Jason Kidd

The Mavs slumped to their third straight loss with Sunday's 132-130 overtime defeat against the Atlanta Hawks, also leaving them with one win from their past eight games.

The result means the Mavs sit 11th in the Western Conference with a 37-42 record, outside the final play-in tournament spot, occupied by the Oklahoma City Thunder (38-41).

OKC suffered a 128-118 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday to keep the Mavs in contention but the clock is ticking for a franchise who had championship designs when they traded in Irving in February to play alongside MVP contender Luka Doncic.

The Mavs are a lowly 7-12 with Irving since the trade and the All-Star guard said their struggles had been "emotionally draining".

"We've just been losing tough ones, emotionally draining, but at the same time we're professionals," Irving told reporters.

"I think the fun part of it is we still have a glimmer of hope, a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel of where we can still sneak in.

“But at the same time, I’m at peace with just our effort, with spurts throughout the games. We’ve just got to be able to finish better as a team."

Mavs head coach Jason Kidd, who is under pressure to keep his job, said the team were now playing "catch-up" given their play-in predicament with three games left.

"We know the situation we're in," Kidd said. "We're playing catch-up. We've got to find a way to win and right now we're coming up short when we need to win games. Unfortunately we're not winning right now."

Irving was almost the hero against the Hawks, attempting to steal the ball off Trae Young at 130-130 in the final seconds of OT, only for the referee to call a foul.

Kidd and Irving argued the call as Young hit both of the game-winning free-throws, with the coach calling it a "wild ending".

Irving added: "I know those refs will look back on it and won't be too happy with that call. But it could’ve gone either way. I thought I was great position but that foul cost us game practically."

The Trail Blazers and Stotts mutually agreed to part ways on Friday, following Portland's elimination in the opening round of the NBA playoffs.

Despite Lillard's heroic efforts, the Trail Blazers were ousted by the Denver Nuggets 4-2 in the Western Conference first round on Thursday.

Stotts – who oversaw eight consecutive postseason appearances – departs as the second-winningest coach in franchise history following a 402-318 record in nine seasons.

Los Angeles Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups, ex-New York Knicks and Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy, Brooklyn Nets assistant Mike D'Antoni and Michigan's Juwan Howard are reportedly among the candidates.

But Lillard talked up Hall of Famer Kidd, who previously served as coach of the Nets and Milwaukee Bucks.

"Jason Kidd is the guy I want," Lillard, who set a new NBA record for threes made in a single playoff series with 35, told Yahoo Sports.

In a statement following Stotts' exit, Trail blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey said: "I have the utmost respect for Terry and what he has accomplished these past nine seasons.

"This was a difficult decision on both a personal and professional level but it's in the best interest of the franchise to move in another direction.

"Terry will always hold a special place in the Trail Blazer family and the Portland community. We relied on the integrity, professionalism and consistency he brought to the job every day and we wish he and Jan nothing but the best."

During the postseason matchup, Lillard tallied a playoff career-high 55 points and record 12 made threes in a Game 5 overtime defeat to the Nuggets.

Lillard also became the fourth player in NBA history to record a 50-point, 10-assist game in the postseason, joining Russell Westbrook, Sleepy Floyd and Jerry West.

Mavericks superstar Doncic, now in his fourth year in the NBA, was expecting to be among the league's leading players in 2021-22.

Dallas are a competitive 7-4 through 11 games and their point forward has 24.5 points per game, but that is a considerable drop on last year's 27.7 or his 2019-20 peak of 28.8.

And Doncic, despite a sensational game-winning buzzer-beater against the Boston Celtics last week, is not helping the Mavs in the way his team would hope.

Only eight qualifying players – seven of them on teams with .250 records or worse – have a lower plus/minus per game than Doncic's -8.7.

That was -20 in Wednesday's 117-107 defeat to the Bulls despite the 22-year-old averaging close to his first triple-double of the season with 20 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.

Doncic had four steals for only the sixth time in his career but also gave up four turnovers and is averaging 4.4 for the year, a new high.

"Luka was just average tonight," Kidd said. "We always expect him to be superhuman, but there's going to be nights in this season where he's going to be average.

"His average is really good, but he again had some great looks that didn't go down for him."

Indeed, Doncic made just six of 18 shots from the field and one of six from three-point range.

Although he is attempting more field goals than ever before (21.2 per game), his shooting is down to 43.3 per cent, including a career-low 28.6 per cent from three.

Kidd praised much-maligned team-mate Kristaps Porzingis, who "stepped up" with 22 points and 12 rebounds, but the Mavs clearly cannot afford a player, in Doncic, with a team-high 35.9 per cent usage rate to be missing both shots and passes.

"I think that's a question for him," Kidd said of Doncic's shooting woes. "When you look at the shots that he's taking, he's getting a lot of great looks.

"I think in the game of basketball, some go in, some don't. He still has to continue to be aggressive and take those looks. The ones that he's missing right now will fall for him – he just has to stay with it."

One tweak could be to get Doncic closer to the basket, with his shooting at the rim way up to 75.6 per cent. He has scored 40.1 per cent of his points in the paint this year (only marginally up on 40.0 per cent).

"His strength is being able to create on the perimeter for others and for himself, so that's something that we can definitely do, put him in the post to try to take some of the stress away from him having to work so hard," Kidd said. "That will come in due time as the season goes on."

Despite a strong lead after the second quarter thanks to a best-in-show Luka Doncic, who posted 42, the visitors were pegged back for a second consecutive loss at Chase Center.

The Mavs blew several chances to keep daylight between themselves and their hosts in the third quarter, but an over-reliance on attempts to bags 3s left them to suffer.

"When you go 2-for-13 and you rely on the 3, you can die by the 3," Kidd said. "And we died in the third quarter by shooting that many 3s and coming up with only two.

"If you make [3s], that's great, but you just have to understand, if you miss four in a row, you can't take the fifth.

"You've got to make it. That just puts too much stress on yourself and on your team because, if you're not getting stops on the other end, it turns into a blowout."

The Mavs face a tough road back into contention, but will take consolation from the fact a 2-0 deficit is far from insurmountable, having been knocked out by the Clippers last season with a similar advantage after two games.

They also boast Doncic, one of the best form players in the NBA right now, and the Slovenian admitted his side could have put more in.

"We weren't attacking the paint that much," he added. "But we got to attack the paint more, like they did. They attacked the paint a lot.

"They have two of the best shooters in the world, and they still attack the paint. So I think we've got to rely less on the 3."

Mavs superstar Doncic was tightly marshalled by the Warriors on Wednesday, with the Slovenian only managing 20 points on six-of-18 shooting.

Andrew Wiggins was the primary defender on Doncic, who had seven turnovers and was also limited to seven rebounds and four assists in a 112-87 defeat.

However, team-mate Spencer Dinwiddie has full confidence that one of the best players in the NBA has the ability to be back at his best in Game 2.

"He's just brilliant. I think he's seen every defense from probably playing professionally overseas when he was younger," Dinwiddie told reporters.

"If you've seen it before, you've probably developed counters for it.

"So, now, it's just about continuing to improve game by game, and he's one of the best in the business at doing that."

The sentiment was echoed by Mavs coach Jason Kidd, who said: "[Doncic] understands what [the Warriors] are trying to do, and he'll be better, we believe that in that locker room."

Doncic was still the second-highest scorer in Game 1, behind only Warriors talisman Stephen Curry, who had 21 points, 12 rebounds and four assists.

In the biggest trade of the season so far, the Mavericks sent Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a first-round pick and two second-rounders to the Nets in exchange for Irving and depth forward Markieff Morris.

The move means the Mavericks are the only team with two players named as starters in this year's All-Star Game, with Irving receiving his eighth selection overall after putting up averages of 27.1 points, 5.3 assists and 5.1 rebounds while playing in 40 of Brooklyn's first 51 games.

Dallas made a surprising run to the Western Conference Finals this past season with Jalen Brunson as Luka Doncic's number two, and Kidd was not shy about calling the move from Brunson to Irving an upgrade.

"When you look at Ky, nothing against [Brunson], but Ky is at a different level," he said. "This gives us another weapon. Someone is going to be free. Someone is going to have the advantage."

Doncic's usage rate of 37.6 per cent is the second-highest in the league behind Philadelphia 76ers centrepiece Joel Embiid (37.8 per cent), and Kidd said the addition of Irving should help that number come down to a more sustainable level.

"When you look at [Doncic's] usage, it's at 99.9, so it has to come down," he said in jest. 'It's going to come down – and that's a healthy thing. It's not a bad thing. 

"He'll be stronger in the fourth [quarter], the team will be better. Then the trust between the two – it's going to take some time to get that rhythm and trust, but Ky is about winning.

"We're still going to preach defense, being able to get stops, but there's going to be nights where we're going to try to make you feel uncomfortable on the offensive end with scoring 130 or 140.

"Some nights, you're going to have to use the offense as your defense, but Ky's going to compete on the defensive end. Luka's going to compete on the defensive end. 

"But when you look at the offensive end – can we put pressure on the opponent, and are they going to be comfortable to be able to score that many points?"

Kidd referenced Irving's track record as a champion with the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, where Irving hit the game-winning three-pointer over Stephen Curry in their Game 7 victory on the road.

"You look at his journey at other stops, he's won where he's gone," he said. "We feel that the talent and his abilities to make us better are something that we needed. 

"We feel that getting him is going to help put us in a position to win a championship."

Irving's former team-mate on the Nets Theo Pinson will be a familiar face in Dallas, and he said he is excited to see how teams decide to guard the dynamic duo.

"Pick your poison," he said. "It's one of those things where I don't know what you do, personally – I really don't. 

"You can trap Luka all you want now. We swing it to another killer. It's going to be fun to watch."

The Mavericks' past two losses have come against a 25-51 Charlotte Hornets team who looked to have shut down for the season.

And Sunday's 110-104 reverse, which left Dallas 11th in the West at 36-39, included a further costly setback.

Doncic received his 16th technical foul of the season after directing a profanity at an official following a correct no-call, meaning he is set to be banned for Monday's game at the Indiana Pacers.

The Mavs superstar had been the centre of attention following the previous game, too, outlining his "really frustrating" situation on a misfiring team.

Doncic responded with 40 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, but his suspension now presents a problem for a team who cannot afford to throw away another game in an intense playoff chase.

"You're never going to replace him. It's going to take a group," coach Kidd said.

"It's 'next man up' mentality with Timmy [Hardaway Jr.] and look at [Jaden] Hardy and Josh [Green] participating and playing more minutes, [Justin] Holiday playing more minutes.

"But hopefully it's rescinded. I didn't think it was warranted, but we'll see what happens.

"If he is suspended, we have to move on with the next guy, so Timmy, coming back from the flu, was really good tonight, Holiday's minutes were positive, Maxi [Kleber] did a great job, a lot of great jobs.

"I thought Luka, again, being able to do what he did after his press conference... I thought he would have a big game and he did.

"It's just unfortunate we let these two games go. We've got to figure out how to stop the bleeding."

Doncic was at the top of his game on Thursday, as he scored 49 points in a 125-118 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

The 22-year-old became the first player in NBA history to score 40+ points, have 15 or more rebounds, provide at least five assists, make five or more threes and have a plus-minus of +20 or better, all in a single game.

Doncic averages 27.5 points, 9.2 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game from 44 appearances this season, leading the Mavs in each of those categories.

"Luka set the tone early and often," Kidd told reporters. "We can sit here and talk about him all day. The things that he does on the court for himself and his team-mates are incredible.

"We've used every noun and adjective to describe his game. He just gets better."

Doncic's points tally was just two shy of the career-high 51 he set against the Los Angeles Clippers on February 10. 

The Slovenian has now had 45 points or higher in three of his last four games, but Doncic was actually underwhelmed by parts of his display.

"I didn't really notice, but my career-high in points [before] was about 44 or 45 points. I definitely felt good for two quarters, but the last quarter was just very bad," he said.

"There were too many bad shots, but we still got a win, so I'm happy."

Team-mate Maxi Kleber, however, did not share Doncic's frustration.

"What he's doing right now is unbelievable," Kleber said. "He's just gifted as a team-mate. It's fun to watch."

The Mavericks, whose owner Mark Cuban is reportedly close to selling a major stake in the franchise, beat the Rockets 121-115 on Tuesday to prevent Houston from advancing in the NBA's in-season tournament.

Doncic, who played just three days after sustaining a thumb sprain, had 41 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, playing a key role at both ends of the court.

"Sometimes we take him for granted, and we shouldn't," said Kidd. "He's about winning, too. It just happens that he's a walking triple-double.

"Tonight, he had some great looks, but I think he's not looked upon, or you guys haven't really talked about his defense. He's competing defensively. He's taking the challenge.

"But again, when you're that good, someone has to pick at something. Unfortunately, you guys don't see the game totally all the time but he's competing defensively.

"For him to get on the floor, it just shows that he's all about winning, too."

Defiance was a theme of Kidd's post-game news conference, as the coach lashed out at reporters for being overly critical of the time it has taken Kyrie Irving and Doncic to form a formidable partnership.

"Maybe it's the things that you guys thought should have happened day one. It takes time – failing is alright, it's not a bad thing to fail for a pro athlete, as you can learn and get better from it," he said.

"Those two are the best in the world and we feel very comfortable with those two having the ball. Sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn't – and we learn from it.

"Write some positive s***. It's alright to write positive stuff, people will read positive s***. You don't have to be negative, the world's already negative enough. Let's see some positive stuff on positive people who are doing their job on a nightly basis."

Irving finished with 27 points, with 22 of those coming in the second half.

"Yeah, he can go off [at] anytime," Doncic said of Irving.

"There were a couple of insane layups, which isn't insane for us because we see it all the time. But his play has been amazing, and his leadership has been amazing. We are just happy to have him on our team."

Doncic delivered his best performance of the playoffs on Wednesday, finishing with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in a 104-92 victory.

The Mavericks are now just one win away from the Western Conference finals.

But what was different about Doncic's night was the fact he rarely remonstrated with the officials, having previously expanded a lot of energy doing just that in Game 4 of the series.

"He's human; he's not a robot," Kidd said. 

"Sometimes we just pencil in that he's going to put in 30, 10 and 10. You know the playoffs are hard mentally and physically.

"Before the game, understand you are not going to get any calls on the road. You got to understand you got to play through it."

For Doncic, it was a case of just focusing on what he could control.

"Just focus on basketball," Doncic said. "Remember the thing I love, the thing I love to do. Just play basketball.

"I talked to them [the officials] normally, without complaining.

"I think it was the whole game, nothing. So I just go out there and hoop. Have fun, have fun. It was the old Luka, a smile on my face."

Doncic's teammate Derrick Jones Jr suggested the Slovenian's sharpness in the warm-up told him all he needed to know about what was to come.

"I was just sitting back saying, 'It's going to be a long day for them,'" Jones said. 

"Once he gets his rhythm and he's got it going, you can't stop him."

Kyrie Irving believes Doncic can take lessons from his Game 5 performance.

"I think he can learn from this tonight as well as all of us and just continue to affirm to himself that when he is focused on just his game and he's focused on doing the right things, then we flourish as a team," he said.

"I'm not going to sit up here and complain about him. I'm not going to do that.

"I've got to give my brother a little benefit of the doubt. Sometimes it is warranted to get on the guys that are refereeing the game, but I think he found a healthy balance tonight where he was just really focused on getting us going offensively and making the right plays and making sure that we kept our foot on the gas pedal."

The defeat ensured Dallas miss out on the play-in tournament but retain their number 10 slot in the 2023 draft lottery, still owing the New York Knicks a top-10 protected pick as part of a 2019 trade to acquire Kristaps Porzingis.

The Mavericks left out Kyrie Irving, Josh Green, Tim Hardaway Jr, Maxi Kleber and Christian Wood, while Luka Doncic only played the first quarter at American Airlines Center.

Mavs coach Jason Kidd had called it an "organisational decision", later adding: "It's not so much waving the white flag. It's [that] decisions sometimes are hard in this business. We're trying to build a championship team. With this decision, this is maybe a step back. But hopefully it leads to going forward."

Owner Mark Cuban had previously denied his team would deliberately tank, saying on Wednesday: "The guys don't want to do that. Players aren't going to do that. Players don't do that."

However, multiple reports on Saturday said the league would be looking into the matter, citing a statement from NBA spokesperson Mike Bass on Saturday.

"The NBA commenced an investigation today into the facts and circumstances surrounding the Dallas Mavericks' roster decisions and game conduct with respect to last night's Chicago Bulls-Mavericks game, including the motivations behind those actions," Bass said.

Kidd has already confirmed his star players will also not feature in Dallas' final game of the season against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.

The Mavs were second best throughout the opening contest of their first-round series against the Clippers, who were without talisman Kawhi Leonard.

James Harden stepped up with 28 points in Leonard's absence, Paul George chipped in with 22 and Ivica Zubac contributed a career-high 20 points, adding 15 rebounds.

Dallas, seeded fifth, shot just 38.8 per cent for the game, and were 56-30 down by halftime.

Doncic finished with 33 points, while Irving finished with 31, but the latter was deeply frustrated by the Mavs' display.

"It really centered around the foundational point of talking about physicality and this being the playoffs," Irving said.

"A lot of guys aren't used to being here. A few young guys aren't used to being here, so they don't know what they can get away with and what the refs are going to call.

"I think this was a great first test for us. We obviously failed and we came out with a loss, but I think there are some things we can take into Game 2."

Mavs coach Kidd added: "They were physical and we were passive."

For the Clippers, it was a timely reminder of what Harden is able to offer.

"I can score with the best of 'em," Harden said.

"Still can score with the best of 'em. My role for this team is just generating really good shots and making guys' jobs easier.

"And then when my number to score is called, then you score the basketball. Obviously, Kawhi is out, so my playmaking and my volume is going to go up a little bit more, and took advantage of it."

Zubac lauded his teammate's performance, labelling Harden as "one of the greatest scorers this game has seen".

"James was great," he said. "We needed him and he played great.

"He is one of the greatest scorers this game has seen. He can do that on a nightly basis. It's just the role is different for him in this game and [with Leonard out], we need him to score more and that's what he did and we all know he can do that."

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue chipped in with the praise, too, saying: "When he's scoring the basketball and making the right play, it's huge.

"He understands that he doesn't have to do a lot of heavy lifting with Kawhi and PG both on the floor.

"But if one of those guys are out, he has to step up and be aggressive to score the basketball. That is what he has been doing for us of late. I thought he really set the tone early."

Devin Booker's 35-point haul helped the Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Clippers 112-95, with Paul bringing up the landmark against his former team by teeing up Deandre Ayton to dunk.

In doing so, Paul joined John Stockton and Jason Kidd in an exclusive club of players with 11,000 NBA assists, also becoming the first man to amass that many assists as well as 20,000 points in NBA history.

Speaking after the Suns' win, Paul credited the quality of his teammates and said he was unaware of his achievement until after the game. 

"I've been fortunate to play for a while now with a lot of great shooters, great players in general,'' he said. "I'm privileged.

"There's been a lot of firsts here at the Staples Center, well, Crypto Arena. I honestly didn't have a clue until I checked out of the game."

Suns coach Monty Williams added: "It's amazing. I look at him and I'm like, 'holy smokes, I get to coach Chris Paul'.''

Paul, who also has the most assists for the Clippers in the franchise's history, finished with seven points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.

The 12-time NBA All-Star has some way to go to top the league's assist charts, however, with his tally of 11,009 some way short of Stockton's record of 15,806.

In his third game since being traded from the Brooklyn Nets, Irving scored 28 points with seven rebounds and seven assists, but it was not enough to beat the Kings at Golden 1 Center again, as the Mavs did on Friday.

Doncic did not play in that game, but he returned on Saturday for the second of a double-header against Sacramento, and linked up well with Irving as he finished with 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

"Amazing, only our first game together, but I think it's so fun to play with this guy," the Slovenian said about lining up with Irving. "He's an amazing basketball player and I think it's going to be really fun and today, first game, it was really fun, too."

Mavs coach Jason Kidd was equally enthused by his new star partnership despite the loss, saying: "I thought it was good. It was just natural. Nothing forced.

"It's going to make us that much better. They did an incredible job."

De'Aaron Fox managed to outshine Doncic and Irving in Sacramento, scoring 36 points for the hosts, 26 of which came in the fourth quarter and overtime, while Domantas Sabonis and Terence Davis also put up 22 points each, with the former recording 14 rebounds for a league-leading 44th double-double of the season.

Kings coach Mike Brown was understandably pleased with his team's work, saying: "Heck of a job by our guys. Defensively, we did a pretty good job in both second halves.

"We had a lot of great individual performances."

Doncic was cleared to play against the Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse after his one-game suspension for a 16th technical of the season was rescinded earlier on Monday.

The four-time NBA All-Star starred with 25 points (eight-of-17 shooting), seven rebounds and six assists to guide the Mavs to a 127-104 victory, snapping their four-game losing streak.

"That's what he does," coach Kidd said. "He's one of the best players in the league at finding guys and then he's able to catch and shoot – not just once but multiple times."

The Mavericks' season had been hanging by a thread following defeats to the Memphis Grizzlies, the Golden State Warriors, and the Charlotte Hornets back-to-back.

But with Doncic stepping up and Kyrie Irving chipping in with 16 points (seven-of-11), six assists, three blocks and two steals, Dallas are now 37-39 for the season.

Kidd's side are a half-game behind the Los Angeles Lakers (37-38) and Oklahoma City Thunder (37-38) as they battle it out for the last play-in spot.

The 33-43 Pacers have now lost three straight and six of eight, meanwhile, and former Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle accepts his side had little chance with Doncic clearly in the mood.

"It's tough," Carlisle said. "Luka makes a couple of passes that were unbelievable, that only one player in the world can make."

Doncic's dazzling display proved the difference, but Carlisle – who has a league-leading 11 technicals this season – was not surprised the league allowed him to play.

"I don't know how many I have myself, I just know I've surpassed the five the team can pay for," he said. 

"They're not cheap, so if you're going to get them, you better get your money's worth."

The Mavs have another road trip at the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, while the Pacers host Eastern Conference leaders Milwaukee Bucks on the same day.

Doncic posted 39 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists on Tuesday, registering his 14th triple-double of the season.

The Slovenian is averaging 34.6 points per game this season, and is on course for a career-best PPG return.

Yet in spite of Doncic averaging 37.3 points in the past six games, the Mavericks have lost five of those.

"It doesn't matter," Doncic said when asked about his fine form. "I just want to win, man. That's it."

"I don't know, honestly. We know we got to fix it."

Coach Jason Kidd was equally as frustrated.

"We got the personnel. We got the team," said Kidd.

"This is actually a great test for us to be able to go through a hard time in March because it only gets harder in April and May and June.

"And so this is a great test to be tested in the sense that we're going to let go of the rope or we're going to continue to come to work. Everyone's coming to work. Everyone has the positive mindset, energy.

"Everyone's trying to do the right thing right now."

Kidd put the onus on Doncic's teammates to help out the NBA's leading scorer this season.

"Are we asking too much? I don't know if we're asking," he added.

"This is what he does. He's one of the best offensive players on the planet, and so this is what he does and so we have to help him on that end and we have to also help him on the defensive end. This isn't a surprise, he's been doing this pretty much his whole career.

"He's a walking triple-double. He's doing everything to help the team win. We all have to pitch in and help him."

Mavs superstar Doncic is heading into his fourth season in the NBA but is yet to win a playoff series.

It is not for a lack of effort or ability, however, with the Slovenian twice going toe-to-toe with the Los Angeles Clippers and coming up just short.

Indeed, through 13 postseason games, Doncic has averaged 33.5 points – a league record at that stage of a career.

With or without Doncic, it is now 10 years since Dallas advanced through a series, last doing so when they were champions in 2011, and title-winning coach Rick Carlisle has been replaced by Kidd – a member of that successful Finals team.

Kidd is looking forward to working with the 22-year-old but, as a former point guard, has already identified a key area of potential improvement.

While Kidd sits second on the all-time list for regular season assists (12,091) and fourth for the playoffs (1,263), Doncic has so far proven a little more reluctant to put the ball in the hands of his colleagues.

The former Real Madrid sensation's 8.6 assists per game ranked fifth in the league, but only Steph Curry in the top 25 attempted more field goals (20.5 per game for Doncic, 21.7 for Curry).

Doncic's usage rate of 36.2 per cent was the highest among players with 500 or more possessions, yet Kidd wants his main man to make better choices.

"I look at Luka as a young Picasso, someone who's very talented, loves to win and understands how to play the game at a very high level," he said.

"As a coach, I don't know if anybody told Picasso that he had to use all the paints. But I just want to remind Luka that he can rely on his team-mates, and his team-mates are going to be there to help him.

"I'm very excited to have this opportunity to work with a young Picasso whose paintings have been incredible up to this point and are only going to get better with time and age."

Doncic had no issue with this critique, replying: "Of course. I just think there's a lot of things I can improve on off the court, on the court.

"Obviously, this is one of them. And I think he is right. But I've still got to improve on a lot of things."

Doncic's displays at the Tokyo Olympics suggested he is growing in this regard, clearly the best player on the Slovenia team but contributing a tournament high in assists (57) as well as points (143).

"I think leadership you develop through years," he said. "You see every year it's going to be a little bit better.

"Obviously, I learned from the playoffs, from the Olympics, how to be a leader. One thing I learned is I need to be more vocal with the team."

Plenty is expected from Doncic, who finished sixth in the MVP race last year without a single first-place vote but is the early favourite for 2021-22.

However, he said: "I don't care about that. It's only the beginning of the season. That's at the end. That's far away.

"The team goals and my goal is to win the championship. That's it."