Luka Doncic: One flaw at the free throw line

At age 22, Doncic has developed a remarkably deep bag of skills, allowing the Mavericks' point guard to establish himself as one of the NBA's elite offensive forces. Doncic sees the floor like few have, often making extremely difficult passes seem routine. He has the gravity and guile to manipulate defenses, creating angles for late-developing lobs or crosscourt laser beams to an open corner 3-point shooter. His passing is probably his best attribute -- quite a statement for a superstar who has averaged 33.5 points per game in the playoffs.

Doncic has phenomenal handles, especially considering his husky, 6-foot-7 frame. He amazes Mavs player-development coach God Shammgod -- the man who earned a reputation as a ballhandling legend while growing up on the New York City playgrounds -- with how quickly he masters complicated dribble combination moves.

That has helped Doncic emerge as an effective, three-level scorer. He isn't an explosive leaper, but he is an effective finisher around the basket (66.2% within five feet last season) due to his combination of craft and strength. He can launch his step-back 3 almost at will, the key to Doncic ranking 10th in 3s made (192) last season despite a slow start behind the arc. And Doncic unveiled a lethally effective midrange game last season, prominently featuring a Dirk Nowitzki-like, one-legged, turnaround jumper that he often pops after stopping on a dime and spinning.

It's hard to find flaws with Doncic's offensive game. Until he gets fouled.

In terms of skills, the simplest one stands out Doncic's biggest weakness: He is a mediocre free throw shooter who is prone to go into funks.

That's a problem for the player who has the ball in his hands so often and constantly draws contact.

It's the one area of Doncic's game that he hasn't displayed significant progress since arriving in the NBA. He is a 73.5% free throw shooter for his career, and he shot 73.0% from the line last season. That shouldn't be the case for a player who has such a soft midrange touch. Doncic was one of nine players who shot 48% or better from midrange on at least 175 attempts last season. His free throw percentage was an extreme outlier among the group, with seven of the other eight shooting 85% or better from the line and the straggler in that bunch hitting 81.2%.