Reggie Miller has issued a challenge to Mavericks star Luka Doncic: Get in better shape.
The Mavericks had a stunning fall out of playoff position after acquiring Kyrie Irving in February and much of the proverbial blame has fallen on Irving, but Miller called for some accountability for the 24-year-old Doncic, whose conditioning has lagged.
“Let’s face it,” Miller said earlier this week on a TNT NBA playoff conference call, according to the Dallas Morning News. “Luka needs to start looking in the mirror a little bit, too, right? I hate to throw this all on Kyrie. Luka needs to kind of look at himself and [ask], ‘What could I have done better?’”
Miller, who played for the Pacers from 1998 through 2005 and earned a spot in the Basketball Hall of Fame, wants to see Doncic do less whining at the referees.
“I think a lot of times,” Miller said, “if you watch Mavericks games and the antics and talking to the officials — and this is coming from a guy who stayed on the officials myself — sometimes that wears on them. That wears on them. It really does. Just looking at it from afar, at times, I just think the officials were tuning him out.”
When the Mavericks acquired Irving on Feb. 6, they were 29-26 and ranked fifth in the Western Conference.
Dallas went 9-18 after the trade, missed the playoffs and tanked the end of the season so blatantly that the NBA issued a $750,000 fine.
Miller ascribes some of that blame to Doncic’s lack of speed and endurance.
“Luka’s got to get in better shape,” Miller said. “They’ve got to run more, and I think they did that when Luka was out and Kyrie was at the helm because they’re much better when they play faster. That’s how Jason Kidd wants to coach. He wants them to play faster, but when Luka’s in there, they can’t play fast.
“To me, if he’s in better shape and they can play fast, that puts more pressure on the opposing team.”