Luka Dončić Discussion - Year 2

Post #881 » by **Dirk** » Thu Jan 3, 2019 5:06 pm

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Bob8 · Post #882 » by **Bob8** » Thu Jan 3, 2019 7:38 pm

Luka with 680.000 votes second, behind LeBron, in west frontcourt.

DayDay7 · Post #883 » by **DayDay7** » Thu Jan 3, 2019 7:42 pm

I knew he would get a lot of votes... but 2nd place? Just wow!

thr3ep01nte4 · Post #884 » by **thr3ep01nte4** » Thu Jan 3, 2019 8:17 pm

Bob8 wrote:Luka with 680.000 votes second, behind LeBron, in west frontcourt.

Gotta keep voting! Can't skip a day.

Post #885 » by **Dirk** » Thu Jan 3, 2019 8:28 pm

DayDay7 wrote:I knew he would get a lot of votes... but 2nd place? Just wow!

Pretty crazy. His marketing potential is huge.

J_T · Post #886 » by **J_T** » Fri Jan 4, 2019 2:03 am

DJ_3_Ball wrote:
thr3ep01nte4 wrote:
Archx wrote:Also like i said, no one is crazy enough to come to the western conference. They are already in good teams and will get paid a ton of money. Luka is not Lebron, his true potential to attract big stars will come out in couple years.The only realistic signing that Mavs could do is Klay. He will demand money like KD and GSW won't be able to keep all of them after this season. But Klay is from LA so there is that..

Yeah. From 1999 to now, among championship teams or championship contenders only Shaq's Lakers and Lebron teams were built on free agent signings. And both situations were very unique. Other great teams weren't constructed that way. Just keep adding functional pieces and hope Luka can make that jump next season. He needs to be an All-Star lock or in the conversation for a spot on an All-NBA team next year.

I wanna see Luka make the following improvements by the end of next season.

1) Significantly cut down on turnovers
2) improve FT% shooting over 82%
3) Maintain over 38% 3PT shooting for a full season
4) Improve his body. He sometimes is just manhandled by stronger players. Plus, he looks out of shape when compared to a guy like Dwight Powell. He's 19 years old for Pete's sake. He should have a more muscular frame and not be pushed around as often.
5) Increase assists to 6.5 or more per game.

He can't increase assists if he plays at 4 positions, it's unrealistic. His role is not that of a pure PG. He only plays pure PG when DSJ is not around. In those 11 games he had 77 assists, for 7.0 apg.
He currently sits at 30th place in the league. Guess how many players above him are not PG's? Four. And out of these 4 only James fits your target of 6.5 apg, with 7.1 apg.

As for significantly cutting down on turnovers - could you define how significantly would that have to be? Here is a list of NBA players with most turnovers per game:

1 James Harden Houston Rockets SG 5.52
2 Russell Westbrook Oklahoma City Thunder PG 4.62
3 Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks SF 4.26
4 Trae Young Atlanta Hawks PG 4.03
5 Devin Booker Phoenix Suns SG 3.90
6 Blake Griffin Detroit Pistons PF 3.80
7 John Wall Washington Wizards PG 3.78
8 Jrue Holiday New Orleans Pelicans PG 3.72
9 Zach LaVine Chicago Bulls PG 3.66
10 Joel Embiid Philadelphia 76ers PF 3.49
11 Kevin Durant Golden State Warriors SF 3.45
12 Luka Doncic Dallas Mavericks SF 3.42
13 LeBron James Los Angeles Lakers SF 3.41
14 Ben Simmons Philadelphia 76ers SG 3.39
15 Nikola Jokic Denver Nuggets C 3.20
16 Dennis Smith Jr. Dallas Mavericks PG 3.16
17 Ricky Rubio Utah Jazz PG 3.11
18 Karl-Anthony Towns Minnesota Timberwolves C 3.08
19 De'Aaron Fox Sacramento Kings PG 3.05
20 Stephen Curry Golden State Warriors PG 3.00
21 Chris Paul Houston Rockets PG 2.96

So at the moment Luka is at 12th place, between Durant and James. Significantly cutting would probably mean what... Less than 2.50? Another question I have is, would you say the same about all the other players on this list?

Let's just say that cutting down on turnovers is not one of the improvement priorities as I see them. Even if he did cut it by one turnover (but why are all these other superstars not doing the same?) what exactly is the value of that? PER attributes one point to a steal so I guess that's it.

BTW, an interesting stat... LBJ will without a doubt end his career with most turnovers in history of the league. He is already 4th and is on pace to grab #1 spot by the end of the next season.

J_T · Post #887 » by **J_T** » Fri Jan 4, 2019 2:10 am

Dirk wrote:
DayDay7 wrote:I knew he would get a lot of votes... but 2nd place? Just wow!

Pretty crazy. His marketing potential is huge.

The crazy part is that he is not from China. Yao Ming got voted in by the Chinese. He had what, 13 ppg as a rookie till then? The other rookie with an AS appearance since 2000, Blake Griffin, well he did have a legitimately great rookie season.

fuller4379 · Post #888 » by **fuller4379** » Fri Jan 4, 2019 4:24 am

https://sports.yahoo.com/first-round-star-fan-voting-results-something-else-200557411.html

Front Count
1. LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers (1,083,363)
2. Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks (679,839)
3. Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors (659,968)
4. Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans (605,417)
5. Paul George, Oklahoma City Thunder (580,055)
6. Steven Adams, Thunder (261,327)
7. Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets (235,272)
8. Kyle Kuzma, Lakers (195,477)
9. Draymond Green, Warriors (138,017)
10. DeMarcus Cousins*, Warriors (92,977)

* A reminder that Cousins has not played a single game due to injury this year.

arkuo · Post #889 » by **arkuo** » Fri Jan 4, 2019 4:32 am

J_T wrote:
Dirk wrote:
DayDay7 wrote:I knew he would get a lot of votes... but 2nd place? Just wow!

Pretty crazy. His marketing potential is huge.

The crazy part is that he is not from China. Yao Ming got voted in by the Chinese. He had what, 13 ppg as a rookie till then? The other rookie with an AS appearance since 2000, Blake Griffin, well he did have a legitimately great rookie season.

The Mavs are China's team. Mavs gear sells like crazy in China. All because Cuban signed Ding for a time.

DJ_3_Ball · Post #890 » by **DJ_3_Ball** » Fri Jan 4, 2019 5:12 am

J_T wrote:
DJ_3_Ball wrote:
thr3ep01nte4 wrote:
Yeah. From 1999 to now, among championship teams or championship contenders only Shaq's Lakers and Lebron teams were built on free agent signings. And both situations were very unique. Other great teams weren't constructed that way. Just keep adding functional pieces and hope Luka can make that jump next season. He needs to be an All-Star lock or in the conversation for a spot on an All-NBA team next year.

I wanna see Luka make the following improvements by the end of next season.

1) Significantly cut down on turnovers
2) improve FT% shooting over 82%
3) Maintain over 38% 3PT shooting for a full season
4) Improve his body. He sometimes is just manhandled by stronger players. Plus, he looks out of shape when compared to a guy like Dwight Powell. He's 19 years old for Pete's sake. He should have a more muscular frame and not be pushed around as often.
5) Increase assists to 6.5 or more per game.

He can't increase assists if he plays at 4 positions, it's unrealistic. His role is not that of a pure PG. He only plays pure PG when DSJ is not around. In those 11 games he had 77 assists, for 7.0 apg.
He currently sits at 30th place in the league. Guess how many players above him are not PG's? Four. And out of these 4 only James fits your target of 6.5 apg, with 7.1 apg.

As for significantly cutting down on turnovers - could you define how significantly would that have to be? Here is a list of NBA players with most turnovers per game:

1 James Harden Houston Rockets SG 5.52
2 Russell Westbrook Oklahoma City Thunder PG 4.62
3 Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks SF 4.26
4 Trae Young Atlanta Hawks PG 4.03
5 Devin Booker Phoenix Suns SG 3.90
6 Blake Griffin Detroit Pistons PF 3.80
7 John Wall Washington Wizards PG 3.78
8 Jrue Holiday New Orleans Pelicans PG 3.72
9 Zach LaVine Chicago Bulls PG 3.66
10 Joel Embiid Philadelphia 76ers PF 3.49
11 Kevin Durant Golden State Warriors SF 3.45
12 Luka Doncic Dallas Mavericks SF 3.42
13 LeBron James Los Angeles Lakers SF 3.41
14 Ben Simmons Philadelphia 76ers SG 3.39
15 Nikola Jokic Denver Nuggets C 3.20
16 Dennis Smith Jr. Dallas Mavericks PG 3.16
17 Ricky Rubio Utah Jazz PG 3.11
18 Karl-Anthony Towns Minnesota Timberwolves C 3.08
19 De'Aaron Fox Sacramento Kings PG 3.05
20 Stephen Curry Golden State Warriors PG 3.00
21 Chris Paul Houston Rockets PG 2.96

So at the moment Luka is at 12th place, between Durant and James. Significantly cutting would probably mean what... Less than 2.50? Another question I have is, would you say the same about all the other players on this list? Let's just say that cutting down on turnovers is not one of the improvement priorities as I see them. Even if he did cut it by one turnover (but why are all these other superstars not doing the same?) what exactly is the value of that? PER attributes one point to a steal so I guess that's it.

BTW, an interesting stat... LBJ will without a doubt end his career with most turnovers in history of the league. He is already 4th and is on pace to grab #1 spot by the end of the next season.

Jokic is 8th in the NBA in assists. He doesn't play PG for the Nuggets. It doesn't seem to be a problem for him.

Literally everyone above Luka on that list either scores more ppg or gets more apg. That's not a knock on Luka. Obviously, turnovers are part of the equation with good, aggressive play. That said, Luka's assist to turnover ratio is under 1.5. That's not good. 2 to 1 has been the gold standard for ions. Which by the way, LeBron James is easily ahead of the 2 to 1 clip.

That's what I'd like to see from Luka. Boost the assists, cut down on the TOs and get to 2 to 1. Because he has the talent to do it. He should be doing it easily. He's very talented. Just a little too loosey goosey with the ball at times.

I also think he needs better teammates. The amount of alley oops he's thrown that haven't been finished and wide open looks he gets guys that they don't finish. He's running bad in that category for sure. He should be more like 5.7 apg for the season, if his teammates would help him out & finish more plays. Simple regression towards the mean will help with that.

J_T · Post #891 » by **J_T** » Sat Jan 5, 2019 1:17 am

Got a bit sad the way Dirk ended his thoughts about Luka today: "If I was 10 years younger, we'd be hack of a combo."

Post #892 » by **Dirk** » Sat Jan 5, 2019 12:54 pm

J_T wrote:Got a bit sad the way Dirk ended his thoughts about Luka today: "If I was 10 years younger, we'd be hack of a combo."

The interesting thing is that Dirk has been productive in recent years when he was already very ancient. This year with the injury and this 'rough comeback', it does feel like the last year for him, oh well.

Anyway, I believe they will still make a combo. Dirk will be hanging around Dallas and hopefully will transition into a figure that can help young guys like Luka both with on and outside the court stuff.

burek3 · Post #893 » by **burek3** » Thu Jan 10, 2019 4:09 am

Someone needs to fix his head for the free throws. I don't think it's physical issue. If he can hit tough stepback 3s in crunch time, he for sure should hit his FTs.

Archx · Post #894 » by **Archx** » Thu Jan 10, 2019 11:38 am

This is really impressive on 9 mpg less. Let's see the 2nd half of the season. Should be good the way he is developing. Just needs to get his head fixed on the FT line.

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Post #895 » by **Dirk** » Thu Jan 10, 2019 12:38 pm

burek3 wrote:Someone needs to fix his head for the free throws. I don't think it's physical issue. If he can hit tough stepback 3s in crunch time, he for sure should hit his FTs.

Absolutely is in his head. Been very noticeable and I've been meaning to joke about it actually. Someone do the math and see what his PPG and TS% would be if he was shooting 85%.

The no nonono..... .... ... yes!...pass.

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Archx · Post #896 » by **Archx** » Thu Jan 10, 2019 3:44 pm

burek3 wrote:Someone needs to fix his head for the free throws. I don't think it's physical issue. If he can hit tough stepback 3s in crunch time, he for sure should hit his FTs.

He's shooting 60% from FT line in his last 5 games. He said he is wishing he could take step back FT's lol.

Suka Bongcic · Post #897 » by **Suka Bongcic** » Thu Jan 10, 2019 11:23 pm

Luka needs to have the ball in his hands 24-7. Trade Dennis Smith jr and get a PG that can play d and hit the 3.

If they aren’t going to trade smith, they need to incorporate a Doncic and smith pick and roll/pop to take advantage of their strengths.

LukaMagic · Post #898 » by **LukaMagic** » Fri Jan 11, 2019 9:25 am

TOP SELLING JERSEYS
1. Lebron James
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo
3. Derrick Rose
4. Kyrie Irving
5. Donovan Mitchell
6. Ben Simmons
7. Jayson Tatum
8. Luka Dončić
9. Stephen Curry
10.Dwyane Wade

And his jersey is at the moment sold out (at least in Europe).

Torgeir Bryn · Post #899 » by **Torgeir Bryn** » Fri Jan 11, 2019 10:04 am

Black Falcon wrote:Luka needs to have the ball in his hands 24-7. Trade Dennis Smith jr and get a PG that can play d and hit the 3.

If they aren’t going to trade smith, they need to incorporate a Doncic and smith pick and roll/pop to take advantage of their strengths.

They should.

But I don't think DSJ is the main problem. It's a bigger issue for me when they go several possessions in a row with post ups, iso or dribble hand offs to Wes and Barnes, usually with Doncic just standing in the corner.

Lord Cuban · Post #900 » by **Lord Cuban** » Sat Jan 12, 2019 6:19 am

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