J.B. Bickerstaff Praises Mavericks Star For Toughness In NBA Finals

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - FEBRUARY 28: Head coach J. B. Bickerstaff of the Cleveland Cavaliers reacts against the Chicago Bulls during the first half at the United Center on February 28, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

 

The Dallas Mavericks ultimately came up short in the NBA Finals and got blown out once again by the Boston Celtics in Game 5 last night, failing in their quest to become the first team to come back from a 3-0 deficit.

It was a tough ending for an incredible run the team had through the postseason, and former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff believes that one of the team’s stars displayed a tremendous amount of toughness in the series.

Bickerstaff appeared on SiriusXM NBA Radio with Brian Scalabrine and Frank Isola and shared how impressed he was with Luka Doncic’s ability to play through pain in the Finals, bringing up how he was taking shots in his ribs and still going out and playing 40 minutes and performed at a high level.

Bickerstaff believes Doncic deserves credit for the job that he did leading this team to the Finals even though things didn’t go their way in the series.

Fans watched Luka limp through much of the postseason with various injuries and it was clear at times that he wasn’t completely right, and nothing came easy to him against the Celtics, as he averaged 29.2 points per game but needed 25 shots per game to get there due to shooting only 24.4 percent from three-point range and attempting just 5.8 free throws a game.

He also only averaged 5.6 assists to 4.6 turnovers per game in the series as the Celtics did a great job taking away lobs and closing out on three-point shooters.

It was a tough Finals debut for Doncic, but at just 25 years old, he’ll have plenty of time to learn from this and make it back to finish the job.

The post J.B. Bickerstaff Praises Mavericks Star For Toughness In NBA Finals appeared first on The Cold Wire.



source https://www.thecoldwire.com/j-b-bickerstaff-praises-mavericks-star-for-toughness-in-nba-finals/

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