DALLAS — For such a copycat league, NBA teams use different terminologies for the same concepts. When a player is traded, understanding a new playbook is more like learning a new language, another dialect, for the same actions and ideas his previous employer described differently. The playoffs, for example, are littered with All-Stars calling for ball screens, forcing a switch of defenders, allowing that playmaker to isolate against his preferred matchup. The Mavericks call this “elephant hunting” as these Western Conference champions routinely found optimal opponents for Luka Donu010diu0107 or Kyrie Irving to ambush on islands across the first three rounds of this postseason.
2024 NBA Finals: The elephant in the room — Luka Dončić’s defense isn’t good enough for the Mavs to win a title
