hugepatsfan wrote:I do find it interesting the idea that the trade is going to motivate him to get into shape and play harder and all that... last offseason he lost in the finals and the world was clowning him for looking like a flat slob in a lot of the gameplay (even if very good statistically). That didn't motivate him. He flopped on the biggest stage and the whole basketball media was going on rants about him being a lazy, whiny, fat guy who didn't play winning basketball and he didn't seem to change at all last year. But the trade is going to motivate him now?
IDK, maybe it does. I think it's more likely that Luka is wired the way he's wired and he'll continue to be great, no not just great - AMAZING, but despite those flaws.
Most likely my POV is biased because I live in Spain and Luka is Real Madrid's trophy. That said, I rarely read/listen to "official" media so the Doncic n*thugging is not that obvious. Some of them are pretty critical, actually. Or, like me, are Barça supporters.
Anyway: what reached me matches what I watched myself in the Finals. The Celtics were way, way better and Luka was a shell of himself.
Teams play poker with their opponents and never show their cards. But, in this series, Luka had an ice bag tied to his knee and his lower back wrapped up before the games. He was injured, period.
But the wrap-up of the PS was that the Mavs had no business reaching the Finals, Luka led them through two tough series (Shai maybe played better, though) and annihilated the Wolves.
All that being injured, or compromised, to an extent only he and the medical staff knows.
But Luka being an absolute killer that raises his game in the biggest stage is... I thought a shared, almost consensual view on him.
I mean, he already led the Mavs to to the WCF in '22 beating the Suns, and game 7 in Phoenix is legendary with him scoring more points at half time that all the Suns combined.
