Luka has lost so much athleticism at such a young age

[ryguy613]

the cope... in this thread... is off the **** chart

[ryguy613]

already said, but this has shaq written all over it

...you mean the guy who won the first of his 4 titles at age 28? that shaq?

[ryguy613]

he was legit quick when he was younger, he's definitely not that now.

he literally hasnt been quick for years. this idea that Luka's strength was some kind of explosiveness is pretty laughable. for most of his career to this point hes been known as a guy who moves at his own speed who really cant be moved around by defenses. now we're trying to rewrite history to make it sound like Luka was Ja Morant when he came into the league and is now Tractor Trailer. jeez

[Beethoven]

This thread has been eye-opening, paradigm-shifting, mind blowing.

I think Lakers are screwed with Luka on the team...

[Bob8]

he was legit quick when he was younger, he's definitely not that now.

he literally hasnt been quick for years. this idea that Luka's strength was some kind of explosiveness is pretty laughable. for most of his career to this point hes been known as a guy who moves at his own speed who really cant be moved around by defenses. now we're trying to rewrite history to make it sound like Luka was Ja Morant when he came into the league and is now Tractor Trailer. jeez

I wouldn't be very surprised if 20 lbs lighter Luka would have been less effective. His has very big frame, he can't be teenager Luka again. He can't compete with quickness against anyone, he can with strength.

[ryguy613]

Nico was cooking something. I’m not saying he made a 5 star meal, he used way too much seasoning and spilled the dish all over the counter. But there is undeniably something to the Luka decline.

Trading Luka is completely defendable.

The return they got for Luka was a joke. I bet 99% of casual Lakers fan even think it’s a bad deal for Dallas. Worst deal in NBA history for a superstar at the time of trade.

"Luka is a fat piece of **** who plays like someone in his late 30's and will only get worse in the coming seasons... also how did Nico not get so little in return for him?!?"

[ryguy613]

he was legit quick when he was younger, he's definitely not that now.

he literally hasnt been quick for years. this idea that Luka's strength was some kind of explosiveness is pretty laughable. for most of his career to this point hes been known as a guy who moves at his own speed who really cant be moved around by defenses. now we're trying to rewrite history to make it sound like Luka was Ja Morant when he came into the league and is now Tractor Trailer. jeez

I wouldn't be very surprised if 20 lbs lighter Luka would have been less effective. His has very big frame, he can't be teenager Luka again. He can't compete with quickness against anyone, he can with strength.

hes never going to be good at defending smaller quicker guards. thats just baked into his play style and body type, with or without the extra weight. great... Jokic is never gonna be a great rim defender, and gets exploited in the pick and roll. I think hes still kinda sorta a pretty decent maybe even not too bad one might even say kinda good player... maybe...

[DaddyCool19]

Tbh having doubts about his longterm health and conditioning and trading him would've been somewhat acceptable, if they got the most available assets in a trade and did a small rebuild.

Even him declining earlier than your usual MVP candidates, won't make that trade ever look good.

[Bob8]

he literally hasnt been quick for years. this idea that Luka's strength was some kind of explosiveness is pretty laughable. for most of his career to this point hes been known as a guy who moves at his own speed who really cant be moved around by defenses. now we're trying to rewrite history to make it sound like Luka was Ja Morant when he came into the league and is now Tractor Trailer. jeez

I wouldn't be very surprised if 20 lbs lighter Luka would have been less effective. His has very big frame, he can't be teenager Luka again. He can't compete with quickness against anyone, he can with strength.

hes never going to be good at defending smaller quicker guards. thats just baked into his play style and body type, with or without the extra weight. great... Jokic is never gonna be a great rim defender, and gets exploited in the pick and roll. I think hes still kinda sorta a pretty decent maybe even not too bad one might even say kinda good player... maybe...

Do people even understand that being 5x in a row in first All Nba team with only 25 years is something extremely rare and impossible, if Luka was really fat, lazy, drinking dude? People are talking about Luka like he's the lesser version of Zion and even he wasn't traded overnight.

[Bob8]

Tbh having doubts about his longterm health and conditioning and trading him would've been somewhat acceptable, if they got the most available assets in a trade and did a small rebuild.

Even him declining earlier than your usual MVP candidates, won't make that trade ever look good.

They wouldn't have given him 15 years contract.

[1993Playoffs]

He looks so slow and laboring or there but he’s still effective. I do wonder how he will look in his late 20s/30s though

[Yuri36]

I wouldn't be very surprised if 20 lbs lighter Luka would have been less effective. His has very big frame, he can't be teenager Luka again. He can't compete with quickness against anyone, he can with strength.

hes never going to be good at defending smaller quicker guards. thats just baked into his play style and body type, with or without the extra weight. great... Jokic is never gonna be a great rim defender, and gets exploited in the pick and roll. I think hes still kinda sorta a pretty decent maybe even not too bad one might even say kinda good player... maybe...

Do people even understand that being 5x in a row in first All Nba team with only 25 years is something extremely rare and impossible, if Luka was really fat, lazy, drinking dude? People are talking about Luka like he's the lesser version of Zion and even he wasn't traded overnight.

No, we're talking about a basketball genius with GOAT level of basketball talent and clutchness.
Would you say he is still on the path to become a top 3/4 player of all time right now and above all that he is not risking long term injuries and his form declining quickly if he maintains that unacceptable level of fitness for a NBA point guard?
Answer us frankly.
That's the whole point of this thread actually.
Cause nobody is saying Luka isn't still one of the world best players and a guaranteed HOF.

Perhaps you will say that my expectations about him are way too high and then i could understand your point even though i would disagree with you.

[Billl]

I'm not sure if it's going to work out great on the court, but in terms of getting on a nutrition and strength plan, I'm not sure Luka could ask for a better mentor than James. Lebron had that dialed in as an 18 yr old, which is pretty insane.

[Bob8]

He looks so slow and laboring or there but he’s still effective. I do wonder how he will look in his late 20s/30s though

I would be much more afraid about 34 years old Kyrie after knee surgery, whose game is totally dependent on his shiftiness and AD, who needs his athleticism to do anything. Apparently Mavs are prepared to give max. to both, but not to 26 years old Luka, who doesn't need great athleticism to do what he does.

[Chapelchilla]

Bubble / Covid era speedy Luka ======= the Bars were all closed

[Bob8]

hes never going to be good at defending smaller quicker guards. thats just baked into his play style and body type, with or without the extra weight. great... Jokic is never gonna be a great rim defender, and gets exploited in the pick and roll. I think hes still kinda sorta a pretty decent maybe even not too bad one might even say kinda good player... maybe...

Do people even understand that being 5x in a row in first All Nba team with only 25 years is something extremely rare and impossible, if Luka was really fat, lazy, drinking dude? People are talking about Luka like he's the lesser version of Zion and even he wasn't traded overnight.

No, we're talking about a basketball genius with GOAT level of basketball talent and clutchness.
Would you say he is on the path to be a top 3/4 player of all time right now and above all that he is not risking long term injuries and his form declining quickly if he maintains that unacceptable level of fitness for a NBA point guard?
Answer us frankly.
That's the whole point of this thread actually.
Cause nobody is saying Luka isn't one of the world best players and a garanteed HOF.

Perhaps you will say that my expectations about him are way too high and then i could understand your point even though i would disagree with you.

You're mistaken to compare him with other point guards. His big 6'7 frame doesn't allow him to have similar body like other guards. He's big white dude, whose body type is far away from other guards. If he loses 20 lbs, he will lose main advantage he has against defenders. Sure he can't defend quick guards, but tell me which guard can even theoretically defend him? His big body is his big advantage in offensive side.

He for sure has some improvement in conditioning, but that is far less than you and others believe. For being a GOAT, you need certain mentality, which players from Balkan normally don't have, the only exception was Drazen. His conditioning is not the only thing which prevents him playing on that level.

[ryguy613]

hes never going to be good at defending smaller quicker guards. thats just baked into his play style and body type, with or without the extra weight. great... Jokic is never gonna be a great rim defender, and gets exploited in the pick and roll. I think hes still kinda sorta a pretty decent maybe even not too bad one might even say kinda good player... maybe...

Do people even understand that being 5x in a row in first All Nba team with only 25 years is something extremely rare and impossible, if Luka was really fat, lazy, drinking dude? People are talking about Luka like he's the lesser version of Zion and even he wasn't traded overnight.

No, we're talking about a basketball genius with GOAT level of basketball talent and clutchness.
Would you say he is still on the path to become a top 3/4 player of all time right now and above all that he is not risking long term injuries and his form declining quickly if he maintains that unacceptable level of fitness for a NBA point guard?
Answer us frankly.
That's the whole point of this thread actually.
Cause nobody is saying Luka isn't still one of the world best players and a guaranteed HOF.

Perhaps you will say that my expectations about him are way too high and then i could understand your point even though i would disagree with you.

Do me a favor. go back to the first page of this thread and read it from top to bottom. then come back and tell me "nobody is saying Luka isnt still one of the best players". If you were to take those posts at their word, youd believe that Luka was literally on his last legs as we speak.

If you wanna talk about whether or not Luka is on a GOAT trajectory or if thats off the table, thats a totally reasonable conversation to have. If youre gonna talk about him like he'll be out of the league in a few years it starts to get pretty dumb. I'm seeing a lot more of the latter than the former.

[tamaraw08]

This thread has been eye-opening, paradigm-shifting, mind blowing.

I think Lakers are screwed with Luka on the team...

Luka is stiff, slow, fat, a drunk, a voracious eater who gets abused on defense. blah blah blah,
Im surprised there’s no thread about him being un-coachable and a bad teammate.

[Beethoven]

This thread has been eye-opening, paradigm-shifting, mind blowing.

I think Lakers are screwed with Luka on the team...

Luka is stiff, slow, fat, a drunk, a voracious eater who gets abused on defense. blah blah blah,
Im surprised there’s no thread about him being un-coachable and a bad teammate.

I rather have a stiff slow fat drunk who gives us 6reb 8assists 30pts on the nightly,
than a fit trim musclebound mental midget who is a cancer to a locker room

[LuckyGreen7]

Love the "big bones" takes. I was big boned too when I was a drunk.