For anyone who doesn’t follow the NBA, we’ve had quite the stir up here in Dallas.
The Dallas Mavericks best player – and one of the best in the NBA – was a dude named Luka Doncic. And news broke Saturday night that we traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers.
This was as surprising as it was frustrating. In fact, I went down to Dallas for my daughter’s gymnastics meet on Sunday, and there were protesters in front of the arena where the Mavs play. It’s a big deal.
But I’m not here to gripe about losing Luka (but if you feel the need to reply and rub it in, feel free).
In the aftermath of this, plenty of hot takes have come out about why it happened. Amidst all the rumors, I saw an interesting infographic on something I call the Luka Effect.
In the two images below, you’ll see the number of shots the Mavericks have made during games the last 3 seasons.
Both graphics exclude Luka’s shots, but the first graphic shows shots made while he was on the court, and the second graphic shows shots made while he was NOT playing.
Notice the big difference in how much higher shot percentage the Mavs were taking in the lane (the middle part of the floor, around the rim) when Luka was on the floor vs off. A significant increase.
Why? Partly because Luka can drain 3-pointers from 10 feet behind the arc with ease. So other teams have to play defense on him more aggressively. This opens up opportunities for other players to get near the rim and take shots.
“Troy, can you explain it in plain English?”
Besides all the buckets Luka makes, simply having someone of his skillset on the floor improves production for the rest of the team as well.
How does the Luka Effect tie into your practice?
We have an analogy we teach our coaching clients called the Patient Journey Relay. (Yes, I’m shifting from basketball to track, stick with me).
In a relay, 4 runners each run a leg of a race, passing a baton to one another in an attempt to be the fastest relay team.
One feature of a relay is the baton hand-off does NOT occur at a stand-still. Rather the person running with the baton cues the next runner, who takes off and the baton exchange happens at sprint-speed.
This preserves the momentum generated and increases a team’s chance of winning.
Your patient journey is like a relay. Not in the sense of a sprint (you aren’t trying to go as fast as possible), but you are creating and preserving momentum as you go. When each person does their job properly – phones / front desk, techs, docs, surgery schedulers – they’re each setting the next person up for success.
And on the flip side, if someone is just going through the motions, it negatively affects the rest of the team and the patient as well.
Luka being on the floor benefits the Mavs directly and indirectly by creating more opportunities for other players. Your team needs to do the same as they lead patients through the journey in your office.
Which is why in our bootcamp we coach not only schedulers, but every patient-facing department you have. Because everyone needs to know their role and how it affects everyone else on the court or in the relay.
So as you observe your team today, keep this in mind. What area(s) is your “weakest link” in the relay? What do you need to do to get them up to speed and create the Luka Effect for your patients?
If you don’t know the answer to those questions, hit reply and let’s have a brief chat to get you some clarity.
Who knows what the overall anti-Luka Effect (him leaving) will be on the Mavs. But most of us are hoping for the best…
– Troy “Mavs Fan For Life” Cole
PS – While Luka is heading west to LA, I’m heading east to speak on Marketing Systems at the “Telling It Like It Is” meeting in Orlando next week. If you or someone from your practice will be there, let me know so we can meet up 💪🏼