NBA fans are counting down the days until the start of the 2024–25 season, and Dallas Mavericks fans can already plan which games they want to attend as Dallas’ schedule was announced last week.

The Mavs begin the season at home against the San Antonio Spurs and there are several big games right at the start, including Klay Thompson’s return to the Bay on November 12th.

Thompson’s return to Chase Center on November 12 will also mark Dallas’ first NBA Cup game, and although their group is extremely strong, all eyes are already on Luka Doncic and the Mavs.

Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report has made some predictions ahead of the NBA Cup later this year, and one of those predictions is that Doncic will be the top scorer in the NBA Cup. Doncic was the league’s leading point scorer last season, and Bailey believes he will showcase his scoring ability at the highest level in the NBA Cup.

The main reason Bailey believes Doncic will score the most points in the NBA Cup is the lack of elite perimeter defenders in Group C. Bailey looks back at the only team that has multiple strong perimeter defenders, the New Orleans Pelicans with Herb Jones and Trey Murphy, and even though Group C is the group of death, Doncic will dominate offensively as usual.

Group C includes Dallas, New Orleans, Memphis, Golden State and Denver, and no matter who those teams put against Doncic, he will always perform well on offense. No one can really shut Doncic down completely, and he’s always at his best when the lights are brightest.

Doncic is great in big games and that’s exactly what he will do in the NBA Cup. He has a lot of experience in mid-season tournaments and that was another reason why Bailey helped Doncic dominate his competition.

Doncic will be out for blood after a disappointing performance by the Mavs in last year’s In-Season Tournament, and Bailey’s official prediction is that he will average around 35 points per game. For comparison, Doncic averaged 33.8 points per game in last year’s In-Season Tournament, but that still didn’t earn him the title of tournament’s leading scorer, ranking him fourth among players who played three or more games.

The Mavs may not be the favorites to win Group C at this point, but if Doncic takes the tournament into his own hands, everything could change quickly once the NBA Cup begins on November 12.