Thoughts on this reddit post about Luka's athletic regression?

Marvin Martian · Post #1 » by **Marvin Martian** » Thu Mar 13, 2025 12:02 am

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/Tdnhju2Rir

I know it's reddit but it makes an excellent point. Luka is a 26 year old playing like someone in his mid 30s.

Due to his diminished athleticism, he is becoming more like Harden in terms of playstyle instead of Lebron

He is still young enough to turn it around though

zero rings · Post #2 » by **zero rings** » Thu Mar 13, 2025 12:19 am

It’s a major concern. A few years ago he was one of the best drivers in the game. Now he’s pretty much just a tough shot maker, which isn’t good when you’re a streaky shooter to begin with.

Hopefully he comes into next season in the best shape of his life. If not, I’m probably giving up on him as an all time great.

ballzboyee · Post #3 » by **ballzboyee** » Thu Mar 13, 2025 12:26 am

I have already predicted that Luka will have a short prime. If he is still in league, unless something drastic changes in terms of his conditioning, I believe his value as first option on a playoff team will be greatly diminished by the time he is 32 and possibly he could see his role changed by then entirely. You know that's a lot of basketball for a wing that struggles with his weight and is very high usage. That being said, those numbers posted on that thread don't mean anything.

Dr Aki · Post #4 » by **Dr Aki** » Thu Mar 13, 2025 12:26 am

Nico did nothing wrong

Sofia · Post #5 » by **Sofia** » Thu Mar 13, 2025 12:28 am

Was he not always more like Harden than Lebron in play style?

zero rings · Post #6 » by **zero rings** » Thu Mar 13, 2025 12:39 am

Sofia wrote:Was he not always more like Harden than Lebron in play style?

The problem is he’s playing like 35 year old Harden at 25.

sp6r=underrated · Post #7 » by **sp6r=underrated** » Thu Mar 13, 2025 12:42 am

There were 2 components to trading Luka
1. Dallas deciding to trade Luka.
2. Dallas deciding to accept LA's package after deciding to trade Luka.

The former was wrong but you can at least understand the thinking. The later is deranged and will never make sense.

levon · Post #8 » by **levon** » Thu Mar 13, 2025 12:50 am

He clearly looks hurt to me and it has nothing to do with his drive frequency but his burst on dribble moves. In his first game with LA he tried the really fast shotgun dribble move and it looked like normal Luka, and he hasn't gone back to it since. His pullback shots have been slow and when he gets into the paint, he's pump faking way too much because he doesn't trust his shot, maybe because he doesn't trust his legs? He's playing with evident tentativeness, at least to me.

Jazz9 · Post #9 » by **Jazz9** » Thu Mar 13, 2025 12:52 am

Luka was never athletic or playing like LeBron (come on now..) but he absolutely has regressed athletically, and quickly, since he's been in the NBA.
Still it didn't matter much until recently. I mean he was kinda slow in 23/24 but had an awesome year all the same.

As a Laker though....my god is he slow.
His drives are just hilariously bad, zero separation, can't shake anyone, moves like an elderly on defense, runs out of gas after a light run...
Yeah he's been injured but he's been back for a month already and has shown no sign of getting better.

uberhikari · Post #10 » by **uberhikari** » Thu Mar 13, 2025 12:53 am

zero rings wrote:
Sofia wrote:Was he not always more like Harden than Lebron in play style?

The problem is he’s playing like 35 year old Harden at 25.

Yes, the guy who averaged 34-9-10 last year in the RS and 29-10-8 in the PS while leading his team to the Finals is playing like 35 year old Harden.

Maybe Luka's prime is over at 26 years old. Or, and stick with me here, or he's injured/rusty from injury.

Jimmy Recard · Post #11 » by **Jimmy Recard** » Thu Mar 13, 2025 12:54 am

Watching him struggle to get by Al Horford who’s pushing 40 every time he had him on an island was pretty concerning I gotta say

zero rings · Post #12 » by **zero rings** » Thu Mar 13, 2025 1:00 am

uberhikari wrote:
zero rings wrote:
Sofia wrote:Was he not always more like Harden than Lebron in play style?

The problem is he’s playing like 35 year old Harden at 25.

Yes, the guy who averaged 34-9-10 last year in the RS and 29-10-8 in the PS while leading his team to the Finals is playing like 35 year old Harden.

Maybe Luka's prime is over at 26 years old. Or, and stick with me here, or he's injured/rusty from injury.

Even last year he got to the rim and the free throw line at a career low rate. His efficiency was buoyed by a career year from 3, but 3 pt shooting can be fickle.

As for his injuries, yeah, he’s always injured because he’s carrying 20+ extra pounds.

MrGoat · Post #13 » by **MrGoat** » Thu Mar 13, 2025 1:03 am

The Lakers were stupid to even play him against the Nets with a shorthanded team, I called it out in the gamethread before it transpired. It was the 2nd night of a back to back and he looked 50% at best the game before. The guy led the league in total minutes last season counting playoffs and still played international ball. He also takes a beating because he has one of the worst whistles you'll ever see for a superstar, you got to give him a rest when you have the chance, that wasn't a must win game and it sometimes doesn't hurt to give the other guys some burn.

Sutterer even called out that Luka has back issues right now when addressing LeBron's injury

Watch on YouTube

He stopped dunking last year because he started playing defense too, that's why the Mavs went to the Finals. But it takes a lot out of him to have to do so much on both ends

uberhikari · Post #14 » by **uberhikari** » Thu Mar 13, 2025 1:03 am

zero rings wrote:
uberhikari wrote:
zero rings wrote:
The problem is he’s playing like 35 year old Harden at 25.

Yes, the guy who averaged 34-9-10 last year in the RS and 29-10-8 in the PS while leading his team to the Finals is playing like 35 year old Harden.

Maybe Luka's prime is over at 26 years old. Or, and stick with me here, or he's injured/rusty from injury.

Even last year he got to the rim and the free throw line at a career low rate. His efficiency was buoyed by a career year from 3, but 3 pt shooting can be fickle.

As for his injuries, yeah, he’s always injured because he’s carrying 20+ extra pounds.

How a player gets their points is irrelevant. How you get your points is how you get them. Play style is irrelevant to how well you play.

zero rings · Post #15 » by **zero rings** » Thu Mar 13, 2025 1:17 am

uberhikari wrote:
zero rings wrote:
uberhikari wrote:
Yes, the guy who averaged 34-9-10 last year in the RS and 29-10-8 in the PS while leading his team to the Finals is playing like 35 year old Harden.

Maybe Luka's prime is over at 26 years old. Or, and stick with me here, or he's injured/rusty from injury.

Even last year he got to the rim and the free throw line at a career low rate. His efficiency was buoyed by a career year from 3, but 3 pt shooting can be fickle.

As for his injuries, yeah, he’s always injured because he’s carrying 20+ extra pounds.

How a player gets their points is irrelevant. How you get your points is how you get them. Play style is irrelevant to how well you play.

It matters when your efficiency falls off a cliff, as it has for Luka this year.

He needs to get back to driving the ball and finishing strong. If it’s just step back three or bust, he’s not going to be a very efficient scorer.

levon · Post #16 » by **levon** » Thu Mar 13, 2025 1:26 am

zero rings wrote:
uberhikari wrote:
zero rings wrote:
Even last year he got to the rim and the free throw line at a career low rate. His efficiency was buoyed by a career year from 3, but 3 pt shooting can be fickle.

As for his injuries, yeah, he’s always injured because he’s carrying 20+ extra pounds.

How a player gets their points is irrelevant. How you get your points is how you get them. Play style is irrelevant to how well you play.

It matters when your efficiency falls off a cliff, as it has for Luka this year.

He needs to get back to driving the ball and finishing strong. If it’s just step back three or bust, he’s not going to be a very efficient scorer.

Really hyperbolic to say his efficiency has fallen off a cliff this year. His 22 games in Dallas this year match his career numbers. He's been less efficient scoring the ball in just 12 games with the Lakers, but the sample size is so small and there are obviously other factors. Seems really strange to attribute 12 games of weaker efficiency to some kind of long-term Luka shot diet trend when there are obviously other more plausible explanations. Obviously his efficiency is jumpshot-dependent-- practically every superstar's is--and a lot of his misses in the midrange for example look like rust/poor luck.

rockmanslim · Post #17 » by **rockmanslim** » Thu Mar 13, 2025 1:56 am

Wait what's wrong with reddit compared to here? /r/outoftheloop /r/explainlikeimfive

HotRocks34 · Post #18 » by **HotRocks34** » Thu Mar 13, 2025 2:12 am

The person who wrote the post says that they are a Luka fan but doesn't seem to understand his game, his arc or his development.

The post isn't worthless, because it points out some statistical changes, but it's next to useless because it doesn't grasp why things have happened and instead falls into a lazy "get in shape" false narrative. It's Nico-esque.

Luka drives less to preserve his body now, which is a typical progression for players. Luka has been a pro for longer than he's been in the NBA and this is his 7th NBA season.

Luka gets beaten up a lot. Kidd has talked about this. And Luka plays a power game that relies on strength. The bulk pads you on collisions and gives you more strength when you lower your shoulder to create separation. Fat Kevin Love vs Skinny Kevin Love.

Also Luka gets injured a lot because he plays a lot of minutes and he's very physical on drives. Taking more perimeter shots eases the strain on the body over the long haul.

IG2 · Post #19 » by **IG2** » Thu Mar 13, 2025 2:15 am

Marvin Martian wrote:
Due to his diminished athleticism, he is becoming more like Harden in terms of playstyle instead of Lebron

While I agree with Luka's weight being a significant issue, I don't get the Harden comparison beyond the ball dominance. Harden for the entirety of his prime was a devastating slasher and got a **** ton of points inside or via free throws.

guynumber45 · Post #20 » by **guynumber45** » Thu Mar 13, 2025 2:46 am

I had the same sentiment watching him play recently. He looks like a completely different player from what I saw in the bubble. He's not nearly as quick as he used to be.

Laker fans think they are getting a superstar for the next decade with Luka, but I think it will be the next 5 years max. Now that's still a great deal that you take every time, considering what they gave up for him. But I don't see his prime being very long. Maybe he can put it together for one offseason and come in incredible shape, leading to an MVP season capped off by a chip. But sustained excellence requires a level of discipline that I don't think Luka will ever have. I can't see him being an elite player in his 30s like Lebron/Steph/KDs of the world.