Colin Cowherd made an interesting comparison between the NBA and the NFL, which makes a lot of sense when you break it down. The FOX Sports TV personality claims Luka Doncic is the Josh Allen of the NBA.
“Luka is too much Luka. He always leads the NBA in what they call usage rate; well, if the NFL had that, Josh Allen would lead the league in usage rate. Last year, the Bills had 58 touchdowns; he was part of 51,” said Cowherd.
Doncic led the NBA with a 35.9 percentage usage rate last season, a full three percent higher than second-place Giannis Antetokounmpo. To demonstrate how much higher that number is than the rest of the league, 16 players were all within three percent of Antetokounmpo in usage rate.
“Last night, Buffalo had four touchdowns, and Josh Allen was one of them. That is what you want. That is what the Celtics did. The Celtics said we love Jayson Tatum; he is First Team All-NBA, but we are going to lean into collaboration. Dallas is still trying to figure that out with the Mavericks,” said Cowherd.
Allen and the Bills might be at their best this season when Allen does not have to be Superman, and they are already showing that they want to go more in that direction. Dallas would be wise to try and use the same approach this upcoming season.
With Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson on the roster, the Mavericks have the tools to dial their superstar player back just a touch. Irving is fully capable of running an offense for stretches, as he is still one of the best players in the league at creating his own shot. Thompson is not as high of a usage rate player, but he is a high-volume shooter who can take some of the scoring burden from Doncic.
It is an interesting cross-sport comparison. If Buffalo is successful this year in dialing their superstar quarterback back, Dallas would be smart to steal that out of their playbook. Doncic was physically exhausted by the time they reached the NBA Finals last year, and if he was fresh, it could have been enough to put them over the top.
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