Luka has lost so much athleticism at such a young age

[Edrees]

True. Lakers gave up too much for him. should have kept max christie

[Cavsfansince84]

Luka doesn't play defense anymore. He's a turn style. He has to be one of the worst defensive players in the league right now. What will motivate him?

The same thing that motivated every other atg which is winning a ring but its possible he'd rather be fat and eat/do whatever he wants than win a ring. At this point he's 27 so chances are that he'll keep doing what he has been and just hope he somehow wins a ring with playoff magic.

[RRyder823]

He spent over two months injured and was pretty much unable to do any conditioning until near the end of the time frame. He was also abruptly traded without notice by the franchise he wanted to spend the rest of his career in.

Also, I keep seeing people reference "reports of heavy drinking," but those "reports" don't seem to have clear sources.

The source is he's 25 years old. I mean who could believe a 25 year old would like to go out drinking a lot?



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???? he's a professional athlete since he was like 13 or 14. he doesn't get here just by showing up and going out drinking on a whim. there's very few people on earth who can claim to have shown more discipline or to have put in more work into their craft than luka

I'm not saying it as some horrible thing. 25 year olds drink. Who the hell cares

Luka ain't the only player in the league that likes to live it up

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[CobraCommander]

y'all hilarious - if Luka was eating 2137 calories a day I would ask if luka was cutting for a body building comp lol.

What's hilarious is you don't know what BMR is. Maybe look it up.

Well DUH
BEER, MARLBORO AND ROAST BEEF.

I’m pretty sure I know what BMR is and his resting burn vs maintenance is an estimate and when curry had him on those skates last night he looked like a old man playing dance dance revolution

[CobraCommander]

Yeah, sorry, I meant maintenance there.

y'all hilarious - if Luka was eating 2137 calories a day I would ask if luka was cutting for a body building comp lol.

lol right. My maintenence at age 41 5'9" 180 pounds exercise 3 times a week is over 2300 calories a day.

Luka just playing 2-3 games a week on a 2100 calorie diet is shedding both fat and muscle mass

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Luka has a quarter billion dollar contract - plays with LeBronzeAge- he should be able to get his diet tight - he doesn’t need to look like Sam suluek just get down to like 12% bf

[Yoshun]

The source is he's 25 years old. I mean who could believe a 25 year old would like to go out drinking a lot?



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???? he's a professional athlete since he was like 13 or 14. he doesn't get here just by showing up and going out drinking on a whim. there's very few people on earth who can claim to have shown more discipline or to have put in more work into their craft than luka

I'm not saying it as some horrible thing. 25 year olds drink. Who the hell cares

Luka ain't the only player in the league that likes to live it up

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Sure, but there's a difference between being a 25 year old who likes to party some times and being an alcoholic, which the reports about Luka are implying (what people are saying when they say "heavy drinker"). That was my original point, the dude may have an occasional beer or go to a party but just because he's 25 doesn't mean he's an alcoholic (heavy drinker).

[wco81]

I am someone who fully believed we were seeing peak rs Luka in his 33ppg seasons when they happened. I mean LeBron probably peaked in the rs at age 24 and Kareem prob did at 24 as well so its not that surprising but Luka just needs to take off season conditioning somewhat seriously. He'll be a viable #1 on a title team until he's 33-34 imo if he just can stay under 250lb but he's going to be giving back a lot on the defensive end if his conditioning is just **** and he loses whatever quickness he had.

Luka doesn't play defense anymore. He's a turn style. He has to be one of the worst defensive players in the league right now. What will motivate him?

Well he's a 6-8 wing who's matched against shorter, more agile and quicker players.

He can take advantage of smaller players on offense but on the on the other end, he's going to struggle staying in front of quicker players.

I think Magic was in the same boat, fast PGs would get around him easily.

He can be better, be in better shape and try to sustain more effort but even at 26, he may be what he is on defense.

[CobraCommander]

I am someone who fully believed we were seeing peak rs Luka in his 33ppg seasons when they happened. I mean LeBron probably peaked in the rs at age 24 and Kareem prob did at 24 as well so its not that surprising but Luka just needs to take off season conditioning somewhat seriously. He'll be a viable #1 on a title team until he's 33-34 imo if he just can stay under 250lb but he's going to be giving back a lot on the defensive end if his conditioning is just **** and he loses whatever quickness he had.

Luka doesn't play defense anymore. He's a turn style. He has to be one of the worst defensive players in the league right now. What will motivate him?

Well he's a 6-8 wing who's matched against shorter, more agile and quicker players.

He can take advantage of smaller players on offense but on the on the other end, he's going to struggle staying in front of quicker players.

I think Magic was in the same boat, fast PGs would get around him easily.

He can be better, be in better shape and try to sustain more effort but even at 26, he may be what he is on defense.

Too young to give up on anything if he hasn’t had major injury -

But this year looks like his worse year ever 27-8 -8 on 42% shooting - “fire Nico” but Luka needs to kick it in gear for his own sake

[Mr B]

People clearly here are not aware of how Balkan people age. I mean look at Jokic, he was noticeably quicker the first few years.

I mentioned this a couple of years ago when Laker fans were bagging on Luka because of his weight. It’s his genetics. Look at Luka’s dad. Look at his weight and physique when he played. Very similar to Luka.

With that said I’ve also heard stories that Luka’s dad liked to celebrate wins with a few beers. Maybe the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.

Luka will never be build like Kevin Durant. He’s just naturally a big guy. His bad habits seem to have made him bigger though. If Luka quit drinking and smoking and dedicated 100% of his time to working out and eating right he could trim back down to how he was in his rookie year (230 lbs or so) but he’s not going to do that. Luka likes to enjoy life and for him that means having a few beers from time to time or after a game. That’s just who he is like it or not.

Luka is still an all time great he just may not play long enough to make it to #1 all time.

[Jazz9]

He averaged 33.9ppg on 48.7% shooting last year
In 23 games with the Lakers he has shot above 48% a total of 5 times...
He's been a completely different player. Poor conditioning, broken shot, still elite at complaining though
Yes he was injured but at some point you should expect some progress. It's been close to two months since he came back and there has basically been none.

[ogmagicfan]

I'm more concerned now because he's lost some weight and still looks as slow as ever

It could be he's trying to get back into form after the injury he was dealing with, but I'm not completely sold on that

Next season will answer many questions

An undersold point, is that Luka had been playing professional ball since 16 yrs old, and has more wear and tear than pretty much anyone else his age in the league

[Cavsfansince84]

He averaged 33.9ppg on 48.7% shooting last year
In 23 games with the Lakers he has shot above 48% a total of 5 times...
He's been a completely different player. Poor conditioning, broken shot, still elite at complaining though
Yes he was injured but at some point you should expect some progress. It's been close to two months since he came back and there has basically been none.

Its not gonna happen mid season. It's gonna take a full year of him redoing his conditioning and diet during the off season and then sticking with it over the season.

[wco81]

People clearly here are not aware of how Balkan people age. I mean look at Jokic, he was noticeably quicker the first few years.

I mentioned this a couple of years ago when Laker fans were bagging on Luka because of his weight. It’s his genetics. Look at Luka’s dad. Look at his weight and physique when he played. Very similar to Luka.

With that said I’ve also heard stories that Luka’s dad liked to celebrate wins with a few beers. Maybe the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.

Luka will never be build like Kevin Durant. He’s just naturally a big guy. His bad habits seem to have made him bigger though. If Luka quit drinking and smoking and dedicated 100% of his time to working out and eating right he could trim back down to how he was in his rookie year (230 lbs or so) but he’s not going to do that. Luka likes to enjoy life and for him that means having a few beers from time to time or after a game. That’s just who he is like it or not.

Luka is still an all time great he just may not play long enough to make it to #1 all time.

I saw some stat that he was well ahead of MJ and LBJ in the first few seasons of their careers.

He has a chance to challenge Lebron's career scoring record because he has been so prolific.

But does he have the drive to play 15 years if not 20 years?

Lebron wants to be the GOAT so he's kept playing and he's still able to play at an elite level, at least on offense.

Luka has already had a HoF worthy career so how long does he want to play. He will change rings but will he give up by the time he's nearing his mid 30s?

[balrog27]

haha 1 bad game and post like this gets made.

[og15]

Luka doesn't play defense anymore. He's a turn style. He has to be one of the worst defensive players in the league right now. What will motivate him?

The same thing that motivated every other atg which is winning a ring but its possible he'd rather be fat and eat/do whatever he wants than win a ring. At this point he's 27 so chances are that he'll keep doing what he has been and just hope he somehow wins a ring with playoff magic.

Sheesh, don't age him an additional year

People clearly here are not aware of how Balkan people age. I mean look at Jokic, he was noticeably quicker the first few years.

I mentioned this a couple of years ago when Laker fans were bagging on Luka because of his weight. It’s his genetics. Look at Luka’s dad. Look at his weight and physique when he played. Very similar to Luka.

With that said I’ve also heard stories that Luka’s dad liked to celebrate wins with a few beers. Maybe the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.

Luka will never be build like Kevin Durant. He’s just naturally a big guy. His bad habits seem to have made him bigger though. If Luka quit drinking and smoking and dedicated 100% of his time to working out and eating right he could trim back down to how he was in his rookie year (230 lbs or so) but he’s not going to do that. Luka likes to enjoy life and for him that means having a few beers from time to time or after a game. That’s just who he is like it or not.

Luka is still an all time great he just may not play long enough to make it to #1 all time.

Sometimes what people assume are genetics are simply nurture, and sometimes people forget genetics.

Yes genetics play a factor, not just in body composition, but even in ones natural affinity for food. On the other hand, genetics in terms of body type are not going to be what makes someone who is healthy (so no conditions, etc) overweight. It's definitely not what is going to make a professional athlete over weight.

Of course there's a difference between being Bol Bol skinny and being overweight. No one expects Luka to be Bol Bol or Durant, or any of those, but Luka is not genetically doomed in any way to be the weight that he currently is, that's just primarily based on a combination of habits and discipline.

Like you said though, he would need to really want to keep at a lower weight which requires a change in habits with a dash of better discipline to have that. So far he's been successful despite the lack of the best habits for his ultimate success, so he doesn't have as much motivation if he's successful.

[rockmanslim]

All of the following can be true:

Nico was right about Luka's conditioning
Nico didn't get enough in return for Luka
Lakers stole Luka
Luka is still a great player
Luka would be even better if he was in shape
Being in shape isn't a lot to ask from an elite athlete, it's a pretty basic requirement

[dirkdiggler4177]

I was thinking about this the other day. I imagine Luka has to have improved at something since he came in the league but I don't really know what it is. Naturally gifted offensive player but where is the work ethic and desire to be the best? Conditioning/body issues aside, It bugs me to see wasted talent. We have the same Luka fans making excuses for him but I've noticed a lot of Lakers fans are seeing this from Luka now that he's on their team and are not especially stoked about it.

He did add a mid-range shot. It was pretty bad in his first two seasons and improved after that.

I think it is hard to improve considering how talented he is.

On-ball, there isn't much improvement to be made in terms of adding extra skills to his toolbox.

But off the ball, there is so much more room for improvement. He's just like Prime Harden in the sense that the moment the ball leaves his hands, he just stops and watches. He could actually learn a thing or two from his best buddy Jokic. Jokic is also a lumbering athlete, but he is 10x the player Luka is off the ball.

But Jokic is a center; they need to set screens and move, and they can't stand under the basket. He also does not need to sprint or explode the way he plays. Wing players can stand in the corner. Harden and Luka were getting 35ppg a game, you can't expect them to run around screens, explode around like Thompson or similar. They need all the rest they can get on defense and when they don't have the ball.

And let's not act like it was Luka or Harden do not know how to set a screen or run the baseline. It's not a skill issue, it's the coach and stamina.

[Astaluego]

Luka doesn't play defense anymore. He's a turn style. He has to be one of the worst defensive players in the league right now. What will motivate him?

The same thing that motivated every other atg which is winning a ring but its possible he'd rather be fat and eat/do whatever he wants than win a ring. At this point he's 27 so chances are that he'll keep doing what he has been and just hope he somehow wins a ring with playoff magic.

I understand that it helps drive the narrative, but he just turned 26.

[Bad Bart]

Nico reading this thread feeling like EOTY

[Cavsfansince84]

I understand that it helps drive the narrative, but he just turned 26.

Narrative is just a word to spin something. Making an honest mistake thinking he's 27 when he's 26 isn't really changing anything here. I mean come on. This is about Luka and his own choices, nothing else.