Curses in sports are as old as time itself. The Curse of the Bambino is probably the most famous of these. The Chicago Cubs had an issue with a goat or something. The Madden cover.
Are we onto a new one?
Look, I don’t want to be the one to point this out, but it has to be done. The Dallas Mavericks are struggling mightily in the NBA Finals.
In fact, they haven’t won a game since May 30th. Granted there have only been three games total but that’s not the point here people.
So, what happened on May 30th? Well, the Mavs took care of business in the Western Conference Finals, dropping the Minnesota Timberwolves in a blowout and wrapping up the series sending them to the Finals.
But there was one other thing that made news that night. And it needs to be remembered.
Luka Doncic and his father, Sasa, after the Dallas Mavericks clinched a spot in the NBA Finals. pic.twitter.com/fbqhft2G6B
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) May 31, 2024
RELATED: Luka Doncic Tries Celebrating NBA Finals Appearance, Has Beer Swiped By Management
They Stole Luka Doncic’s Beer And Have Never Been The Same
That’s right – Luka Dončić was innocently trying to celebrate a job well done in the locker room with his Dad. And that celebration happened to involve a beer.
That is until Mavericks executive Michael Finley decided to crash the party and casually rip the can right out of Luka’s hands.
Who could have predicted what would come next? The Mavs find themselves in a nearly insurmountable 0-3 hole in the NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics. They’ve lost those games by an average of about 11 points.
And Dončić is getting a solid amount of the blame for it. Despite putting up 30-32-27 points in each respective contest.
It’s not because of his play, per se, but due to his relentless griping with the officiating crew. That all came to a head in Game 3 when Luka fouled out committing four ill-advised fouls in the fourth quarter, and continued to complain about the refs after the game.
His antics took the wind out of the sails of a furious Maverick’s rally.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst torched Dončić for his behavior and said he is “costing his team.”
“They are never going to get to this tunnel with the trophy if he doesn’t improve those aspects of his game,” Windhorst said.
Good lord, Brian Windhorst just unloaded the clip on Luka Doncic pic.twitter.com/nA4TOMLfNA
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) June 13, 2024
Promises To Have Fun
Suffice it to say, Luka Dončić doesn’t appear to be having fun in this series. If only management had allowed him to enjoy one stinkin’ beer. Perhaps things would be different.
For his part, Luka has admitted that the frustration has been boiling over but vowed to take a new approach in Game 4.
“Go back to playing fun. We talk about how we come back from [21] points in the fourth quarter in the Finals,” he said, referencing a last gasp effort to rally in Game 3 that fell short.
“We were having fun. We were defending. We were running. Our pace was great. Just taking good shots,” he said.
If Finley needs to get the man a beer so he starts having fun again, he better make a run to the local beverage mart. Dončić’s last chance to have fun and come out of the winner’s tunnel is tonight.
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