Luka Doncic has officially entered the MVP race

[Some smartguy]

Do you actually think that that a 15 game sample size of Harden shooting poorly is evidence of anything? Especially when we know he was actively trying to get traded.

Everyone who knows anything about basketball knows Harden is a good 3 point shooter for his career and Luka is a bad one.

Yes, Harden has been a better shooter than Luka for his career. But then again, Luka has been playing for less than 2-and-a-quarter years. When James was 21, he shot .349%. Luka will most likely reach that mark or be very close to it by the end of the year. Great job saying that everyone knows a 21-year-old at the start of his career is a bad shooter.

What does age have to do with anything?

Were not grading on a curve. Maybe someday Luka will be a good shooter.

Right now he certainly is not.

James has made 6 more 3's this season in 5 more attempts. That's not a huge difference.

[Grumpy Heat Fan]

To Maverick fans :

Would the Mavericks be interested in Goran Dragic from the Heat?

A big 3 of Dragic, Doncic, Porzingis

[J_T]

Again basing this off a season where Harden was purposely trying to force his way out of Houston?

Not to mention that defensive stats are useless and prove nothing.

Were you asleep during the playoffs last year when the Clippers purposely targeted Luka all series?

Anything besides stanning for Luka to you is trolling.

LMAO. So, defence proves nothing? Then Rudy Gobert is a bum and Kawhi is an average player. Were you asleep when Luka had 43/17/13 against the Clippers who were, as you put it, "purposely targeting him." Look at last year's stats too, not a single one showing Harden as a better defender than 21-year-old Luka this year.

Nice strawman.

I didn't say defense proves nothing. I said "defensive stats" like D Rating are useless.

What does offense have to do with being targeted on defense. By that logic, Trae Young must be a DPOY.

Luka is not a good defensive player. Stop being such a homer and try looking at things objectively.

Don't quote "strawman" when you yourself got caught in some bad logic there. Even if true that Doncic was targeted on D, that doesn't mean that it's because of bad D. You CLAIM that it's because of bad D, but it could have been also because everyone except you knows that it's good to target offensive juggernauts on D, if nothing else just to tire them. But if they happen to get a few extra personal fouls during the process, even better. It's the main reason why top Clippers guns were not defending Luka as much as people thought they would.

But I understand that this concept might be slightly above your pay grade.

[J_T]

To Maverick fans :

Would the Mavericks be interested in Goran Dragic from the Heat?

A big 3 of Dragic, Doncic, Porzingis

James Johnson for Goran Dragic, deal.

[Some smartguy]

To Maverick fans :

Would the Mavericks be interested in Goran Dragic from the Heat?

A big 3 of Dragic, Doncic, Porzingis

Meh, depends on who it's for. He doesn't really fit the timeline, but he'd be a good vet and another Euro player to add to the collection

[Grumpy Heat Fan]

To Maverick fans :

Would the Mavericks be interested in Goran Dragic from the Heat?

A big 3 of Dragic, Doncic, Porzingis

Meh, depends on who it's for. He doesn't really fit the timeline, but he'd be a good vet and another Euro player to add to the collection

Dragic and Doncic play for Slovenia and already have insane chemistry. Look at this clip from last year.

Watch on YouTube

[Muha_i_samolet]

>35yo Dragic
>KP
>Big 3
bruh...

[Hello Brooklyn]

LMAO. So, defence proves nothing? Then Rudy Gobert is a bum and Kawhi is an average player. Were you asleep when Luka had 43/17/13 against the Clippers who were, as you put it, "purposely targeting him." Look at last year's stats too, not a single one showing Harden as a better defender than 21-year-old Luka this year.

Nice strawman.

I didn't say defense proves nothing. I said "defensive stats" like D Rating are useless.

What does offense have to do with being targeted on defense. By that logic, Trae Young must be a DPOY.

Luka is not a good defensive player. Stop being such a homer and try looking at things objectively.

Don't quote "strawman" when you yourself got caught in some bad logic there. Even if true that Doncic was targeted on D, that doesn't mean that it's because of bad D. You CLAIM that it's because of bad D, but it could have been also because everyone except you knows that it's good to target offensive juggernauts on D, if nothing else just to tire them. But if they happen to get a few extra personal fouls during the process, even better. It's the main reason why top Clippers guns were not defending Luka as much as people thought they would.

But I understand that this concept might be slightly above your pay grade.

I don't see teams targeting KD or LeBron on defense even though they are excellent offensive players. Clearly Luka is a weak defender and was exploited on that end.

But then you have the audacity to accuse me of faulty logic when you can't even understand basic defensive tactics.

And I saw plenty of Kawhi and PG on Luka, idk what you were watching.

Must be above my "pay grade."

What a pretentious thing to say to someone you know nothing about.

[J_T]

Nice strawman.

I didn't say defense proves nothing. I said "defensive stats" like D Rating are useless.

What does offense have to do with being targeted on defense. By that logic, Trae Young must be a DPOY.

Luka is not a good defensive player. Stop being such a homer and try looking at things objectively.

Don't quote "strawman" when you yourself got caught in some bad logic there. Even if true that Doncic was targeted on D, that doesn't mean that it's because of bad D. You CLAIM that it's because of bad D, but it could have been also because everyone except you knows that it's good to target offensive juggernauts on D, if nothing else just to tire them. But if they happen to get a few extra personal fouls during the process, even better. It's the main reason why top Clippers guns were not defending Luka as much as people thought they would.

But I understand that this concept might be slightly above your pay grade.

I don't see teams targeting KD or LeBron on defense even though they are excellent offensive players. Clearly Luka is a weak defender and was exploited on that end.

But then you have the audacity to accuse me of faulty logic when you can't even understand basic defensive tactics.

And I saw plenty of Kawhi and PG on Luka, idk what you were watching.

Must be above my "pay grade."

What a pretentious thing to say to someone you know nothing about.

Not only that I have the audacity to call you out for your lack of proper reasoning and less than stellar showing of reading comprehension, but I will continue doing so.

It's funny to me that out of all players you mention KD and Lebron. Why funny? Because they are probably the worst examples you could have come up with in the entire league. These players have NEVER been the only serious offensive threat on their team. They only play on super teams. Clearly if you are playing a super team, this strategy will not work. Let me know if you want me to draw this out for you.

Oh and there's another "strawman" in your post, third strawman in your two last posts. You saw "plenty" of Kawhi and PG on Luka? How exactly does that contradict my statement, which was "top Clippers guns were not defending Luka as much as people thought they would". I'll tell you how - it doesn't. You are just presenting my statement like it was "Kawhi and PG haven't defended Luka at all." Typical and very obvious example of strawman fallacy. Both of them combined defended him 40% of the time and neither of them was the primary defender on Luka. This is the actual DATA, it kind of has higher value than your eye test.

[Hello Brooklyn]

Don't quote "strawman" when you yourself got caught in some bad logic there. Even if true that Doncic was targeted on D, that doesn't mean that it's because of bad D. You CLAIM that it's because of bad D, but it could have been also because everyone except you knows that it's good to target offensive juggernauts on D, if nothing else just to tire them. But if they happen to get a few extra personal fouls during the process, even better. It's the main reason why top Clippers guns were not defending Luka as much as people thought they would.

But I understand that this concept might be slightly above your pay grade.

I don't see teams targeting KD or LeBron on defense even though they are excellent offensive players. Clearly Luka is a weak defender and was exploited on that end.

But then you have the audacity to accuse me of faulty logic when you can't even understand basic defensive tactics.

And I saw plenty of Kawhi and PG on Luka, idk what you were watching.

Must be above my "pay grade."

What a pretentious thing to say to someone you know nothing about.

Not only that I have the audacity to call you out for your lack of proper reasoning and less than stellar showing of reading comprehension, but I will continue doing so.

It's funny to me that out of all players you mention KD and Lebron. Why funny? Because they are probably the worst examples you could have come up with in the entire league. These players have NEVER been the only serious offensive threat on their team. They only play on super teams. Clearly if you are playing a super team, this strategy will not work. Let me know if you want me to draw this out for you.

Oh and there's another "strawman" in your post, third strawman in your two last posts. You saw "plenty" of Kawhi and PG on Luka? How exactly does that contradict my statement, which was "top Clippers guns were not defending Luka as much as people thought they would". I'll tell you how - it doesn't. You are just presenting my statement like it was "Kawhi and PG haven't defended Luka at all." Typical and very obvious example of strawman fallacy. Both of them combined defended him 40% of the time and neither of them was the primary defender on Luka. This is the actual DATA, it kind of has higher value than your eye test.

Seriously?

LeBron only played on Super Teams. Were you asleep the first 7 years of his career? I don't remember him ever being targeted.

You want more examples of players who don't play on super teams?

Kawhi on the Raptors, Giannis, Embiid, Butler.

Maybe they all just play on "super teams." Or maybe just may they're just good defensive players. Such a crazy concept for you, I know.

Not to mention that Luka plays with an All Star level player who put up 20 a night last year. And was averaging 24 pts on 53% shooting and 53% from the 3 in the playoffs.

This was far better than the Clippers 2nd best player Paul George.

And Luka was still being targeted when Porzingis was playing. But I guess that doesn't count as an "offensive threat"

But go ahead continue to attack my "pay grade" and my "reading comprehension" because you can't seem to form a cogent argument.

I think you are far better suited for the ad hominem attacks.

[giannis and 1]

He's in the MVP race but I don't think he is a top 5 player.

[J_T]

I don't see teams targeting KD or LeBron on defense even though they are excellent offensive players. Clearly Luka is a weak defender and was exploited on that end.

But then you have the audacity to accuse me of faulty logic when you can't even understand basic defensive tactics.

And I saw plenty of Kawhi and PG on Luka, idk what you were watching.

Must be above my "pay grade."

What a pretentious thing to say to someone you know nothing about.

Not only that I have the audacity to call you out for your lack of proper reasoning and less than stellar showing of reading comprehension, but I will continue doing so.

It's funny to me that out of all players you mention KD and Lebron. Why funny? Because they are probably the worst examples you could have come up with in the entire league. These players have NEVER been the only serious offensive threat on their team. They only play on super teams. Clearly if you are playing a super team, this strategy will not work. Let me know if you want me to draw this out for you.

Oh and there's another "strawman" in your post, third strawman in your two last posts. You saw "plenty" of Kawhi and PG on Luka? How exactly does that contradict my statement, which was "top Clippers guns were not defending Luka as much as people thought they would". I'll tell you how - it doesn't. You are just presenting my statement like it was "Kawhi and PG haven't defended Luka at all." Typical and very obvious example of strawman fallacy. Both of them combined defended him 40% of the time and neither of them was the primary defender on Luka. This is the actual DATA, it kind of has higher value than your eye test.

Seriously?

LeBron only played on Super Teams. Were you asleep the first 7 years of his career? I don't remember him ever being targeted.

You want more examples of players who don't play on super teams?

Kawhi on the Raptors, Giannis, Embiid, Butler.

Maybe they all just play on "super teams." Or maybe just may they're just good defensive players. Such a crazy concept for you, I know.

Not to mention that Luka plays with an All Star level player who put up 20 a night last year. And was averaging 24 pts on 53% shooting and 53% from the 3 in the playoffs.

This was far better than the Clippers 2nd best player Paul George.

And Luka was still being targeted when Porzingis was playing. But I guess that doesn't count as an "offensive threat"

But go ahead continue to attack my "pay grade" and my "reading comprehension" because you can't seem to form a cogent argument.

I think you are far better suited for the ad hominem attacks.

Buddy... you are WAY out of your league. I am reading your posts like a wolf in front of 3 little pigs' house. Oh, boy, where to start...

Strawman fallacy example number 4: you mentioning Kawhi, Giannis, Embiid and Butler. Why? Because I didn't see anyone arguing that Luka was the one of the best defensive players in the league during last playoffs. If that WAS the claim, then your argument would make sense. But since nobody has claimed that, you are either arguing in bad faith (moving the goalpost fallacy) or you simply lack ability for logical argumentation.

Another thing I will teach you about logical thinking is that you have no clue what "ad hominem" attack is. You just heard it somewhere and now you are throwing it out there, hoping to impress somebody, just like you have done with "strawman" fallacy. If you feel I have insulted you, that would NOT be an example of ad hominem. Ad hominem fallacy is if I said "Your argument about who the best player in NBA is, is invalid, because you are from Sweden." If I just insult you, that's not ad hominem fallacy - it's just an insult. None of my arguments were presented by supporting them with my opinion of you.

And last thing, who is this second AS player that you are talking about? Is that the same guy that played only half of the games in the playoffs and was ejected in another one? Again, there is thing called DATA, that you have major difficulties with... it always seems to be going against you. Do you know who was defending KP most minutes during those 2.5 games that KP did actually manage to play? That's right, it was Kawhi Leonard, one minute and 7 seconds longer than the second defender. Per minute Kawhi defended KP for longer than he did Luka.

Just stop, please. It's not because of me. I enjoy this. And it's not too hard, I am mostly just presenting statistical facts that are very unfortunate for your hot takes. Your best way out of this is to write something how you are not going to waste any more time with me, because I don't understand anything. There are still a few people around that will believe it, but not for long.

[Texas Chuck]

.

[DrCoach]

Mavs have a terrible record. No MVP

It's 13 games into the season and 6 of their top 8 players have missed the majority of the games so far.

And yet, hey still have a horrible record...No MVP

[leo7]

This guy is shooting 28% from 3 and 75% from the line. Yet he still puts up big numbers. Just crazy.

Would be cool if Ben Simmons can become this type of player. I don't think its possible though.

[LoneyROY]

I thought Luka was better than Harden though, according to RealGM poll...?

I'm confused. So...you're wow'd by Harden 34/6/12, but not by Luka averaging better than that with better defense over a 6 game stretch? Luka is better than Harden.

Imagine actually thinking Luka is better than Harden.

They have similar playstyles...except Harden is faster, stronger, just far more explosive in general, and a better shooter. Real tough call.

Oh, and you know what Harden is averaging this year outside of the 5-game stretch in which he purposely tanked to get out of Houston? 35/12/7. It ain't close.

[TheBonzaiEffect]

I thought Luka was better than Harden though, according to RealGM poll...?

I'm confused. So...you're wow'd by Harden 34/6/12, but not by Luka averaging better than that with better defense over a 6 game stretch? Luka is better than Harden.

Imagine actually thinking Luka is better than Harden.

They have similar playstyles...except Harden is faster, stronger, just far more explosive in general, and a better shooter. Real tough call.

Oh, and you know what Harden is averaging this year outside of the 5-game stretch in which he purposely tanked to get out of Houston? 35/12/7. It ain't close.

You mean the TWO game sample size? Which is worse than Luka's SIX game sample size?

Imagine thinking Harden is better than Luka when Luka has a better PER, BPM, and VORP.

[TheBonzaiEffect]

Mavs have a terrible record. No MVP

It's 13 games into the season and 6 of their top 8 players have missed the majority of the games so far.

And yet, hey still have a horrible record...No MVP

6-7 is a "horrible" record?

Guess the Heat, Raptors, and Nuggets are all horrible too.

Never mind the SOS they've played. Or missing 3 starters and two more rotation players. Or only 3 games of KP. Great take!

[Lockdown504090]

LMAO. So, defence proves nothing? Then Rudy Gobert is a bum and Kawhi is an average player. Were you asleep when Luka had 43/17/13 against the Clippers who were, as you put it, "purposely targeting him." Look at last year's stats too, not a single one showing Harden as a better defender than 21-year-old Luka this year.

Nice strawman.

I didn't say defense proves nothing. I said "defensive stats" like D Rating are useless.

What does offense have to do with being targeted on defense. By that logic, Trae Young must be a DPOY.

Luka is not a good defensive player. Stop being such a homer and try looking at things objectively.

Don't quote "strawman" when you yourself got caught in some bad logic there. Even if true that Doncic was targeted on D, that doesn't mean that it's because of bad D. You CLAIM that it's because of bad D, but it could have been also because everyone except you knows that it's good to target offensive juggernauts on D, if nothing else just to tire them. But if they happen to get a few extra personal fouls during the process, even better. It's the main reason why top Clippers guns were not defending Luka as much as people thought they would.

But I understand that this concept might be slightly above your pay grade.

luka is bad at a couple things on D that ive noticed. he doesnt guard guards at all, hes too slow. He doesnt have the hands of a guy like jokic, and he just is good at using his heavy base against power players. He is an excellent target for a guy like dennis shroder or victor oladipo who likes to get a head of steam and blow by.

Harden is a better defender than luka and using stats for this season is kinda unfair given the drama. Harden has quicker feet, better hands, and great hands with the same good strength based defense as luka.

some same defenders that will blow by luka will also blow by harden as well, but harden has a better chance of picking up a steal or forcing them to do something stupid or contesting their pullup J.

[Jabroni Lames]

Raptors put Luka in a Box & 1 last game, which really seemed to frustrate him. Is that a Luka stopping strategy going forward?