“Miss Him a Lot”: Luka Doncic Reacts to Mavs’ Assistant Coach Joining the Rockets

The Houston Rockets were not at their best when they entered the NBA Playoffs 2020. The fact that it took them seven games to defeat the OKC was proof of that. The Lakers conveniently eliminated them, and this eventually resulted in the end of the Daryl Morey-Mike D’Antoni era. 

Amidst all these headlines of resignations, the news was also hot that Jeff Van Gundy can take up the vacant position of Rockets’ coach. However, as fate would have it, Mr. Stephen Silas received the final call for the coveted position. Just as the news broke, a star player from the Dallas Mavericks came out to openly back Silas.

Mavericks’ star Luka Doncic backed his former coach

Luka Doncic, the rising star of the NBA and for the Mavs, took to Twitter to pay his respect to the former Assistant Coach of the Mavs. 

The young Slovenian also revealed in an interview, ”I’m going to miss him a lot, Houston got a great coach, he’s a big reason for my growth as a player.” Luka Doncic is easily one of the most improved NBA players, as he went from averaging 21.2 points in 2018-19 to averaging 28.8 in 2019-20. He was a different force altogether in the playoffs as the man averaged 31 ppg at 50% from the field. 

So if he is putting his respect on a name, it is only obvious that the name very well deserved it. 

Why did the Rockets opt for Stephen Silas?

The Dallas Mavericks were 43-32 in 2020. They were the best team in terms of the offensive ratings in the regular season. The credit for their exceptional offense goes to the sharp mind of Stephen Silas. He is the son of legendary coach Paul Silas. Stephen has previously worked both as an assistant coach as well as a scout. Hence, his knowledge of the intricacies of the game can not be questioned.

While assisting his father for the Cavs, Stephen got an opportunity to coach LeBron James. He has also worked with the likes of Kemba Walker. Then he of course worked with the Mavs’ Dirk Nowitzki and the very new Luka Doncic. 

The Rockets were ranked 6th in their offense and are already struggling with a declining Russell Westbrook. Hence, Stephen Silas makes for a perfect choice for them.