Luka Dončić Discussion - Year 2

[arkuo]

Yup. Ive seen Ben Simmons run plays from the forward position. Regardless of where it comes from, it forces opponents to adjust to you and not the other way around. Something which Carlisle is known for. In any case, it gives Dennis and DJ more scoring opportunities which will bring our scoring average up.

[Darren]

This article is garbage... seems like the quote from Dirk to come off the bench and Banres old quote that he prefers the SF position, got merged into a story that Luka will play PF.

No actual quotes out of Dallas that Luka will actually play the PF position, nothing but low effort guess work.

Read on Twitter

This is literally the ONLY source mentioning Luka starts as PF. All other articles originate from there. I doubt Luka plays PF, he might defend PF, depending on the opponent. From all the reports from the training camp, it seems like Luka is having ball a lot.

It seems to me that RC figures out that Doncic can't guard any backcourt position. He's to hide him. Not a good news moving forward. Quite the contrary to the report that Doncic is the best player on the Mavs. I think that is really why the Mavs ranking slip to bottom 3 in the West. ESPN also significantly lowers DJ's ranking amount players. If this piece of news means significant downgrade of Dirk and DJ while Doncic is overrated. I can understand now why there's always a bold prediction from Dallas newspaper the Mavs is not going to make the playoff. I understand why the Mavs always says the fans will regret not buying tickets. And I understand why there's report that somebody wants to buy the Mavs. The Mavs is not even watchable very soon, it seems. I am ready to stop watching the Mavs at some point coming season. Hopefully, Smith can give something for fans to watch with.

By the way, who's this Wesley in the lineup? Next year pick?

[wolfram]

This article is garbage... seems like the quote from Dirk to come off the bench and Banres old quote that he prefers the SF position, got merged into a story that Luka will play PF.

No actual quotes out of Dallas that Luka will actually play the PF position, nothing but low effort guess work.

Read on Twitter

This is literally the ONLY source mentioning Luka starts as PF. All other articles originate from there. I doubt Luka plays PF, he might defend PF, depending on the opponent. From all the reports from the training camp, it seems like Luka is having ball a lot.

It seems to me that RC figures out that Doncic can't guard any backcourt position. He's to hide him. Not a good news moving forward. Quite the contrary to the report that Doncic is the best player on the Mavs. I think that is really why the Mavs ranking slip to bottom 3 in the West. ESPN also significantly lowers DJ's ranking amount players. If this piece of news means significant downgrade of Dirk and DJ while Doncic is overrated. I can understand now why there's always a bold prediction from Dallas newspaper the Mavs is not going to make the playoff. I understand why the Mavs always says the fans will regret not buying tickets. And I understand why there's report that somebody wants to buy the Mavs. The Mavs is not even watchable very soon, it seems. I am ready to stop watching the Mavs at some point coming season. Hopefully, Smith can give something for fans to watch with.

By the way, who's this Wesley in the lineup? Next year pick?

Wow, just wow.
Luka can defend 2-4, depends on the player he would need to guard. In Real he defended different positions, but in most cases he guarded the worst offensive player. He had the most important role on offense so that was reasonable. Also he is not the best defender, but plays good team defence.
Coach needs to label him with position, but that means little or nothing. RC also said, Luka belongs "somewhere on the court" when asked about his position.

[juanc]

Guys stop with this Luka can't defend no one bs... Where does this come from if I may ask?

[XTraderXL]

Looking at photos of Doncic from yesterday and man, he looks chubby. Not at all what I was hoping for at this point in time. I am not too optimistic about his first season as I think that his level of success in the NBA depends not on talent which he has plenty of but on him being in top shape possible. He is not even close to that, his body isnt even close to what I believe needs to look like. He actually looks like a smaller version of Jokic body wise.

[Pointguard01]

Looking at photos of Doncic from yesterday and man, he looks chubby. Not at all what I was hoping for at this point in time. I am not too optimistic about his first season as I think that his level of success in the NBA depends not on talent which he has plenty of but on him being in top shape possible. He is not even close to that, his body isnt even close to what I believe needs to look like. He actually looks like a smaller version of Jokic body wise.

Yeah he does. That’s what’s in most worried about.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

[Rn5ho]

And what's wrong with Jokic?

[XTraderXL]

And what's wrong with Jokic?

Jokic is a C, thats the difference.

As for Luka besides not being in shape, he is also not naturally explosive or fast/quick. Some NBA players arent in top shape but they have natural explosiveness so they can get away with not being 100%. Luka was slow and unexplosive even for ACB and judging by how he looks I dont think he impoved on that segment since last season. We will see...

[J_T]

Looking at photos of Doncic from yesterday and man, he looks chubby. Not at all what I was hoping for at this point in time. I am not too optimistic about his first season as I think that his level of success in the NBA depends not on talent which he has plenty of but on him being in top shape possible. He is not even close to that, his body isnt even close to what I believe needs to look like. He actually looks like a smaller version of Jokic body wise.

Yeah, that was my thought when I was looking at those photos as well. What I'm hoping for is that he is simply in the bulking phase (yeah, I know, you don't have to do it that way) and that he has actually gained muscle. If this is the case, there would be no way to tell from the photos. Good example are bodybuilders at the peak of the bulking phase: they look nothing short of fat.

And what's wrong with Jokic?

Nothing.



No, but seriously, Jokic was athletically not good last season and was only able to afford it because he plays the position he does. I also assume that XTrader meant last season's Jokic and not the "new and improved" one.

Read on Twitter

[Mr B]

The league is so much PnR that it's relatively easy to get a switch from those guys onto a big man.

Can't wait to see him in action!

Watch on YouTube

He couldn't get by big men in Eurobasket. (Starts 3:06.)

This is my main concern actually. I expect him to improve phisically in the next few years but will it be enough to at least be decent? Hard to tell... If he can improve enough on that, he will be very limited in what he can do in the NBA. Could end up being just an average starter.

That’s not what is being said by current NBA players. His court vision and passing ability will negate a lot of his lack of slashing ability. Jason Kidd wasn’t exactly John Wall out there yet was by far a better PG/distributor.

With that said though we have to give the kid a chance to actually play. Based on what NBA guys are saying though I’d say it’s more likely that he will be closer to an elite player than average player.

[Mr B]

I don't know... it's still not too late to trade him for Young+2nd round pick and cut the losses.

There is absolutely no way I’d trade Luka for that package. Luka will be by far a superior player to Young.

[J_T]

Watch on YouTube

He couldn't get by big men in Eurobasket. (Starts 3:06.)

This is my main concern actually. I expect him to improve phisically in the next few years but will it be enough to at least be decent? Hard to tell... If he can improve enough on that, he will be very limited in what he can do in the NBA. Could end up being just an average starter.

That’s not what is being said by current NBA players. His court vision and passing ability will negate a lot of his lack of slashing ability. Jason Kidd wasn’t exactly John Wall out there yet was by far a better PG/distributor.

With that said though we have to give the kid a chance to actually play. Based on what NBA guys are saying though I’d say it’s more likely that he will be closer to an elite player than average player.

I'm definitely optimistic. He will get in good shape. I think it's great that DSJ and Luka seem to be getting close, living in same building complex and spending time together on and off the court. DSJ's physical training habits will be right there, "in his face" and I don't doubt that Luka would want to try to keep up with him, he has always been very competitive.

[Mr B]

Luka should be the offensive PG for DAL most of the time. Probably they will switch PG duties a lot like in Real Madrid last year. But it will be evident who is the best floor general. I hope Luka is working on his shot and drives also.

I expect Dennis will be more of a scorer now. Obviously he will also still be a distributor but his scoring should go up significantly. Carlisle was saying that Dennis’ shooting has vastly improved from last season and that he’s easily the fastest PG he’s ever worked with.

[XTraderXL]

Watch on YouTube

He couldn't get by big men in Eurobasket. (Starts 3:06.)

This is my main concern actually. I expect him to improve phisically in the next few years but will it be enough to at least be decent? Hard to tell... If he can improve enough on that, he will be very limited in what he can do in the NBA. Could end up being just an average starter.

That’s not what is being said by current NBA players. His court vision and passing ability will negate a lot of his lack of slashing ability. Jason Kidd wasn’t exactly John Wall out there yet was by far a better PG/distributor.

With that said though we have to give the kid a chance to actually play. Based on what NBA guys are saying though I’d say it’s more likely that he will be closer to an elite player than average player.

I also think he will be a very good player eventually but his first season will probably be a bit dissapointing for some people. I think we will see the "real" Doncic from 2nd season on. Dallas will finish early and there are no FIBA competitions for Slovenia next year so he will have 6 months to work on his deficiencies. During his rookie year Luka will see whisch areas he has to improve the most and get some work in.

Its hard to tell, he is a very specific player with immense talent so it will be interesting to see if his talent will be enough to make him an elite player in the NBA.

[HMFFL]

Ok, so this is good news but I'm a bit confused why everybody is saying he is fat, out of shape, too heavy? Also Barea told the press here, that Luka is a bit overweight. He doesn't seem like that in the photos or videos. Maybe he should loose some pounds to be quicker? Or extra weight kind of helps him?

He doesn't appear to be overweight to you? Keep mind, it's the NBA, so his body is far from being on a level of condition to be ready for a full 82 game season.
In time he will get there. He might be the type to get super ripped but his conditioning is a small concern. This area will be improved in training camp.

Sent from my SM-N920P using RealGM mobile app

[saphan]

Read on Twitter

[CloudWalker]

I definitely agree that Luka doesn't appear to be in good enough shape right now judging by the latest photos. But it's a bit confusing, because he doesn't look that "bad" in the training video from P3....or does he and I'm blind? His arms look leaner there, but maybe it's the sleeves that hide the chubby part? I don't know I'm a bit confused...

Watch on YouTube

[J_T]

I definitely agree that Luka doesn't appear to be in good enough shape right now judging by the latest photos. But it's a bit confusing, because he doesn't look that "bad" in the training video from P3....or does he and I'm blind? His arms look leaner there, but maybe it's the sleeves that hide the chubby part? I don't know I'm a bit confused...

Watch on YouTube

I think this might explain it...

Watch on YouTube

[J_T]

Carlisle did in fact say Doncic would play PF:

"In terms of positions, we talked a lot before the end of the year that Barnes needed to move back to the three. So if you look at it that way, Doncic is going to be the four-man."

It seems that he really wants to move Barnes to 3.

during scrimmages Carlisle has watched closely while Doncic and Smith were on the floor together.

"Luka really has a lot of playmaking characteristics," Carlisle said. "And they've demonstrated the ability that, if one guy gets the rebound, the other guy takes off. And the ball's getting thrown ahead.

"If Doncic gets the ball and throws it ahead to Dennis Smith and it's a 1-on-1 situation up the floor, we like that. Our best situation on offense this year is going to be a lot of guys that can make plays."

"His vision is crazy," Smith said. "So now that allows me to cut more off the ball and things like that."
Smith described one particular fast break in which Doncic had the ball and Smith was streaking toward the basket.
"I'm looking like, 'Throw the bounce pass, throw the bounce pass,' " Smith said. "He didn't throw it. I'm like, 'Bro, throw the bounce pass.' It never comes."
Instead, Doncic lobbed an alley-oop that Smith caught with two hands and slammed.
"I've never had anybody on my team that made those kinds of plays before," Smith said.

We will see...

[Dundalis]

This article is garbage... seems like the quote from Dirk to come off the bench and Banres old quote that he prefers the SF position, got merged into a story that Luka will play PF.

No actual quotes out of Dallas that Luka will actually play the PF position, nothing but low effort guess work.

Read on Twitter

This is literally the ONLY source mentioning Luka starts as PF. All other articles originate from there. I doubt Luka plays PF, he might defend PF, depending on the opponent. From all the reports from the training camp, it seems like Luka is having ball a lot.

It seems to me that RC figures out that Doncic can't guard any backcourt position. He's to hide him. Not a good news moving forward. Quite the contrary to the report that Doncic is the best player on the Mavs. I think that is really why the Mavs ranking slip to bottom 3 in the West. ESPN also significantly lowers DJ's ranking amount players. If this piece of news means significant downgrade of Dirk and DJ while Doncic is overrated. I can understand now why there's always a bold prediction from Dallas newspaper the Mavs is not going to make the playoff. I understand why the Mavs always says the fans will regret not buying tickets. And I understand why there's report that somebody wants to buy the Mavs. The Mavs is not even watchable very soon, it seems. I am ready to stop watching the Mavs at some point coming season. Hopefully, Smith can give something for fans to watch with.

By the way, who's this Wesley in the lineup? Next year pick?

Is this a troll post? Can't tell. I hope so, cause if you can't get excited after the last two draft picks, given what the Mavs have had regarding young talent for pretty much over a decade, then you shouldn't wait, just stop watching right now.