull away in the second half of the contest. Luka and Kyrie set the tone in the third and fourth quarters.

Defense also played a big role in the victory.

“I thought the group after the first quarter, we held them under 25 points there. That first quarter was kind of like a shoot-around,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said after the game. “They were shooting, we were shooting. So I thought our physicality started to come in in that second quarter. After halftime, after we talked about it, I thought the guys did a really good job… I think it was zero second chance points there in the second half.