Oct 28, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Utah Jazz forward Cody Williams (5) and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) in action during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Utah Jazz at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks have fallen short of preseason expectations, and star player Luka Doncic didn’t hold back when discussing the team’s recent struggles in critical games. The Dallas Mavericks are undeniably struggling early in the NBA regular season.

After being one of the best clutch players in the NBA last season, it's been a rough go of it for Doncic, who is now 33.3% from the floor and 25% from three in six clutch opportunities (five-point game or less,

Close losses have become a bit of a theme for the Mavericks this season and Luka Doncic touched on that problem and some other issues during his postgame press conference, via Grant Afseth. Luka Doncic on the Mavericks' struggles in close games ...

As Luka Doncic battles efficiency issues, the Mavericks must address stagnant late-game offense to capitalize on their superstar’s talents in critical moments.

His usage and touches exploded, the Mavericks made it back to the playoffs, and the longer the Mavericks went without substantial playoff success, the more questions about how much Doncic has the ball lingered.

Doncic joins other Mavericks such as Dereck Lively II, PJ Washington, Maxi Kleber and Dante Exum who are also dealing with injury concerns. The Mavs were most recently defeated by the Phoenix Suns on Friday, losing by a final score of 114-113. The defeat resulted in frustration for the Mavericks as they deal with both underperformance and injuries.