Luka Dončić Discussion - Year 2

[Bob8]

Doncic's 2nd attempts to retire is coming. LAL vs DAL are on the show. LBJ gets a triple double and school Doncic in last matchup. It's good to see where the team is at after a really significant stretch.

If I remember right, Luka made all of his last 5 shots in that game and singlehanded brought Dallas back in the game. He even made a equalizing shot 6 seconds before the end.

[J_T]

https://www.si.com/nba/2018/11/29/luka-doncic-mavericks-real-madrid-dirk-nowizki-rick-carlisle?utm_campaign=thecrossover&xid=socialflow_twitter_si&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social

Too many quotes from the article, here's few interesting ones :

Dončić may have been born to play basketball, but he lives to put on a show. “We’ve said from day one, he’s almost like a matador,” Nowitzki says. “He loves playing off the crowd, loves to make spectacular plays.” Trying is its own form of daring. Dončić will take step-back threes against Kevin Durant with the game on the line and attempt lobs over some of the tallest players in the league. Then, if he fails, he will shrug and try again. Carlisle, one of the most meticulous coaches in the league, even encourages it. “The thing with a player like Luka: If you restrict him too much, you’ll take away some of his greatest gifts,” Carlisle says. “I can’t do that. We can’t do it.”

The Mavericks estimate that Dončić, who is listed at 218 pounds, has already lost between 10 and 15 pounds since the start of training camp, and things will only get harder from here on out. The NBA schedule doesn’t lend itself easily to healthy diets and sleeping patterns. They have to be made a priority. “That’s one of the reasons I like our mixture of youth and veterans, is that these guys are getting this kind of messaging on a consistent basis,” Carlisle says. Dončić is already strong as it is, with the balance to absorb contact. A few years of NBA-caliber nutrition and weight training could make him equal parts unstoppable force and immovable object.

The Mavericks could take Dončić’s development in almost any direction. They began with a veteran staple. “We work all day,” Dončić says, “on floaters.” No shot in the game is a better test of a player’s body control. It combines the footwork of a drive, the stability of a post move and the touch of a jump shot. It generally takes years to master, but Dončić, unsurprisingly, has a knack for it. “The NBA is very much geared toward taking away layups and threes,” Carlisle says. “If you do that, there’s gotta be some in-between. With his size and feel for the game, the floater just makes perfect sense.” Already, Dončić has logged thousands of floaters in workouts with the Mavs, ranging in speed and delivery to mimic the unpredictability of actual play.

[Nikson]

Doncic's 2nd attempts to retire is coming. LAL vs DAL are on the show. LBJ gets a triple double and school Doncic in last matchup. It's good to see where the team is at after a really significant stretch.

Yeah he might go into a "fan mode" again when he sees LBJ

Tempi pasati.
LBJ failed to act with respect. He could have give him his shirt personal.
He will have a lot to think about his future success timeline, after next game. Whatever the result will be.

[dirkules_41]

Doncic's 2nd attempts to retire is coming. LAL vs DAL are on the show. LBJ gets a triple double and school Doncic in last matchup. It's good to see where the team is at after a really significant stretch.

If I remember right, Luka made all of his last 5 shots in that game and singlehanded brought Dallas back in the game. He even made a equalizing shot 6 seconds before the end.

You remember correctly. Darren just lives in his own little parallel universe.

[batigol18]

Doncic's 2nd attempts to retire is coming. LAL vs DAL are on the show. LBJ gets a triple double and school Doncic in last matchup. It's good to see where the team is at after a really significant stretch.

This is the match I'm really looking for. Knowing Doncic first match agains LeBron was completly "seeing and playing against his idol, geeting signed t-shirt" from him.

Next game against LA will be for Luka "to show LeBron that he can be better than him". I do believe he'll play with the highest intensity and determination to beat Lakers, he never played in Dallas yet.

[Jstock12]

Doncic's 2nd attempts to retire is coming. LAL vs DAL are on the show. LBJ gets a triple double and school Doncic in last matchup. It's good to see where the team is at after a really significant stretch.

I think you have a biased memory. The game vs LAL was one of the better Doncic games for me this season. The way he managed to get himself out of the funk and really carry the whole Mavericks team in the clutch was extremely impressive. Knowing that your best player is capable of that is very important if you've decided to build around him.

[Archx]

Doncic's 2nd attempts to retire is coming. LAL vs DAL are on the show. LBJ gets a triple double and school Doncic in last matchup. It's good to see where the team is at after a really significant stretch.

I think you have a biased memory. The game vs LAL was one of the better Doncic games for me this season. The way he managed to get himself out of the funk and really carry the whole Mavericks team in the clutch was extremely impressive. Knowing that your best player is capable of that is very important if you've decided to build around him.

You still have Ayton ahead of him?

[Jstock12]

Doncic's 2nd attempts to retire is coming. LAL vs DAL are on the show. LBJ gets a triple double and school Doncic in last matchup. It's good to see where the team is at after a really significant stretch.

I think you have a biased memory. The game vs LAL was one of the better Doncic games for me this season. The way he managed to get himself out of the funk and really carry the whole Mavericks team in the clutch was extremely impressive. Knowing that your best player is capable of that is very important if you've decided to build around him.

You still have Ayton ahead of him?

I never was pro-Ayton for that 1st pick. I even battled the Suns fans on their board pre-draft and tried to convince them that Luka is the way to go with that #1 pick. Yet I acknowledged that it was a close decision with the given info at the time. Right now I would say that the best two rookies in terms of their overall impact on both ends of the floor are Jaren Jackson Jr and Doncic (if JJJ could rebound the ball better I might even rate him above Luka, but as of now I give a slight edge to Doncic). Ayton might be somewhere in the 3-6 range.

[Archx]

I think you have a biased memory. The game vs LAL was one of the better Doncic games for me this season. The way he managed to get himself out of the funk and really carry the whole Mavericks team in the clutch was extremely impressive. Knowing that your best player is capable of that is very important if you've decided to build around him.

You still have Ayton ahead of him?

I never was pro-Ayton for that 1st pick. I even battled the Suns fans on their board pre-draft and tried to convince them that Luka is the way to go with that #1 pick. Yet I acknowledged that it was a close decision with the given info at the time. Right now I would say that the best two rookies in terms of their overall impact on both ends of the floor are Jaren Jackson Jr and Doncic (if JJJ could rebound the ball better I might even rate him above Luka, but as of now I give a slight edge to Doncic). Ayton might be somewhere in the 3-6 range.

Yea fair enough. But i mostly look at who has a bigger impact within his role. And since Luka is somewhat their nr1 guy and JJJ ( for now ) is more or less a role player, i'd give a huge edge to Luka ... I mean JJJ's role does not impact MEM winning games as much as Luka does for example. And yes i am judging by the eye test and not by those "famous" Advance stats

[Jstock12]

You still have Ayton ahead of him?

I never was pro-Ayton for that 1st pick. I even battled the Suns fans on their board pre-draft and tried to convince them that Luka is the way to go with that #1 pick. Yet I acknowledged that it was a close decision with the given info at the time. Right now I would say that the best two rookies in terms of their overall impact on both ends of the floor are Jaren Jackson Jr and Doncic (if JJJ could rebound the ball better I might even rate him above Luka, but as of now I give a slight edge to Doncic). Ayton might be somewhere in the 3-6 range.

Yea fair enough. But i mostly look at who has a bigger impact within his role. And since Luka is somewhat their nr1 guy and JJJ ( for now ) is more or less a role player, i'd give a huge edge to Luka ... I mean JJJ's role does not impact MEM winning games as much as Luka does for example. And yes i am judging by the eye test and not by those "famous" Advance stats

JJJ will likely never have as big of a "role" as Doncic (though the term "role" is a very subjective thing, mostly referring to involvement/playmaking on offense), but it doesn't necessarily equate to impact. JJJ has been a great defensive player for the Grizzlies this year (and not just by rookie standards), and he's also an adequate / above average offensive player. Memphis would not be a 12-8 team without him...

With all that being said, as I mentioned, I still give Luka a slight edge over him just because Luka's offensive impact is astronomical and he seems to be adequate on the defensive side too (granted, with some help from Carlisle hiding him on that end and giving him easier defensive assignments ).

[J_T]

There have been some stat crunching articles I've read recently. I'm not putting TOO much into it, because I don't want to be like 50% of the posters in the ROY thread, making extremely bald claims based on small sample. So I just consider them as... "fun facts" at this point.

He's proficient from the left block too, with a soft fadeaway for use when he can't bully his guy. The Mavs have scored 1.36 points per possession on trips featuring a Doncic post-up, sixth among 101 players who have recorded at least 15 such plays, per Second Spectrum.

Teammates have assisted on just 37.8 percent of his connected field goals thus far. According to Cleaning the Glass, that ranks in the 93rd percentile among all players in the NBA. That means that the rookie has already made 79 field goal attempts without an assist. For comparison, Golden State’s Klay Thompson has the fourth-most shots made this season — but only 40 are unassisted.

Doncic, meanwhile, has been one of the 10 most accurate players (minimum: 30 FGA) on these shots as well. He has produced 1.069 points per possession when shooting off the dribble. This ranks in the 84th percentile among all players, per Synergy Sports.

So far this season, there are 62 players who have had at least 10 three-point attempts after three-to-six dribbles. None of them have been more accurate than Doncic, who is currently shooting 13-for-21 (61.9 percent) on those looks.

Adding: If we look only at those with 20+ attempts the top 5 list is:
Doncic: 61.9% (13-21)
Curry: 47.6% (10-21)
Fox: 47.6% (10-21)
Middleton: 46.9% (15-32)
Hardaway: 44.4% (12-27)

Of course this is NOT sustainable, this is a tough shot. Among those with 75+ such attempts last season top ones were:
Lowry: 42.9% (51-119)
Lillard: 38.6% (44-114)
Harden: 36.8% (64-174)
Walker: 36.4% (44-121)
Curry: 34.3% (34-99)

I hope Doncic's 3-pointers don't fall off a cliff at some point, Young style.

[fuller4379]

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[bondom34]

Posted a few places, you guys have 2:

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[oldshoolballer]

The kid just understands the game so well. It’s teuly amazing to watch. Well worth trading Trae Young and a pick for

Love watching Luka I swear he reminds me of Larry Bird 19 years old Just unreal.

[wolfram]

Is it just me or the coach never really praises Luka the way he praises other players? Like tonight after the game he praised Dennis and his competetive nature. When they ask him about Luka's performance he kind of downplays it and talks how it was all about the team.

[Archx]

Is it just me or the coach never really praises Luka the way he praises other players? Like tonight after the game he praised Dennis and his competetive nature. When they ask him about Luka's performance he kind of downplays it and talks how it was all about the team.

Because people constantly ask him about Luka. I think he is kinda fed up with the same questions over and over again. He is probably afraid that at one point it will become all about one player because at the end of the day, it is a team effort.

[CloudWalker]

Is it just me or the coach never really praises Luka the way he praises other players? Like tonight after the game he praised Dennis and his competetive nature. When they ask him about Luka's performance he kind of downplays it and talks how it was all about the team.

He definitely downplays it and I don't see any problems with that. I'm sure Luka gets praised more than enough behind closed doors. There are guys on the roster who are playing hard all the time but get zero media attention, so it's only appropriate for him to bring attention to how important their contributions have been.

[dirkforpres]

Is it just me or the coach never really praises Luka the way he praises other players? Like tonight after the game he praised Dennis and his competetive nature. When they ask him about Luka's performance he kind of downplays it and talks how it was all about the team.

Everyone else praises him enough. He’s probably just trying to keep him grounded a bit

[BlueSan]

Any additional news on the injury?

[fuller4379]

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