Luka Doncic

[Cipoteman]

Player of the Week in Spanish ACB league

As said, great numbers which could have been even better if it hadn't been for the flagrant foul that the former 5*, #4 HS prospect entering the NCAA Chase Budinger made on him that sent him out temporarily (Jaycee Carroll shot the Free Throws), but I'd like to stand out that today he played against a great team featuring known players like the mentioned douchebag, Shane Larkin, Rodrigue Beaubois, Chase Budinger, Laprovittola or the future Spur Hanga (also, Bargnani's team who was out today - as usual - due to an injury) that will play the EL's QF against CSKA.

[Derento]

Very good that Doncic has bounced back from his recent slump.

[916fan]

For the NBA, Doncic's biggest problem will be on defense. His lateral quickness looks average at best, maybe slightly below average. Right now, I think he'll struggle to guard any position, but SG will be the best for him.

[Derento]

For the NBA, Doncic's biggest problem will be on defense. His lateral quickness looks average at best, maybe slightly below average. Right now, I think he'll struggle to guard any position, but SG will be the best for him.

I thinks he's solid defensively from what I'v seen.
He fights through picks,moves his feet,contests shots properly I think he'll be solid at guarding the NBA 2/3. I think his main weakness his creating shots for himself other than his step back and finshing at the rim. He has trouble getting past the guards who defend him and a lot times has trouble finishing over length. He has a lot of room to improve his off ball game too.

[SportsGuy8]

For the NBA, Doncic's biggest problem will be on defense. His lateral quickness looks average at best, maybe slightly below average. Right now, I think he'll struggle to guard any position, but SG will be the best for him.

I thinks he's solid defensively from what I'v seen.
He fights through picks,moves his feet,contests shots properly I think he'll be solid at guarding the NBA 2/3. I think his main weakness his creating shots for himself other than his step back and finshing at the rim. He has trouble getting past the guards who defend him and a lot times has trouble finishing over length. He has a lot of room to improve his off ball game too.

Defense is going to be a lot tougher for him in the NBA, though, so it's understandable why people are worried. I'm worried also, but I think he has the smarts to do it adequately.

Offense is going to be easier, defense harder. I don't want to mention the rules yet again, but they're the key.

[Derento]

For the NBA, Doncic's biggest problem will be on defense. His lateral quickness looks average at best, maybe slightly below average. Right now, I think he'll struggle to guard any position, but SG will be the best for him.

I thinks he's solid defensively from what I'v seen.
He fights through picks,moves his feet,contests shots properly I think he'll be solid at guarding the NBA 2/3. I think his main weakness his creating shots for himself other than his step back and finshing at the rim. He has trouble getting past the guards who defend him and a lot times has trouble finishing over length. He has a lot of room to improve his off ball game too.

Defense is going to be a lot tougher for him in the NBA, though, so it's understandable why people are worried. I'm worried also, but I think he has the smarts to do it adequately.

Offense is going to be easier, defense harder. I don't want to mention the rules yet again, but they're the key.

How would you compare Doncic defensive smarts/ability to a current player who played in Europe.
Bojan Bogdanovic is a pretty poor defender in the nba. Was he one in Euroleague?

[SportsGuy8]

I thinks he's solid defensively from what I'v seen.
He fights through picks,moves his feet,contests shots properly I think he'll be solid at guarding the NBA 2/3. I think his main weakness his creating shots for himself other than his step back and finshing at the rim. He has trouble getting past the guards who defend him and a lot times has trouble finishing over length. He has a lot of room to improve his off ball game too.

Defense is going to be a lot tougher for him in the NBA, though, so it's understandable why people are worried. I'm worried also, but I think he has the smarts to do it adequately.

Offense is going to be easier, defense harder. I don't want to mention the rules yet again, but they're the key.

How would you compare Doncic defensive smarts/ability to a current player who played in Europe.
Bojan Bogdanovic is a pretty poor defender in the nba. Was he one in Euroleague?

While I'm probably not the right person to accurately say what Bojan's defense was like in Europe (surely someone more knowledgeable is going to chip in; my guess would be based on too small of a sample), I think that effort alone is going to be the biggest difference. Doncic seems to take pride in trying to defend to the best of his abilities, at the very least trying to at least be pesky and smart if he's athletically over-matched. I don't think that's going to change, even if he achieves star-status. His game is all about the little things ...

[916fan]

For the NBA, Doncic's biggest problem will be on defense. His lateral quickness looks average at best, maybe slightly below average. Right now, I think he'll struggle to guard any position, but SG will be the best for him.

I thinks he's solid defensively from what I'v seen.
He fights through picks,moves his feet,contests shots properly I think he'll be solid at guarding the NBA 2/3. I think his main weakness his creating shots for himself other than his step back and finshing at the rim. He has trouble getting past the guards who defend him and a lot times has trouble finishing over length. He has a lot of room to improve his off ball game too.

Shot creating is going to be another tough question he'll need to answer next year. He'll have a full year to improve, and I think Doncic is being "marketed" as a point-forward. For right now, he's an adequate scorer at that position. Questions will rise up about his ability to create space and finish at the rim, but those are the things that a player can improve on as they develop. Defense is a lot harder when you're at a physical disadvantage(He has more than enough quickness on offense, but his foot speed on defense is not great). That's why I think defense might be his biggest problem in the NBA.
His defense worries me the most as a prospect. His lateral quickness is average at best. Quicker smaller players are able to get by him easily.

I know height was a big controversial issue in this forum, but it's going to be really important in determining which position he guards on defense. If he's actually 6'8 like some people claim, then I think defense will become a lot easier for him. He can just focus on getting stronger without worrying about how it'll affect his quickness on D. He'd end up guarding bigger wings and SFs. However, if he's closer to 6'6, then I think concerns would be warranted.

[916fan]

For the NBA, Doncic's biggest problem will be on defense. His lateral quickness looks average at best, maybe slightly below average. Right now, I think he'll struggle to guard any position, but SG will be the best for him.

I thinks he's solid defensively from what I'v seen.
He fights through picks,moves his feet,contests shots properly I think he'll be solid at guarding the NBA 2/3. I think his main weakness his creating shots for himself other than his step back and finshing at the rim. He has trouble getting past the guards who defend him and a lot times has trouble finishing over length. He has a lot of room to improve his off ball game too.

Shot creating is going to be another tough question he'll need to answer next year. He'll have a full year to improve, and I think Doncic is being "marketed" as a point-forward. For right now, he's an adequate scorer at that position. Questions will rise up about his ability to create space and finish at the rim, but those are the things that a player can improve on as they develop. Defense is a lot harder when you're at a physical disadvantage(He has more than enough quickness on offense, but his foot speed on defense is not great). That's why I think defense might be his biggest problem in the NBA.
His defense worries me the most as a prospect. His lateral quickness is average at best. Quicker smaller players are able to get by him easily.

I know height was a big controversial issue in this forum, but it's going to be really important in determining which position he guards on defense. If he's actually 6'8 like some people claim, then I think defense will become a lot easier for him. He can just focus on getting stronger without worrying about how it'll affect his quickness on D. He'd end up guarding bigger wings and SFs. However, if he's closer to 6'6, then I think concerns would be warranted.

[SportsGuy8]

Yeah. Magic, for example, wasn't a great defender at all, however, his height allowed him to not really be too much of a liability on defense.

It's difficult to know who to believe when it comes to Doncic's height and if he's truly still growing. I guess we're going to have to wait for his next official measurements. Pictures of him standing next to other players are also untrustworthy, simply because people don't always stand upright, then there's the angle problem ... Also, what if these other players don't have correct measurements either?

[Rasho Brezec]

Luka said in an interview he is at 202 cm and that he'd like to stop growing. Maybe this can put endless speculations to rest.

[SportsGuy8]

Luka said in an interview he is at 202 cm and that he'd like to stop growing. Maybe this can put endless speculations to rest.

Oh, he'd LIKE to stop growing. That truly settles it and puts endless speculations to rest. Everyone knows that people continue growing only up to the point when they don't LIKE it anymore.

[hopp]

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[kriss73]

He's a kid among men but he plays as man among kids.

[No-Man]

Luka said in an interview he is at 202 cm and that he'd like to stop growing. Maybe this can put endless speculations to rest.

That's basically 6'9 for NBA purposes

[UcanUwill]

Luka said in an interview he is at 202 cm and that he'd like to stop growing. Maybe this can put endless speculations to rest.

That's basically 6'9 for NBA purposes

Assuming its without shoes. See, it doesn't answer anything, we still talking about it. He looked a bit bigger than Hanga in those highlights.

[Cipoteman]

I think his realistic scenario is a bigger, 3-pt shooting Ricky Rubio or a prime Turkoglu. Looking at how he plays in Euroleague against former D-League and NCAA standouts I think he could easily put up regular 15-6-6 games.

Of course he has many flaws, but being bare 18 and seeing how good he plays in many aspects against real men, it is hard to imagine that he can still progress... if that was the case, my NBA comparison would be Jason Kidd.

[Stackey]

Everytime when someone says he is a 6'9'' I will be there to say he isn't.

As I said it couple of times, he is a pick number 1 for me, but I don't understand people who are trying to make him bigger than he actaully is, I don't know their intentions, there must be something behind that. It's not like they just don't know it.

[Cipoteman]

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[saphan]

Euroleague

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Spanish ACB

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