Luka Doncic 20-21 Thread

[PaulieWal]

Watched 5 games this season, I noticed his mid-range game improved and he utilisez it more. That's very good. And yeah, he's a very good defender now, but people will never believe it coz they're racist.

Race has nothing to do with it. People have zero problems accepting good white defenders.

Luka hasn't been a very good defender to date in his career. Which considering his youth, his offensive load, and his physical limitations is neither shocking nor unfair to point out.

To his credit he was good enough in the playoffs and he's been solid so far this year. If he is just not a liability to be targeted that's all he needs to be. Add to that his fierce competitiveness, otherworldly IQ, and defensive rebounding, its likely he will figure out how to be a small positive on defense in his prime.

But if he's not. If he's a liability, pointing that out isn't racist.

Being a white Euro 100% plays a role in player perception. But you already know that. Per usual, you're so woke!

By the way, you yourself are underrating Luka's D. This year (I'd call him average last year), he's been statistically good.

105 DRtg, .7 DBPM, .4 DWS.

Warned for this.

[PaulieWal]

It's a shame that the thread for this great player has been derailed by nonsense. I am opening this thread now but anyone posting this in this read will be on a short leash, think about what you post before you hit submit.

If you have problems with the actions of the mod team regarding this thread PM me first or another mod for further clarifications. Any attempt at backseat modding will be met with a minimum 3 day ban or worse.

[juanc]

It's going to be interesting to see how Luka plays now that KP is(going to be) back. Specially his driving to the basket and paint/around the rim %. He was uber efficient last season with the 5out offense, but this year his % has fallen a bit. I think that playing with KP is a factor here, but just how big of a factor?

[Texas Chuck]

It's going to be interesting to see how Luka plays now that KP is(going to be) back. Specially his driving to the basket and paint/around the rim %. He was uber efficient last season with the 5out offense, but this year his % has fallen a bit. I think that playing with KP is a factor here, but just how big of a factor?

Well the offense hasn't been very good so far. So KP should help. What's encouraging for the team is how much more competitive the defense has looked. And if KP means Dwight Powell essentially disappears from the rotation as it should that should help at both ends. Powell clearly not the same player and how he could be.

And its been interesting that Maxi has played minimal center despite him being the only option for them to play 5 out with KP out. They have continued to play big pretty consistently.

[feyki]

This kid is probably the worst open court player of all time, as one of the top 10 players in the league.

[AdagioPace]

This kid is probably the worst open court player of all time, as one of the top 10 players in the league.

early '00 Dirk was a gazelle in comparison , but he's not worse as an open court player than many top 10 bigs.

[Archx]

Nice early stat.

Read on Twitter

[feyki]

This kid is probably the worst open court player of all time, as one of the top 10 players in the league.

early '00 Dirk was a gazelle in comparison , but he's not worse as an open court player than many top 10 bigs.

Very comparable with Jokic .

[clearlynotjesse]

Best defensive game I've seen from him tonight. Super active out there. Oh and also nearly a 30 point triple double.

[Johnny Firpo]

[AdagioPace]

Die Kirche im Dorf lassen
The church remains in the village
Abbiamo rimesso la chiesa al centro del villaggio
On a remise l’église au milieu du village

[dygaction]

Really nice! Do you have a chart like this for the top ~50 players or where you can compile your own?

[juanc]

Here's some great analysis of Luka's play vs the Pacers. You need to go to twitter to see the whole thread. Is it fair to say that his playmaking has improved a bit?

Read on Twitter

[limbo]

Damn, it was looking grim the first couple of games, but now i'm feeling a bit better about the squad.

I still don't like Josh Richardson and would rather have Seth Curry, but Cauley-Stein and James Johnson were solid pickups. Really make us better defensively.

Great that KP didn't miss too much time. Him being back now should help our offense a lot, which was in dire straits before... Brunson being back and healthy is also huge. His our 2nd best guard behind Luka, and takes pressure off THJ/Burke to try and create, which they aren't that good in...

Now we just need DFS and Kleber back so we don't have to overplay Iwundu and James Johnson, and Richardson to not be garbage and we're good to go.

[Ryoga Hibiki]

This kid is probably the worst open court player of all time, as one of the top 10 players in the league.

early '00 Dirk was a gazelle in comparison , but he's not worse as an open court player than many top 10 bigs.

Very comparable with Jokic .

Jokis is a great open court player, actually. The way he can outlet or even put the ball on the floor and lead the break, taking advantage of all openings is putting some serious pressure on the defense.
Luka instead tends to slow down much more the pace.

[TheBonzaiEffect]

36/9/11. #Regressed.

[feyki]

early '00 Dirk was a gazelle in comparison , but he's not worse as an open court player than many top 10 bigs.

Very comparable with Jokic .

Jokis is a great open court player, actually. The way he can outlet or even put the ball on the floor and lead the break, taking advantage of all openings is putting some serious pressure on the defense.
Luka instead tends to slow down much more the pace.

Doncic also could manage the offence well in the fastbreaks. But my point was individual, or in other words he couldn't be a go to guy on the open court.

[TheBonzaiEffect]

Luka with an insane 35/11/16/4 steals/1 block, while being +8 in a loss last night. Shame he's not getting the attention he deserves because of the Mavs current D-League roster.

He's now 1st in ASST%, 2nd in BPM, 2nd in VORP, 4th in PER, 4th in OBPM, 11th in DBPM. Just killing it on both ends.

[GeorgeGervin]

Luka with an insane 35/11/16/4 steals/1 block, while being +8 in a loss last night. Shame he's not getting the attention he deserves because of the Mavs current D-League roster.

He's now 1st in ASST%, 2nd in BPM, 2nd in VORP, 4th in PER, 4th in OBPM, 11th in DBPM. Just killing it on both ends.

He had a terrific game, no doubt.
One thing comes to my mind : when will he be willing to play away from the ball? He just stands there when he doesn't have the ball. He could have a better impact by setting picks and using his gravity to open lanes. And he could also get some open 3s.

[TheBonzaiEffect]

Luka with an insane 35/11/16/4 steals/1 block, while being +8 in a loss last night. Shame he's not getting the attention he deserves because of the Mavs current D-League roster.

He's now 1st in ASST%, 2nd in BPM, 2nd in VORP, 4th in PER, 4th in OBPM, 11th in DBPM. Just killing it on both ends.

He had a terrific game, no doubt.
One thing comes to my mind : when will he be willing to play away from the ball? He just stands there when he doesn't have the ball. He could have a better impact by setting picks and using his gravity to open lanes. And he could also get some open 3s.

Agree, he doesn't seem to know how to play off ball. Granted, the team is far better with the ball in his hands, and they don't have a real creator aside from him, so it doesn't really behoove him to be off ball. Plus, given his mediocre three-point shooting, I'm not sure his gravity would help a ton in that respect. But to me this is a small issue. The Mavs are fantastic with Luka dominating the ball. What they need are better/more consistent 3/D players/wings (DFS isn't one, THJ can't defend and is hot and cold shooting, Burke can't defend, etc.), and ideally a second all-star/fringe all-star caliber guard or wing.