With the #3 pick (!) in the 2018 draft, the Mavs get Luka Doncic

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Yep.

Luka Doncic: "I just think my legs are really tired, but it’s not an excuse." He has acknowledged that he's playing his way into shape after the short offseason.

[VA-Mavs-Fan]

I recall that Steve Nash became leaner, faster, quicker, when he became very serious about his off-season workouts. He realized that he was not a superior athlete compared to other guys in the NBA, so he had to work harder to become stronger, and leaner, etc.
I found this link https://www.nba.com/suns/blog/steve-...layer-workout#

IMO, like others have said, if Luka ever decides to commit to offseason workouts like Steve Nash, he will be unstoppable (e.g., imagine Luka, at 10 LBs lighter than he played last year, but stronger, quicker and with more endurance). Until then, he will be very good. Hopefully, he figures this out pretty quick

[VA-Mavs-Fan]

duplicate

[ChampsAgainShoon]

Originally Posted by VA-Mavs-Fan

I recall that Steve Nash became leaner, faster, quicker, when he became very serious about his off-season workouts. He realized that he was not a superior athlete compared to other guys in the NBA, so he had to work harder to become stronger, and leaner, etc.
I found this link https://www.nba.com/suns/blog/steve-...layer-workout#

IMO, like others have said, if Luka ever decides to commit to offseason workouts like Steve Nash, he will be unstoppable (e.g., imagine Luka, at 10 LBs lighter than he played last year, but stronger, quicker and with more endurance). Until then, he will be very good. Hopefully, he figures this out pretty quick

Agreed

Nash and Dirk are two of the biggest overachievers in NBA history because they just worked super hard. If Luka adds the work super hard he will be an unstoppable beast. To me he's James Harden without working super hard maybe slightly better, but he's potentially Lebron with working super hard.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by ChampsAgainShoon

Agreed

Nash and Dirk are two of the biggest overachievers in NBA history because they just worked super hard. If Luka adds the work super hard he will be an unstoppable beast. To me he's James Harden without working super hard maybe slightly better, but he's potentially Lebron with working super hard.

No matter how hard Luka works, I don't think his ceiling will ever be quite as high as Lebron's, because Lebron is probably the greatest physical specimen the sport has ever seen. That being said, I think Luka does have the potential to be a top 10 all time player. A guy who can win multiple championships and multiple MVPs.

[ChampsAgainShoon]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

No matter how hard Luka works, I don't think his ceiling will ever be quite as high as Lebron's, because Lebron is probably the greatest physical specimen the sport has ever seen. That being said, I think Luka does have the potential to be a top `0 all time player. A guy who can win multiple championships and multiple MVPs.

Yeah I mean he'll never be as athletic as Lebron, but I think he can be up there as far as success depending on how much he dedicates himself to his craft although reaching 10 finals is tough to beat. Larry Bird was not super athletic either, but he is around the top 10 all time and a dog and someone you want on your team, just a winner. I don't think Luka will ever be like Larry Bird in that aspect either, but from talent you're just born with he's probably more talented than Bird without being the assassin Bird is. OTTH, Bird was a better shooter and better defensively.

Getting a little off subject what I miss about the Mavs that I hope Luka and KP can bring back is those double digit win streaks during the regular season. It's a sign of dominance over the league and we haven't had it since Prime Dirk, haven't had one since the championship season. Every non-Mavs fan that pays close attention to the team acted shocked that we won the championship, but before Dirk's injury during that season we were the best team in the league record wise.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by ChampsAgainShoon

I don't think Luka will ever be like Larry Bird in that aspect either, but from talent you're just born with he's probably more talented than Bird without being the assassin Bird is. OTTH, Bird was a better shooter and better defensively.

I actually think Luka's ceiling might be just as high as Bird's. I think he might be every bit the "assassin" Bird was. Their skillsets are different, but Luka seems to have the same flare for the moment that all the greats do. If nothing else though, Luka might have advantage over Bird just by staying healthy. It's mostly been forgotten as the years have passed, but Bird actually had a pretty short career for an all-time great. He retired at 35, but his body started to break down while he was still in his prime. By 1988, he was in constant pain and could barely move. He sat out virtually all of '89 season, and in his last two years, he missed nearly half the games and spent many nights in the hospital in traction to rest his back, and then even when he wasn't missing games, he was wearing a back brace.

Medical science has come so far since the 80s, that as long as Luka doesn't destroy his back lifting cement for his grandmother's driveway, he should have a much longer career than Bird.

[VA-Mavs-Fan]

Nobody knows what Luka's ceiling is. It really depends on how hard he wants to work. For example, his physical fitness, and his 3 pt. shot are really the only things holding him back. Those are things that he can work very hard on during the offseason. Imagine Luka 10 LBs lighter than last year and stronger; and shooting, say, 39% from 3pt. At the beginning of the year, a couple of the commentators said if he can shoot better in 3 pt area (maybe just 35%), then Luka would likely be a 35-10-10 guy on most games. I tend to agree. Its really, how hard is Luka willing to work. I am not saying he would be the same player as Bird, or LeBron - but he would be an amazing version of Luka. That's what he and we want - for him to be the most amazing version of Luka. (that's true for all of us - we all want to be the best version of ourselves, constantly improving).

[sefant77]

Lukas ceiling is MVP, even as an average athlet

[Thespiralgoeson]

I'm absolutely loving Luka's midrange game so far this year. More of that, please.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

I'm absolutely loving Luka's midrange game so far this year. More of that, please.

YES! ANd bring back the mid range game in general. Gets so tiresome seeing these threes jacked up night in and night out. The Warriors super team is over. Let's bring back the 2 pt shot.

[mac222b]

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

YES! ANd bring back the mid range game in general. Gets so tiresome seeing these threes jacked up night in and night out. The Warriors super team is over. Let's bring back the 2 pt shot.

In favour, as long as it’s not Brunson shooting a long two off the bounce.

[MFFL]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

I'm absolutely loving Luka's midrange game so far this year. More of that, please.

I'll have a helping of that too please

[Thespiralgoeson]

This game up in the last GDT, I figured i'd bring it here. Hoping its a long term trend.

Originally Posted by mac222b

Luka’s defense looks much improved. Really impressed with his effort and smarts in that regard over these last few. Feeling like he could eventually be a real plus on that end if we get another ball handler scorer to lighten his load.

I was thinking the exact same thing these past two games. I always figured he had the potential to be a good defensive player. Not great, but good. Arguably the most important aspect of defense in today's NBA is versatility- i.e. being able to guard multiple positions and being able to switch. Luka's so big and strong that he can switch onto almost anyone and not be mismatched. A little like Jason Kidd back in the day. If he can apply his genius level basketball IQ to the defensive end the way he does on offense, then there's no reason he can't be an above average defender. The sample size is too small to judge yet, but the past couple of games looked like he's really starting to figure it out on defense- passing lanes in particular.

[Thespiralgoeson]

** double

[EricaLubarsky]

NBA Leaders in Clutch Scoring

Luka Doncic: 10.0 PPG
James Harden: 9.3 PPG
Damian Lillard: 7.3 PPG
Colin Sexton: 6.0 PPG
Christian Wood: 5.5 PPG

[EricaLubarsky]

NBA Leaders in Clutch Scoring

Luka Doncic: 10.0 PPG
James Harden: 9.3 PPG
Damian Lillard: 7.3 PPG
Colin Sexton: 6.0 PPG
Christian Wood: 5.5 PPG

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

NBA Leaders in Clutch Scoring

Luka Doncic: 10.0 PPG
James Harden: 9.3 PPG
Damian Lillard: 7.3 PPG
Colin Sexton: 6.0 PPG
Christian Wood: 5.5 PPG

Quite a turnaround from last year when the Mavs were among the worst or the very worst in clutch time.

[SMC0007]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

Quite a turnaround from last year when the Mavs were among the worst or the very worst in clutch time.

The 2 things Doncic needed to address was Free throw shooting and late game mgmt. I think he has done that so far or at least is well on his way.

He wasn't in great shape to start but I'd trade the progress he has made in those 2 areas over being ripped and elite conditioned.

[Thespiralgoeson]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlH_e7q2jwg

Really nice breakdown of Luka's improved defense.

[Thespiralgoeson]

double**

[Thespiralgoeson]

I'm not much of an advanced numbers guy, so maybe someone else can do a deeper analysis than me, but so far it does look like Luka's improved defense is showing up in the analytics.

Last year Luka was at 110 DRtg, this year so far he's at 101. Last year he was at 1.0 DBPM, this year he's at 1.8.

[Thespiralgoeson]

I'm not much of an advanced numbers guy, so maybe someone else can do a deeper analysis than me, but so far it does look like Luka's improved defense is showing up in the analytics.

Last year Luka was at 110 DRtg, this year so far he's at 101. Last year he was at 1.0 DBPM, this year he's at 1.8.

[EricaLubarsky]

Is it just me or does Luka look really trim?

[EricaLubarsky]

Is it just me or does Luka look really trim?

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

Is it just me or does Luka look really trim?

He's a young pup. When you're 21 years old, you get yourself into shape in a few weeks. Me? I've been trying to lose the same ten pounds for about five years.

[EricaLubarsky]

[Thespiralgoeson]

https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2021/1...ning-after-nba

When Luka Doncic is this good, the Mavericks are unbeatable

Doncic has taken his defense to another level the last week or so and the Mavericks are a different, better team for it.

By Josh Bowe@Boweman55 Jan 14, 2021, 9:00am CST

There was a play, with only a minute or so left in the second quarter that caught my eye. The Mavericks were well on their way to thumping the Charlotte Hornets, when the Mavericks defense forced a loose ball on a Gordon Hayward drive.

From there, Luka Doncic dove to the ground and not only saved the ball from going out of bounds, but managed to tap it to a teammate in one motion, which started the Mavericks own fastbreak. Trey Burke calmly canned a triple at the other end of the floor to push the Dallas lead to 17.


It wasn’t the best play of Luka’s young career — not even close. Even so, it felt different. It certainly felt like a Luka that was lightyears from the Luka that started the season.

After the first game of the season, that loss to the Suns which felt like many years ago, it was evident that Doncic was not ready to start the season. The Mavericks star looked sluggish, slow and off. This wasn’t a troll, it was just what everyone saw when the Mavericks started their season with a string of disappointing losses.

I mentioned in my write up that in the NBA, teams will only go as far as stars will take them. It doesn’t matter what the offseason moves are or how the role players perform, if your star doesn’t have it on a given night, your team likely won’t either. That’s not unique to Doncic, it’s just true for every star in this league.

So consider Wednesday night a complete reversal. Doncic didn’t look slow or sluggish. He looked engaged, feisty even. The level of defensive intensity seen from Doncic during the Mavericks four game winning streak is something we, quite frankly, haven’t seen from him since he arrived in Dallas in the summer of 2018. Sure, we’ve seen glimpses — blocking LeBron James in his rookie year — but nothing this sustained, this consistent, this forceful. Doncic took this game and shoved it down the Hornets throats. His teammates followed.

“When Luka and KP are invested on defense, everybody falls in line,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said after the game.

That has never felt more true. While it’s still extremely early to make any grand conclusions, the Mavericks are third in the NBA in defensive rating, allowing 106.2 points per 100 possessions, and have held five opponents to under 100 points, something that didn’t happen too often last season. The Mavericks had a staggering 12 blocks and eight steals against the Hornets, the type of difference-making defensive plays the team just wasn’t capable of in the last few years. When your star, your rock that carries your entire offense, leads the way with four blocks and two steals of his own, it trickles down to the rest of the team. Consider he gave this effort on a night where he only went to the free throw line two times. Last season or weeks ago, if that happens we’re watching Doncic bark at officials while he leaves his teammates out to dry in transition. That was no where to be found against the Hornets.

This is corny and cliché, but this stuff matters. “The way you win championships is to play defense,” Doncic said after the game, putting it succinctly. When your star is locked in, everyone else will follow his lead. That’s how this works.

It feels wild to write almost 600 words on Doncic in a big win and not even mention his offense. He was great on that end too, with 34 points on 14-of-25 shooting and nine assists. Doncic seems to be in command of his game inside the arc, as he canned a couple more mid-range shots, along with his usual brilliance near the basket. He even made threes! That 5-of-9 mark was a sight for sore eyes, especially when you consider the majority of those fives makes were not of the step-back variety. Doncic stepped into more threes Tuesday night than he has all season, it felt like. A great sign.
Imagine how much damage the Mavericks would have done defensively if they had Josh Richardson, Dorian Finney-Smith and Maxi Kleber. This might have been a Clippers-level laugher if all three of them were active.
Kleber being out took away some of the drama behind a Kristaps Porzingis return, as it made sense to just slide him in for Kleber next to Willie Cauley-Stein. The duo combined for five of the Mavericks 12 blocks and just absolutely shut down anything the Hornets guard-heavy attack tried. Cauley-Stein is playing the best basketball of his career and the 14 rebounds, three blocks and one steal constitute one of his best outings in what is suddenly becoming a season of sparkling nights. I’m not sure what Carlisle does when Kleber returns, as the Porzingis/Kleber fit makes the most sense considering the success of their two big lineups, but if the only way you can coax engaged, competitive play out of Cauley-Stein is to start him, maybe you just ride that wave for as long as possible. Plus, Kleber’s shooting makes him a more malleable player — he can work well with the starting group or the bench. Cauley-Stein played 30 minutes and only had one foul, which is extremely rare for him.

This was about as good a showing for Porzingis as you can expect. He struggled a bit inside the three point line but finished 4-of-9 from three and moved very well, except for an awkward landing in the first half where he appeared to tweak an ankle. Thankfully, it didn’t bother him the rest of the game. It was a perfect game for Porzingis to return, because the tallest player to play for the Hornets outside of the 6’9 Bismack Biyombo was 6’7 P.J. Washington. There wasn’t a bunch of roughhousing in the paint, since the Hornets very much run all their offense through their many talented guards and wings. So really, all Porzingis had to do was chill out and spot up on offense and then rotate and guard drives to the rim on defense. There was a stretch in the second half where he made consecutive left corner threes and he was so open each time they felt like warm-up shots. The overall preseason feel of this game, due to the Mavericks dominance, was great for Porzingis to ease back in. His rim protection was sorely needed and when the Mavericks get the rest of their guys back, Dallas’ defense is only going to get better from what we saw Tuesday night.

Wes Iwundu was rewarded for his good effort against the Magic with a start against the Hornets and, well, it wasn’t great. He managed to score this time, but only went 1-of-7 from the field and seemed frighteningly skittish to shoot the open threes he received. I’m still glad he started though, because he deserved it after helping in the Orlando win. Josh Green came off the bench and for the first time all season, Carlisle allowed him to play through his mistakes. He got extended minutes in each of the halves, which let him settle in, calm down and finally make some plays. His stat line won’t wow you, but he had a nice alley-oop pass to Cauley-Stein (who finally finished one) and made some great hustle plays on the boards, in addition to finishing a couple plays near the rim on offense. Funny enough, both his alley-oops were layups and I almost wonder if he’s petrified of making any flashy mistakes, so he’s doing layups instead of dunks. Either way it was a good showing and honestly, the less discourse about Green, the better. It got out of hand after the Orlando game and we just simply need to sit back and see Green get more minutes. He’s an extremely raw player that needs time.

Luka’s brilliance sort of overshadowed how mediocre the Mavericks were on offense, scoring just 104 points on 41.7 percent shooting from the field and just 32.6 percent from three. Who are these Mavericks, winning games with defense? This can’t be!

[Scoobay]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

that's a crazy illustration

Luka #1 for defensive points saved?
and #1 for offense?

wonder how that compares historically with other players in their 3rd year of their career?

[MFFL]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

He's a young pup. When you're 21 years old, you get yourself into shape in a few weeks. Me? I've been trying to lose the same ten pounds for about five years.

Yeah - when you get as old as me, the goal is to somehow slow the gain

[FreshJive]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

Bagley not doing so hot.

[EricaLubarsky]

Originally Posted by FreshJive

Bagley not doing so hot.

With only Ayton gone, the Kings took Bagley with Doncic, Young, Bridges, SGA, and Sexton still available.

I mean I’m really glad they did, but man. What a terrible draft for them.

[FreshJive]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

With only Ayton gone, the Kings took Bagley with Doncic, Young, Bridges, SGA, and Sexton still available.

I mean I’m really glad they did, but man. What a terrible draft for them.

It's wild that Bridges has turned out to be such a standout in what was supposed to be such a stacked class. I remember thinking that might be who the Mavs might end up with, and being fine with that at the time.

[Thespiralgoeson]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

I'm pretty sure this is the pass she's talking about. https://youtu.be/HQSjUU0_9N8?t=1564

Also, I'm convinced that any American who thought Luka wasn't BY FAR the best player in the 2018 draft not only was ignorant of how good the competition is in Europe, but also simply hadn't seen him play.

If you haven't actually watched footage of him playing in Europe, please do yourself a favor and watch some. I've been binge watching his footage with Real Madrid and the Slovenian national team since yesterday, and I'm simply blown away. He was absolutely jaw-dropping. A game-winner here, a half-court shot there... If an American kid in the NCAA was even 75% as good as Luka was in Europe, that hype around that kid would approach Lebron levels.

I don't know what the hell we did to deserve this young man, but I'm soooooo grateful that 3 teams were ignorant or just plain stupid enough to pass on him. We Mavs fans have been truly blessed by the basketball gods.

He did that same pass last night to KP. This is just sick.

https://youtu.be/6dxqB6WFWZA?t=30

[mac222b]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

He did that same pass last night to KP. This is just sick.

https://youtu.be/6dxqB6WFWZA?t=30

Badass pass. Wish they showed another angle as well.

[Scoobay]

Originally Posted by mac222b

Badass pass. Wish they showed another angle as well.

whoever that was defending Josh Green <?> in the corner needed to drop down to cover KP and leave Green open in the corner. The guy covering Hardaway would have been the other option but probably was told to stay home on Hardaway the more dangerous shooter.

Now maybe KP gets the pass still and just shoots over him but if you're the Pacers that's poor defense and underestimating Luka to think they can just blitz him and he's not going to find the open guy.

[EricaLubarsky]

https://www.espn.com/radio/play/_/id/30822146


[ESPN] Zach Lowe: "Luka has become one of the biggest whiners in the NBA. It's constant, every time he drives he is whining. He spent so much energy whining to the referees and slumping his shoulders to teammates, it sucked the life of the team many times"

[Quantum]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

https://www.espn.com/radio/play/_/id/30822146


[ESPN] Zach Lowe: "Luka has become one of the biggest whiners in the NBA. It's constant, every time he drives he is whining. He spent so much energy whining to the referees and slumping his shoulders to teammates, it sucked the life of the team many times"

Anyone here able to tell me how things were when he played over seas? Was he the same? Is the game or referees different over there?

I agree with Luka that calls maybe very inconsistent and seem unfair...even to the point that he very well might feel targeted by the refs...but someone needs to sit him down and tell him this is the way it is unfortunately. The complaining after what seems like every possession is a bad look and he will get hive-mind shamed for it. He is right though

[Melonhead]

Originally Posted by EricaLubarsky

https://www.espn.com/radio/play/_/id/30822146


[ESPN] Zach Lowe: "Luka has become one of the biggest whiners in the NBA. It's constant, every time he drives he is whining. He spent so much energy whining to the referees and slumping his shoulders to teammates, it sucked the life of the team many times"

Just popping to say we told you so to the posters that acted like we overreacted to Lukas constant complaining and mopey body language.

[SMC0007]

Originally Posted by Melonhead

Just popping to say we told you so to the posters that acted like we overreacted to Lukas constant complaining and mopey body language.

Noted. I gotcha down for 1 told ya so! But you wrote "just popping to say". Imo "just popping IN to say..." would have been best, so I award you half credit for it.

B+