Luka Doncic has shown how mature he is at a young age. he has battled the title favorite LA Clippers valiantly and forced them to employ separate tactics to deal with him. One of these tactics has been to rough him up by playing aggressively and attacking him verbally. This has created a fair share of ugly moments, but game five saw a particularly ugly moment.

Marcus Morris stepped on Luka Doncic’s injured ankle and manage to pull his shoe off. People have questioned the intent of the foul, as it was a dead ball. Charles Barkley went on The Dan Patrick Show and expressed his concerns regarding the foul.

“The play did not look good in my opinion. If you look at the play, the ball’s already dead. I don’t wanna get on on your show and accuse somebody of playing dirty, but I will say this. There was no reason for him to be going towards Luka in that situation.

“I don’t ever wanna get on TV and accuse someone of doing something dirty. But the evidence does not look good. There’s no reason, I mean the ball’s in the basket.”

Luka Doncic facing an uphill battle

Luka Doncic is just 21-years old. While everyone has been marveling at the heights that he has reached in only his sophomore year, what is a greater mark of respect is the Clippers’ treatment of him. A team that is the second seed is frustrated to no end by a seventh seed led by a 21-year-old. That is a testament to the leap Doncic has taken and just how dangerous these Dallas Mavericks are.

While the current stoppage in play raises questions regarding the completion of play, if we see the rest of the games, Dallas has a strong chance. They shouldn’t be looked at outside contenders, as they genuinely have the firepower to spark a comeback and force a game seven. With Kristaps Porzingis back, you cannot guess which way this series may fall.

The double-headed monster of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George backed up with the deepest bench in the league is scared of a 21-year-old leading a team of rotational pieces. Goes to show the ceiling this Dallas team has.