Luka Doncic says he lost his smile on the pitch, Twitter blames Kyrie

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Luka Doncic says he hasn't been as happy on the pitch as before - and while he publicly cites personal issues... Twitter seems to blame Kyrie Irving.

The Dallas Mavericks PG spoke to the press on Friday night after the team's loss to the Charlotte Hornets - which actually drew boos from the home crowd...resulting in a scene somewhat ugly at the American Airlines Center. HC Jason Kidd said it was deserved.

There's a lot of criticism of the Mavs' lack of effort in this game...especially from their two big stars - Luka and Kyrie - who haven't gelled well since the arrival of KR.

When asked if it was as frustrated as he was, Luka answered bluntly... saying yes, then explaining that he felt his attitude towards the game had changed lately -- namely, he just isn't as excited to play and has effectively lost his love of basketball.

Reporters asked him to elaborate — as it sounds like a clear reference to Kyrie, as he seems to be the only big change in the Mavs organization lately — and Luka pivoted.

He said he was dealing with things off the pitch and suggested that's what was causing problems in his game. The internet, however, didn't believe that...and jumped to the conclusion that Luka was actually expressing thinly veiled frustration about his new teammate.

Kyrie also spoke to me...