Can we now please stop saying Luka is overrated? His defense wasn't even mentoned, which is also good and has been for a while now. This man is on a mission and the best possible candidate for MVP so far. Great video and great explanations of the plays, I loved watching this!
@@xavierb9061yeah and how many of the top 30 have defense as their biggest weakness? 27? none of them are even that bad at defense they're just that much better at offense
@@tolstoyed Its just a meme from 2 years ago when Luka and Devin went head to head throught a 7 games series. Luka outplayed Devin in game 7, it was a massacre if I recall correctly the mavs were something like +30 in the 3rd on a game 7 at your opponent's home, its just absurd domination. So the meme Luka is Devin Booker's father was born.
Not quite, his off ball offense is quite mediocre. Catch and shoot, cutting and moving to spot/ participating in off ball actions for other players are not good from Luka. Compare that to Curry, who does everything else about 95% as well as Luka but has the best off ball offense ever, or Jokic, who is a more effective big man version of Luka and he's not quite bulletproof. Also when his jumper isn't falling he keeps taking bad shots. Of course, he's still a top 3 offensive player in the NBA. Embiid and Giannis are better scorers but far more limited, and SGA has better scoring slightly but much less playmaking. LeBron is just slightly worse overall with a very similar playstyle
but its certainly wayyyyy better than previous years. Luka tends to start seasons like this end them poorly then show up in the playoffs. But best brlieve he’ll show up when the lights are brightest.
I don’t know if this guy ever wins a ring or gets an MVP, but I hope history remembers just how utterly absurd Luka is on offence. Harden was one thing, but Luka’s game is more advanced and well rounded. What a player.
I think this is his year to get mvp. There's not really anyone else standing out as much that haven't already done better in past years. Giannis, jokic, and embiid all had better years in the past. Curry and Lebron's teams won't be a high enough seed. KD is old news, kawhi is injured... this might be Luka's year
@@MrE_ Embiid is the frontrunner for now, then probably SGA. If the Mavs can get a top 3 seed for the playoffs, I can see Luka winning, which I hope happens. 😅
Fr. Luka and Lively make it look easy when they combine for buckets, but you need serious maturity and ball IQ to be able to mesh with Luka the way Lively has. Lively knows what his job is and he's executing it to perfection so far. A perfect match
That is the kind of big the Mavs/Luka has been looking for especially that Powell has gotten older. A smart rim roller big who always wants to cash it inside. Credit for Derrick Jones Jr. as well because Luka has been missing an athletic wing who can cut and finish above the rim. Helps diversify the offense between other wings who are just shooters. Look at how Jokic also sets up Aaron Gordon for easy alley-oop buckets besides having Murray/MPJ as shooting threats.
Luka is legitimately already one of the best offensive players I’ve EVER seen. But what’s really impressed me about his game this season is his willingness to play faster in transition and defend well. Adaptability is the true mark of an all time great and Luka has showed that in spades this season. Btw, this kid is only 24…
people compare him so much to peak Harden as if thats a bad thing but the difference is Luka is arguably better than he ever was when he’s only 24, Harden at 24 was just barely getting started on the Rockets
@@brindogg He was pretty average in terms of raw percentage, but considering volume and difficulty it's pretty good. Makes him more lethal in clutch moments in general
Its crazy how he's literally double teamed the whole damn game but still gets 50 Anyone who still calls him "overrated" doesn't really watches the game and only looks at stats and wht the media says
How can you look at the stats and say he’s overrated 😂😂😂..bro is averaging 33 9 and 9 and gets no love from the national media frfr like are we taking what this dude is doing for granted …bro is torching the league in a way that I haven’t seen since maybe Steph in 2016 in terms of just straight up embarrassing ppl ..bron in 18 ,Jokic last yr ,Giannis in 22 etc all had legendary years but it’s different I’m talking about literally saucing niggas night to night …only Steph and James harden have had runs like this in last decade (maybe lillard)
But he is overrated, the idea being that in the top 10 players in the world, you could make the case that at least 5 are better than him. His impact metrics match what is seen on the tape, which is that the little things he does not do add up to negatively impact the side. Even so, as wonderful as such performances are to watch, the greatest test in the playoffs, where his ability will be tested to the fullest. So far, although he is better than Harden and LeBron at this style of play, it has been proved a 1000 times that this style does not work in the long run, maybe if he was in a weak conference he'd make the Mavs be a perennial Conference Finals maker but right now the second round is the best they can do, even with Kyrie.
@@Lyrunfromda214 probably people who complains he shoots too many free throws and people who still thinks he's a bad defender lmaoo but I agree with your point
This dude is far and away the best offensive player in the league. His scoring, passing and playmaking abilities are out of this world. He completely controls every single game he plays in. Literally, he's doubled more than anyone and it doesn't even matter because of his ability to create opportunities for his teammates. There are other elite offensive players but Doncic is in a tier of his own. I love people like SGA but it's borderline insulting to put him above Luka in the MVP race just because he's an elite defender. His offensive prowess isn't close to what Luka does. The impact Luka has on games because of his offensive talent is absolutely absurd.
I'm from Madrid so I knew this player was going to be one of the all-time great since he was 16, even if I had my doubts obvisouly. He transitionned so well to the NBA, he really is one of my favourite players ever. I hope nothing but the best for him, this guy is a show on himself and it will always be good for any basketball championship to have Luka compete in it.
He became Father Christmas and showed his Phoenix Sons how to really play basketball. So kind of Luka. Now people can't say that Luka was only Devon Booker father, truly Luka is the Phoenix Sons father.
the pass from the right elbow to the left corner was unbelievable. the way he was able to predict that the defender was gonna close out up top and leave the corner man open shows a rare level of iq only the great players possess. if luka keeps playing at this level for the next 10+ years and gets a couple rings along the way, were gonna need to have a discussion. oh man oh man…
That play is absurd. SO many levels to it and Luka is ahead of everyone; it makes his teammates play smarter too with this style and level of greatness. MVP by 1000kilometers
@@rubentuting525 helps when he has maybe the second best shooter of all time and probably the best playmaking 4 setting him up, warriors offense doesnt work without them two playing well
For being 24 years old this kid is insane! Im from phoenix and love my suns but damn the way he plays the game is on another level and i cannot disrespect it
I can't really describe how lucky I feel as a Mavs fan that we got Luka. Dirk is probably the single most important athlete in Dallas sports history and I always told myself that 5 or so years of the Mavs being terrible after he left would be more than fine considering what Dirk gave us. The last few years of Dirk's career before we got Luka were pretty miserable and not looking good. The fact that we immediately got someone that will probably end up being even better than Dirk is astounding. We are some of the luckiest fans in the NBA.
Its part good and bad luck. Luka was so good as a player that even as a rookie he could claw a team out to 30 wins. The bad luck is that he's such a transcendent talent that outside of fully blowing up to suck, Luka can will the Mavs even to a playoff/play-in berth. Which makes building a team around harder because its harder to add high ceiling young talent around him. He really was the whole team the moment he inherited the Mavs from Dirk.
The level of manipulation and mastery Luka has is incredible. He also has the size and the competitiveness. He doesn’t duck anybody and you can really say that he wants to play every game.
This game definitely reminded me of "peak" Jokic (scare quotes bc I'm not actually sure we've seen that yet...). I'd love to see a comparison of Luka/Jokic off-ball, because their game is similar offensively but from such different positions, and with different usage responsibilities and supporting casts. Such talented players.
Thank you, Thiking Basketball for these types of videdos. I Learn so much from these analysis of specific games and how Luka dissects the defense piece by piece, the reads, the reactions and the actions he does.
before the season started i said Luka is the best player in the world at the moment, reason being his gameplay on the world cup with slovenia combined with his improved fitness, i got downvoted for oblivion on reddit, but i end up being right, still, the media underrates him and doesnt even consider him in the mvp battle, what more does this man have to do to get some mainstream recognition? he's fit, he improved his offense, he improved his defense, his averages are ridiculous, he's the most doubled player in the league, but he rarely makes bad decisions, his gameplay is flashy af, his team is doing well (even with so many injuries this season)... Luka for mvp! Also, coach, I LOVE your pronunciation of his surname. :)
I feel for you man, I had a simiilar experience for most of the season so far. In MVP talks, in player ranking videos, people have so many guys over him, which ofcourse is bias, but also lack of realism. He was already on pace to an MVP last season, until the Mavs season fell apart and he missed some time. This year, the man is much better, more efficient at shooting, his passing is on point, turnovers are low and his defense is again much improved. It is just great to see the man ball out every game, even though he gets hammered sometimes by defenses physically, or some bad whistles during the game. Prime Luka is a scary thing!
@@remulsive9558 While I would love to see a little more egalitarian offense, especially when Kyrie gets back, he most definitely is not a cone on defense. He wasn't great a few years ago, but his individual defense took a big leap in the last two years. And on the offensive part .. , it makes sense; if you have a great playmaker and scorer, you should take advantage of those skills. That is exactly what they've been trying to do in Dallas over the last years. It's not like other guys on the team can't make plays, it is just him who creates the advantage or spots it and passes to that weakness on the floor.
@@remulsive9558 I mean Embiid got the MVP last year and his defense was not good enough in the playoffs. As expected because the MVP is a regular season award. Jokic caught all the flack from casuals as a defender in the regular season if 5 out teams were able to stretch him out. But he played his best defense in the playoffs against really good offenses en route to the Finals and a chip.
Luka is the living breathing definition of a matchup nightmare lol it’s almost Lebron-like the way he can exploit mismatches and mistakes you make defensively
@@SSJRome recency bias of what? Luka is a better passer, better shooter, better midrange shooter and equal level finisher in halfcourt. Only thing Lebron has on him is transition and off ball cutting (but not off ball shooting). Lebron never lead a top rated offense despite all the talent he was sorounded with, Luka does it with gleague mavs on yearly basis. Luka is already having one of the highest individual offensive peaks ever.
Ben, thank you. Your videos are amazing and I love watching them. I was so engaged with this one that it didn’t even feel like it was 10 minutes long. Your content makes me a more intelligent fan of the game, and I appreciate the work that goes into them. I watched this game start to finish and, like everyone else, was blown away by Luka’s performance. I watched replay after replay, highlight reel after highlight reel, and yet your video still managed to show me several things that I somehow missed completely. It’s the nuances that you highlight in your analyses that make it clear to me how difficult it is to rack up the numbers Luka does on a regular basis, and how special it is that he continues to do so.
I never saw Luka's defense as that bad like some say. The guy has an one of a kind IQ for the game, positioning, antecipating and reading the whole game. The truth is most of times someone says a player is not good defender is because he is small or doesn't look athletic, and probably never will appear in top 10 ESPN for this, being the case of Luka. This is some of NBA culture and it's hard to change, I guess
Its the same bozos who say Jokic's defense was bad but look at it in the regular season. Then try back it up with his lack of blocks/game. Meanwhile Jokic's league leading rebound game was on display the entire playoffs even against teams the size around the rim. He was amazing with drop coverage and playing against screen games at the perimeter. His fast hands were active against smaller guys driving at him which meant free turnovers. Plus he was coaching his teammates where to be against certain screen actions where other teams were beating them with it. I get why people won't think this is great shit because they are hobbits who never played basketball in their lives. Its not about NBA culture than NBA fans who choose to be dumb as rocks with how they choose to consume the game.
i mean he still gets blown by pretty easy when he is saving energy for offence his D has definitely improved but there’s still a way to go before his an elite defender
@@kevinmclain6741look at the type of shots he takes and makes. Ofcourse he will not have high efficiency althiugh 50% is quite good. Jokic just gets the ball in the middle and pops it from 2 feet in...doncic shoots from everywhere with even 3 guys on him
@@sicr626 Doesn't show up in the regular season. But in the playoffs where opposing defenses really clamp down on those easy options, Doncic can overcome that with his supremely diverse shot diet. Along with just doing basics things he does to beat smaller mismatches. Though its a small sample size but some big mismatches he's been given more trouble in the past.
I think this is best example for how different Luka is from harden. Harden doesn't have Luka's IQ ,vision and tempo. Also Luka shows up even big in playoffs
This year has been really horrible for me. A breakup, my mom in the hospital during the holidays, my job etc but I was for the first time in 30 years as a Suns fan excited for a "superteam". A concept that worked for Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Golden State and the Lakers. Instead we get hit with the new CBA at the exact moment we have an owner willing to pay. Oh and I get to watch Luka and Halliburton do incredible things for the next decade while my city goes back to the basement. I hope in 15 years we dont screw up our possible number 1 draft pick. Shit, maybe in a couple decades we'll win a championship. I know its only sports but my life is really in a dark place right now.
When its all said and done Luka will be on top 10 of Scoring and assists and if he manages to win 3 or more rings he will be on top 10 players of all time. Needless to say i can see him winning atleast 2-3 regular season MVP and with 3 rings we can agree he will have 3 FMVPs as well..i know its all hypothetical but if someone can make it happen its Luka
And how EASY does he make it all look?!? If I were coaching my kid these days, I’d be advising just to watch video after video of Luka. Even if you’re not the best shooter, not the strongest, tallest, fastest or most athletic, if you can learn that POISE, that patience and decision-making, it shows you can still go a long way.
I mean height matters man. Jokic wouldn't be able to be as nasty of a passer as he could be if he wasn't a 7 footer. Doncic would also be as a passer if he was under 6'7" because bigger wings could smother and impede that vision. Thing is not every tall player has that play making vision. And shorter play makers definitely only have a few consistent ways they dime up their teammates.
Luka, Steph and Jokic need to be in the conversation for best offensive players EVER ( alongside MJ and LeBron ofcourse). Those are the best 5 offensive players I've ever seen. When I watched them it's like defences are simply helpless almost every possession.
i can confidently say luka is already one of the 10-15 best offensive players of all time. and its so crazy watching the mavs because he has COMPLETE control over the entire offense.
@@kevinmclain6741 dude, the gravity this man has and the way he literally creates wide open shots for everyone else is all time good. and THEN you factor in his elite scoring ability where he literally does everything. yeah he’s that good.
I really enjoy your breakdowns a lot man. I appreciate you. Belated Merry Christmas and may your New Year's be great as well. Again, thank you for your work.
Picking apart those defenses like it's nothing! His court vision, awareness, patience, ball handling abilities are out of this world! We grew him good here in Slovenia, especially in Spain! It's pretty much how we play here in Europe, team ball!
Idk. People try categorizing him too much. Same with Jokic. I suppose in Europe the basketball positions are more blurred with young players developing skills that overlap. Doncic is closest to a point guard, but he's built taller. Moves slower. Shoots sharper. He's as legitimate of a threat behind the arc as in the paint. Every defender can arguably be viewed as a mismatch even if they're bigger. By slowing the pace it buys time for more opportunities to open up. Both him and Jokic use passing to create opportunities rather than passing as a reaction to finding an opportunity. They are both patient. And both of them make it very difficult to guess what they are doing next. Gathering to shoot looks identical to passing. Driving can stop on a dime at any moment to pull up and shoot. The only way to beat them is to fake them out, get them to think you're falling for something.
But to trick them by get them thinking you're falling probably have higher risk. To put it on number, defending them by the way players doing right now might hold them on a steady range of 70-90% of their output, but try to playing trick with them on defense is either 0 or 100% and nothing in between.
You always see the stats and think about how amazing he is but watching him do it in person is even better because you see how he actually destroys defenses
so luka obviously produces at an enormously high clip, but he also has a crazy usage rate and time with ball. last year i rememeber he had the ball in his hand for 10 minutes (!!!!) each game, so i did a lil statistical analysis and found that given how much of the offense is centered through him, his numbers were pretty much exactly on line with the mav's numbers when he was on the bench. in other words, he didn't really add anything that the team didn't have without him, it's just that every offensive possession goes through him. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing and it might have changed since last year, but it was really interesting to me
This video is a direct attack on those saying than Luka is just harden 2.0. Well, that's only half correct, he is indeed Harden-like, but better than the original in every possible metric. A roided Harden is a more apt description.
Its wonderful that Luka got his help, how people said he needed to be surrounded by better players for years and now hes putting up this masterclass of a season and he has kyrie paitently waiting to return and play his role (which is crazy considering we are talking ab kyrie as "role" player) I like to see this team succeed
This is the most well rounded team in the Mavs Doncic era. They completely rebuilt the team for the better. It's no longer Luka and 4 guys standing around the 3 point line and that's pretty much all they can do, live and die by the 3 ball. Exum, D. Jones Jr., even Hardaway is putting it on the floor more and attacking the basket. Also Lively has been a massive upgrade over Powell at everything. If Lively continues to get better over the next couple years and there's no reason to think he wont, they'll have a great team for the foreseeable future. Kyrie seems happy in DAL him and Luka seem to get along really well and like one another. Once he comes back from injury they'll be even more potent. Their only weakness right now is they could be better defensively.
@@musichub3926 nothing agains giannis or embid they are great but their team is much better Mavs are injury riddled team if Luka doesn't preform this well for this entire month tey would have been out of the play in, this is the same media that put Haliburton and SGA ahead of Luka i mean come on now like come on, DJJ out Green out, Grant out Kyrie and Lively out and here are the mavs in top 5 in the west but nobody wants to give him the credit
Exactly my thoughts as well. He deserves all the praise, but he carries way too much weight on his shoulders. Make the same video analysis vs. a strong team with great teamplay, it would show a different picture (e.g. the recent game vs. the Nuggets). But if it's just about Luka - well, he has plenty of seasons ahead, he will mature and maybe find a team that is ready to win a championship!
I see plenty of decision making flaws here, but the thing is, when teams double-team you this much, this soon, there's always an open three somewhere. Obviously Luka's a great player to draw the attention and find the passes out of the doubles, but my feel is he could do it even more simply. As an example, at 6:00 he had not only Powell open for a dunk, but also T.H. Jr. open for a three. The cross-court skip-pass that almost got intercepted was the worst option there, and he got lucky. Most of the rest could have gotten open threes for good shooters after the first screen w/o needing anything else.
We didn’t wait to crown Othani as the greatest player in baseball history despite not winning a World Series yet At the age of 23, long before Messi captured his greatest triumph we didn’t wait to crown Messi the Greatest in history We don’t have to wait with Luka Doncic, he is one of the greatest, he is one of those guys, he’s that special. The MVPs and Championships will come but in the meantime appreciate what your witnessing
Different sports and only fanboys make those claims. The media has been pushing Messi on the people and they pushed back and it was branded as hate, as they always do. Ohtani is seen as the outright best in the World, a few playoff runs will put him in conversations.
This reminds me of when Kobe Bryant said the European players learned the fundamentals and I look at the gap of foreign players to these overpaid lazy American NBA players. The gap is only getting bigger and Kobe Bryant was right
Kobe always understood the game better than everyone else (besides maybe lebron) I would’ve loved to see him in this era with the vastly improved role player quality
LOL the very talented ones at least. Problem is I feel some of the American front office execs aren't as great evaluating those type of players who can be franchise builders. Which is how Jokic slipped to 2nd round (but lets be real Jokic has made HUGE leaps and bounds to his game from his rookie year) and how the Hawks wanted a hobbit who can shoot from 40 feet out but can only play make with screens over Doncic and his ability to lead an offense and score in various ways. Because there are many times the NBA FOs whiffed on EU players and we can list the names like Nikolo Tsivisliki, Jan Vesely, Darko Milicic and whoever else.
@@t4d0W I was told that the NBA wants to focus on foreign players because the American players are too spoiled. They're not dependable and they don't play unless they want to plus if they cater to the world, it would be more marketable for their sport
This was a great luka performance for basketball purists. So much to learn from it, his high IQ, passing versatility, no look dimes ON TOP OF BEING the best scorer in the league too.
Lol this is how you measure greatness. He is already being given his flowers at such a young age. Scary stuff to see his ceiling. He entered the league in his prime. Supreme patience and knowledge even as a dang rookie
He's the most complete offensive player I've ever seen. Paint, post, key, 3 pointers, passing, playmaking, shot creation. He does everything so well
he is really good, hope he leaves that bum franchise and get some proper help
What does he do that Jokic cant do?
@@keepscrolling6042 went to the conf finals with this franchise u clown
@@para97v 3 point shooting
@@para97vshoot threes in general more specifically off the dribble.
Can we now please stop saying Luka is overrated? His defense wasn't even mentoned, which is also good and has been for a while now. This man is on a mission and the best possible candidate for MVP so far. Great video and great explanations of the plays, I loved watching this!
Wild overated, whos worse off ball in top 30players in nba? Whos worse defensively in top 20..maybe ja
@@xavierb9061the fact that you think Luka is still a bad defender shows you don’t watch games
@@xavierb9061yeah and how many of the top 30 have defense as their biggest weakness? 27? none of them are even that bad at defense they're just that much better at offense
@@xavierb9061I can give you 3 worse defenders just in top 10.
Jokic, curry, kevin durant
Not being an off-ball player isn't a con its a playstyle.
If anything he is underrated at this point.
The disrespect he has gotten the last 9 months has been wild.
Luka is a great player and a great father as well. Teaching his son D Booker how to play great basketball
why did you make this comment?
@@tolstoyed chill Devin
@@MrVardano why are so many of you obsessed with devin?
@@tolstoyed Its just a meme from 2 years ago when Luka and Devin went head to head throught a 7 games series. Luka outplayed Devin in game 7, it was a massacre if I recall correctly the mavs were something like +30 in the 3rd on a game 7 at your opponent's home, its just absurd domination. So the meme Luka is Devin Booker's father was born.
@@tolstoyed Luka Doncic is Devin Booker father
There’s not much more to say about Luka at this point. He’s about as bulletproof as you can get on offense.
i mean hes not efficient theres a lot to say lol
Not quite, his off ball offense is quite mediocre. Catch and shoot, cutting and moving to spot/ participating in off ball actions for other players are not good from Luka. Compare that to Curry, who does everything else about 95% as well as Luka but has the best off ball offense ever, or Jokic, who is a more effective big man version of Luka and he's not quite bulletproof. Also when his jumper isn't falling he keeps taking bad shots. Of course, he's still a top 3 offensive player in the NBA. Embiid and Giannis are better scorers but far more limited, and SGA has better scoring slightly but much less playmaking. LeBron is just slightly worse overall with a very similar playstyle
but its certainly wayyyyy better than previous years. Luka tends to start seasons like this end them poorly then show up in the playoffs. But best brlieve he’ll show up when the lights are brightest.
I love Luka but he's pretty easy to criticise on Kyrie-led possessions.
@@dxfifa yeah but youre an idiot if youre having luka play offball lmao.
I don’t know if this guy ever wins a ring or gets an MVP, but I hope history remembers just how utterly absurd Luka is on offence. Harden was one thing, but Luka’s game is more advanced and well rounded. What a player.
I think this is his year to get mvp. There's not really anyone else standing out as much that haven't already done better in past years. Giannis, jokic, and embiid all had better years in the past. Curry and Lebron's teams won't be a high enough seed. KD is old news, kawhi is injured... this might be Luka's year
@@MrE_ Embiid is having a better year than last year when he won MVP, he's probably the favorite for now barring injuries
@@MrE_ Embiid is the frontrunner for now, then probably SGA. If the Mavs can get a top 3 seed for the playoffs, I can see Luka winning, which I hope happens. 😅
I hope they don't donate it like last year. Cuase he is 5th ATM
a ring im not sure that will be hard. but an MVP no doubt he gets one or two. the guy is just too good
Let's also appreciate Lively for being active inside the paint!
Fr. Luka and Lively make it look easy when they combine for buckets, but you need serious maturity and ball IQ to be able to mesh with Luka the way Lively has. Lively knows what his job is and he's executing it to perfection so far. A perfect match
I just really love every time LukaLively duo in action, it's exciting
That is the kind of big the Mavs/Luka has been looking for especially that Powell has gotten older. A smart rim roller big who always wants to cash it inside. Credit for Derrick Jones Jr. as well because Luka has been missing an athletic wing who can cut and finish above the rim. Helps diversify the offense between other wings who are just shooters. Look at how Jokic also sets up Aaron Gordon for easy alley-oop buckets besides having Murray/MPJ as shooting threats.
@@t4d0W Bingo
Mavs made some incredible off season moves like Exum, Jones, and Lively while developing Hardy and Green. Williams has been damn good this season too
Luka is legitimately already one of the best offensive players I’ve EVER seen. But what’s really impressed me about his game this season is his willingness to play faster in transition and defend well. Adaptability is the true mark of an all time great and Luka has showed that in spades this season. Btw, this kid is only 24…
Lol .... that's the kicker ...he has so many more years ahead of him, God willing.
people compare him so much to peak Harden as if thats a bad thing but the difference is Luka is arguably better than he ever was when he’s only 24, Harden at 24 was just barely getting started on the Rockets
24 is crazy
@@nomorepartiezz They play the same style of outdated heliocentric offense that doesn't lead to winning basketball. That's why they're compared.
@@illDefine1cry harder. He’s better than your favorite player 😂😂
Luka improved his 3pt this year, he is finally a good shooter from 3 and that has been lethal!
He was last season as well yk
@@brindogghe was below league average last year. he's shooting 38% this year from 3.
@@brindoggpretty sure last year he was averaging 33/34% if I remember correctly.
@@brindogg He was pretty average in terms of raw percentage, but considering volume and difficulty it's pretty good. Makes him more lethal in clutch moments in general
2nd best in the league is actually crazy considering the difficulty of his attempts
Its crazy how he's literally double teamed the whole damn game but still gets 50
Anyone who still calls him "overrated" doesn't really watches the game and only looks at stats and wht the media says
How can you look at the stats and say he’s overrated 😂😂😂..bro is averaging 33 9 and 9 and gets no love from the national media frfr like are we taking what this dude is doing for granted …bro is torching the league in a way that I haven’t seen since maybe Steph in 2016 in terms of just straight up embarrassing ppl ..bron in 18 ,Jokic last yr ,Giannis in 22 etc all had legendary years but it’s different I’m talking about literally saucing niggas night to night …only Steph and James harden have had runs like this in last decade (maybe lillard)
Luka is a god of basketball...every game hi is always double team almost every posesion
But he is overrated, the idea being that in the top 10 players in the world, you could make the case that at least 5 are better than him. His impact metrics match what is seen on the tape, which is that the little things he does not do add up to negatively impact the side. Even so, as wonderful as such performances are to watch, the greatest test in the playoffs, where his ability will be tested to the fullest. So far, although he is better than Harden and LeBron at this style of play, it has been proved a 1000 times that this style does not work in the long run, maybe if he was in a weak conference he'd make the Mavs be a perennial Conference Finals maker but right now the second round is the best they can do, even with Kyrie.
@@Lyrunfromda214 probably people who complains he shoots too many free throws and people who still thinks he's a bad defender lmaoo but I agree with your point
@@PG-0707he’s a trash defender wdym, one game doesn’t make or break anyone.
This dude is far and away the best offensive player in the league. His scoring, passing and playmaking abilities are out of this world. He completely controls every single game he plays in. Literally, he's doubled more than anyone and it doesn't even matter because of his ability to create opportunities for his teammates. There are other elite offensive players but Doncic is in a tier of his own. I love people like SGA but it's borderline insulting to put him above Luka in the MVP race just because he's an elite defender. His offensive prowess isn't close to what Luka does. The impact Luka has on games because of his offensive talent is absolutely absurd.
wow just decided to type luka doncic in search bar and got hit with this christmas present thanks thinking basketball 🙏🏾
"You know, you look at him and he looks like he ate a couple too many donuts, sometimes."
-Gregg Popovich
I'm from Madrid so I knew this player was going to be one of the all-time great since he was 16, even if I had my doubts obvisouly. He transitionned so well to the NBA, he really is one of my favourite players ever. I hope nothing but the best for him, this guy is a show on himself and it will always be good for any basketball championship to have Luka compete in it.
Gracias amigo Veridad!❤
He became Father Christmas and showed his Phoenix Sons how to really play basketball.
So kind of Luka. Now people can't say that Luka was only Devon Booker father, truly Luka is the Phoenix Sons father.
He anticipates decoy switches and get the ball out his hands before the trap even comes its crazy how he can process so much at once at his age!
He is a one of a kind player. His iq is so high
That was unreal what he did in this game. Seeing Luka magic broken down like this makes me appreciate it even more.
Luka might be the best pick and roll ball handler ever. He controls the defense more than the defense controls him
the pass from the right elbow to the left corner was unbelievable. the way he was able to predict that the defender was gonna close out up top and leave the corner man open shows a rare level of iq only the great players possess. if luka keeps playing at this level for the next 10+ years and gets a couple rings along the way, were gonna need to have a discussion. oh man oh man…
If you try to make that pass in a game from bird perspective you would most likely fail. Unbelievable
Do you mean the pass at 4:45 because that is as fine pass you will ever see
I agree man. However, the Curry offense is still far better than the Luka offense.
That play is absurd. SO many levels to it and Luka is ahead of everyone; it makes his teammates play smarter too with this style and level of greatness. MVP by 1000kilometers
@@rubentuting525 helps when he has maybe the second best shooter of all time and probably the best playmaking 4 setting him up, warriors offense doesnt work without them two playing well
For being 24 years old this kid is insane! Im from phoenix and love my suns but damn the way he plays the game is on another level and i cannot disrespect it
If sund are completely healthy. They have the best chance to win it
Well u had chance to draft european genius 😃
I can't really describe how lucky I feel as a Mavs fan that we got Luka. Dirk is probably the single most important athlete in Dallas sports history and I always told myself that 5 or so years of the Mavs being terrible after he left would be more than fine considering what Dirk gave us. The last few years of Dirk's career before we got Luka were pretty miserable and not looking good. The fact that we immediately got someone that will probably end up being even better than Dirk is astounding. We are some of the luckiest fans in the NBA.
Its part good and bad luck. Luka was so good as a player that even as a rookie he could claw a team out to 30 wins. The bad luck is that he's such a transcendent talent that outside of fully blowing up to suck, Luka can will the Mavs even to a playoff/play-in berth. Which makes building a team around harder because its harder to add high ceiling young talent around him. He really was the whole team the moment he inherited the Mavs from Dirk.
The level of manipulation and mastery Luka has is incredible. He also has the size and the competitiveness.
He doesn’t duck anybody and you can really say that he wants to play every game.
Luka Doncic is Devin Booker father
NO ONE should EVER be compared to Luka Doncic. He is ONE OF ONE!!
harden
@@aishan6224hahaha.
Nah.
@@aishan6224 2023 Luka is better than prime Harden, especially passing wise and efficiency wise
@@itsbunch harden was also a great passer. Very simillar, but luka is bigger therefore has better vision and can play bully ball.
Just because Luka is better than any other player of his type doesn't deny the fact that there are other players like him / of his type.
3:15 this pass to hardy is so insane. the amount to testicular fortitude to even attempt that pass is unreal
This game definitely reminded me of "peak" Jokic (scare quotes bc I'm not actually sure we've seen that yet...). I'd love to see a comparison of Luka/Jokic off-ball, because their game is similar offensively but from such different positions, and with different usage responsibilities and supporting casts. Such talented players.
as a hawks fan I cry every time I watch this Mf play…. SHOULDA BEEN ON MY TEAM!!!!!
Now imagine you drafted Marvin Bagley over him instead of a multi time all star
I mean Hawks and Mavs have had the same level of post season success since the draft, and honestly I would take the Hawks roster over the Mavs.
Respect man✊
Thank you, Thiking Basketball for these types of videdos. I Learn so much from these analysis of specific games and how Luka dissects the defense piece by piece, the reads, the reactions and the actions he does.
before the season started i said Luka is the best player in the world at the moment, reason being his gameplay on the world cup with slovenia combined with his improved fitness, i got downvoted for oblivion on reddit, but i end up being right, still, the media underrates him and doesnt even consider him in the mvp battle, what more does this man have to do to get some mainstream recognition? he's fit, he improved his offense, he improved his defense, his averages are ridiculous, he's the most doubled player in the league, but he rarely makes bad decisions, his gameplay is flashy af, his team is doing well (even with so many injuries this season)... Luka for mvp!
Also, coach, I LOVE your pronunciation of his surname. :)
I feel for you man, I had a simiilar experience for most of the season so far. In MVP talks, in player ranking videos, people have so many guys over him, which ofcourse is bias, but also lack of realism. He was already on pace to an MVP last season, until the Mavs season fell apart and he missed some time.
This year, the man is much better, more efficient at shooting, his passing is on point, turnovers are low and his defense is again much improved. It is just great to see the man ball out every game, even though he gets hammered sometimes by defenses physically, or some bad whistles during the game. Prime Luka is a scary thing!
Where’s his ring? MVP? This guys nothing more than a ball hog and cone on defense.
@@remulsive9558 While I would love to see a little more egalitarian offense, especially when Kyrie gets back, he most definitely is not a cone on defense. He wasn't great a few years ago, but his individual defense took a big leap in the last two years.
And on the offensive part .. , it makes sense; if you have a great playmaker and scorer, you should take advantage of those skills. That is exactly what they've been trying to do in Dallas over the last years. It's not like other guys on the team can't make plays, it is just him who creates the advantage or spots it and passes to that weakness on the floor.
@@remulsive9558 I mean Embiid got the MVP last year and his defense was not good enough in the playoffs. As expected because the MVP is a regular season award. Jokic caught all the flack from casuals as a defender in the regular season if 5 out teams were able to stretch him out. But he played his best defense in the playoffs against really good offenses en route to the Finals and a chip.
You see Luka creating 92pts. I see a father traveling all the way to Phoenix to be with his kids on Christmas Day.
He went to another level of unstoppable ever since he started cosplaying as Corey Kispert
lmaoooo
Luka is the living breathing definition of a matchup nightmare lol it’s almost Lebron-like the way he can exploit mismatches and mistakes you make defensively
Almost? Luke is already conciderably better offensive player than Lebron ever was, with all due respect for the legend that bron is.
@@whocares3201 don’t let the recency bias take effect
@@SSJRome recency bias of what? Luka is a better passer, better shooter, better midrange shooter and equal level finisher in halfcourt. Only thing Lebron has on him is transition and off ball cutting (but not off ball shooting). Lebron never lead a top rated offense despite all the talent he was sorounded with, Luka does it with gleague mavs on yearly basis. Luka is already having one of the highest individual offensive peaks ever.
@@whocares3201era tax
cmon man lebron aint nothing without his athleticism. Dude has refs and commissioner on his back. No bag/midrange. No mamba mentality aswell.
Your love for basketball exudes in your writing. You make basketball truly romantic!!! Love it
This is arguably my favourite RUclips channel. Man I love these videos!
Ben, thank you. Your videos are amazing and I love watching them. I was so engaged with this one that it didn’t even feel like it was 10 minutes long. Your content makes me a more intelligent fan of the game, and I appreciate the work that goes into them. I watched this game start to finish and, like everyone else, was blown away by Luka’s performance. I watched replay after replay, highlight reel after highlight reel, and yet your video still managed to show me several things that I somehow missed completely. It’s the nuances that you highlight in your analyses that make it clear to me how difficult it is to rack up the numbers Luka does on a regular basis, and how special it is that he continues to do so.
As someone who knows nothing about basketball this was AMAZING to follow and brought the joy of this genius. Keep up the great breadowns!!
I never saw Luka's defense as that bad like some say. The guy has an one of a kind IQ for the game, positioning, antecipating and reading the whole game. The truth is most of times someone says a player is not good defender is because he is small or doesn't look athletic, and probably never will appear in top 10 ESPN for this, being the case of Luka. This is some of NBA culture and it's hard to change, I guess
Its the same bozos who say Jokic's defense was bad but look at it in the regular season. Then try back it up with his lack of blocks/game. Meanwhile Jokic's league leading rebound game was on display the entire playoffs even against teams the size around the rim. He was amazing with drop coverage and playing against screen games at the perimeter. His fast hands were active against smaller guys driving at him which meant free turnovers. Plus he was coaching his teammates where to be against certain screen actions where other teams were beating them with it. I get why people won't think this is great shit because they are hobbits who never played basketball in their lives. Its not about NBA culture than NBA fans who choose to be dumb as rocks with how they choose to consume the game.
i mean he still gets blown by pretty easy when he is saving energy for offence his D has definitely improved but there’s still a way to go before his an elite defender
A generational offensive player is one that makes the defense make the wrong decision every single time. Simply because there is no right answer.
A generational offensive player is at least 7-8 points above league average efficiency scoring. Not league average for their career.
@@kevinmclain6741look at the type of shots he takes and makes. Ofcourse he will not have high efficiency althiugh 50% is quite good. Jokic just gets the ball in the middle and pops it from 2 feet in...doncic shoots from everywhere with even 3 guys on him
@@sicr626 Doesn't show up in the regular season. But in the playoffs where opposing defenses really clamp down on those easy options, Doncic can overcome that with his supremely diverse shot diet. Along with just doing basics things he does to beat smaller mismatches. Though its a small sample size but some big mismatches he's been given more trouble in the past.
I just hope Lively stays with Luka for the next 15 years; that’s gonna be an unstoppable duo (if not already)
Right. He’s guaranteed a 10,000 points in his career if he stayed with Luka and for sure he will get paid the way he plays
Lively's ppg and mpg will increase overtime if he stays with Luka. He will improve a lot.
I think this is best example for how different Luka is from harden. Harden doesn't have Luka's IQ ,vision and tempo. Also Luka shows up even big in playoffs
This year has been really horrible for me. A breakup, my mom in the hospital during the holidays, my job etc but I was for the first time in 30 years as a Suns fan excited for a "superteam". A concept that worked for Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Golden State and the Lakers. Instead we get hit with the new CBA at the exact moment we have an owner willing to pay. Oh and I get to watch Luka and Halliburton do incredible things for the next decade while my city goes back to the basement. I hope in 15 years we dont screw up our possible number 1 draft pick. Shit, maybe in a couple decades we'll win a championship. I know its only sports but my life is really in a dark place right now.
Hang in there man
Stay strong boss shit gets better
When its all said and done Luka will be on top 10 of Scoring and assists and if he manages to win 3 or more rings he will be on top 10 players of all time. Needless to say i can see him winning atleast 2-3 regular season MVP and with 3 rings we can agree he will have 3 FMVPs as well..i know its all hypothetical but if someone can make it happen its Luka
he’s gonna end up with 25k points and like 10k assists in the next 12 years if im wrong about this i’ll come admit to it but I’m pretty confident 🤣
Suns' defense: Lets trap Luka!
Luka be like: Wait! What was that?
It's so nice to see a dad teaching their sons how to play basketball. At this point Luka has part ownership of the Suns.
Thank you for saying something positive about Dallas!
Harden: "I'm not a system player, I am a system"
Luka: "Any man who must say 'I am a system' is no true system"
Lively was a perfect draft piece for them
And how EASY does he make it all look?!? If I were coaching my kid these days, I’d be advising just to watch video after video of Luka. Even if you’re not the best shooter, not the strongest, tallest, fastest or most athletic, if you can learn that POISE, that patience and decision-making, it shows you can still go a long way.
I mean height matters man. Jokic wouldn't be able to be as nasty of a passer as he could be if he wasn't a 7 footer. Doncic would also be as a passer if he was under 6'7" because bigger wings could smother and impede that vision. Thing is not every tall player has that play making vision. And shorter play makers definitely only have a few consistent ways they dime up their teammates.
Eye sight. Vision. Reading The Opponent. Beast
The official nba instagram account really wrote „a LITTLE of everything“ 😂
Of course they did. They're waiting for Edwards to have another pretty good game so they can make sure everyone knows that he's the next jordan.
@@Musso8771 theres literally 7 more people averaging more points than him theyve been on his nuts for a while noe
This video is a perfect example of what happens when good coaching and a superstar are put together.
This shit is mind boggling lmao
What a nice sight seeing father teaching his son how to play
Luka, Steph and Jokic need to be in the conversation for best offensive players EVER ( alongside MJ and LeBron ofcourse). Those are the best 5 offensive players I've ever seen. When I watched them it's like defences are simply helpless almost every possession.
I love how it says “season of giving” under the score but Luka ruined everyone’s holiday who sat in that arena.
i can confidently say luka is already one of the 10-15 best offensive players of all time. and its so crazy watching the mavs because he has COMPLETE control over the entire offense.
How can a league average efficiency scorer be among the best? LEague average.
@@kevinmclain6741dude he does it all. Efficiency is just scoring. Are you watching this video? This is kind of Luka every game with the creation.
@@kevinmclain6741 dude, the gravity this man has and the way he literally creates wide open shots for everyone else is all time good. and THEN you factor in his elite scoring ability where he literally does everything. yeah he’s that good.
Harden had 53 and 17 assists. It must be mentioned how Luka has mirrored his game from an all time great. Give Flowers where it’s due
I really enjoy your breakdowns a lot man. I appreciate you. Belated Merry Christmas and may your New Year's be great as well. Again, thank you for your work.
Picking apart those defenses like it's nothing! His court vision, awareness, patience, ball handling abilities are out of this world! We grew him good here in Slovenia, especially in Spain! It's pretty much how we play here in Europe, team ball!
I misread created as scored and was like, "wtf did I miss?"
Still impressive, regardless.
Hahahaha "what?! He became Wilt Chamberlain?!"
Idk. People try categorizing him too much. Same with Jokic. I suppose in Europe the basketball positions are more blurred with young players developing skills that overlap. Doncic is closest to a point guard, but he's built taller. Moves slower. Shoots sharper. He's as legitimate of a threat behind the arc as in the paint. Every defender can arguably be viewed as a mismatch even if they're bigger. By slowing the pace it buys time for more opportunities to open up. Both him and Jokic use passing to create opportunities rather than passing as a reaction to finding an opportunity. They are both patient. And both of them make it very difficult to guess what they are doing next. Gathering to shoot looks identical to passing. Driving can stop on a dime at any moment to pull up and shoot. The only way to beat them is to fake them out, get them to think you're falling for something.
But to trick them by get them thinking you're falling probably have higher risk. To put it on number, defending them by the way players doing right now might hold them on a steady range of 70-90% of their output, but try to playing trick with them on defense is either 0 or 100% and nothing in between.
shows how crazy kobe’s 81 pt game was
That pass at 3:20 is so fucking underrated. He predicted where Gordon was gna go.
When a guy knows a counter to your counter of his counter, there's just not much you can do. You just hope they miss.
You always see the stats and think about how amazing he is but watching him do it in person is even better because you see how he actually destroys defenses
I love your channel bro, much love from Florida (USA)❤
I hope Luka keeps his weight in check as gets older so he can play at a high level longer..
Smart, can shoot, big, great passer, low post moves, extremely tough minded, etc…Luka is literally unstoppable on offense
Luka needs to win mvp
the game is evolving. players are getting better as they should. we are all witnessing new legends in the making.
just that guy
so luka obviously produces at an enormously high clip, but he also has a crazy usage rate and time with ball. last year i rememeber he had the ball in his hand for 10 minutes (!!!!) each game, so i did a lil statistical analysis and found that given how much of the offense is centered through him, his numbers were pretty much exactly on line with the mav's numbers when he was on the bench. in other words, he didn't really add anything that the team didn't have without him, it's just that every offensive possession goes through him. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing and it might have changed since last year, but it was really interesting to me
MVP
extremely good video, it might be that i’m more comfortable w the sport and know more abt it but this made so much sense and flowed so logically
Can't wait for Kyrie to get back... Dallas at full offensive strength vs OKC long wings
guy drops 50 and we talking about his passing and manipulation of the game.greatest offensive engine in history.
This video is a direct attack on those saying than Luka is just harden 2.0. Well, that's only half correct, he is indeed Harden-like, but better than the original in every possible metric. A roided Harden is a more apt description.
Lies
This is personal for Luka... and he is that great!
Its wonderful that Luka got his help, how people said he needed to be surrounded by better players for years and now hes putting up this masterclass of a season and he has kyrie paitently waiting to return and play his role (which is crazy considering we are talking ab kyrie as "role" player) I like to see this team succeed
nice video!!!
A heartwarming moment where a father hangs out with his son during Christmas.
He's too big and strong for the small guys and too fast for the big ones
and if he runs into a fast big, he'll just change his pace and score
Subscribing due to this video alone. What a breakdown and Luka is truly magic.
Its never a better option to leave it for powell. Powell would have fumbled it or found some way to mess it up.
Nah Powell's a good roller, he just can't do anything else
Powell is too weak around the basket imo.
BEST PG IN THE LEAGUE BY FAR
Luka just needs a Rodman.
Kukoc off the bench would be nice too
This is the most well rounded team in the Mavs Doncic era. They completely rebuilt the team for the better. It's no longer Luka and 4 guys standing around the 3 point line and that's pretty much all they can do, live and die by the 3 ball. Exum, D. Jones Jr., even Hardaway is putting it on the floor more and attacking the basket. Also Lively has been a massive upgrade over Powell at everything. If Lively continues to get better over the next couple years and there's no reason to think he wont, they'll have a great team for the foreseeable future. Kyrie seems happy in DAL him and Luka seem to get along really well and like one another. Once he comes back from injury they'll be even more potent. Their only weakness right now is they could be better defensively.
Him not being even top 3 in the MVP race speaks volumes on the talent in the NBA nowadays
Or the racism
or that the media doesn't want to give it to Luka cuz they always find a reason to denigrate Luka and the Mavs
No... Speaks volumes of how narratives work for the MVP. Luka's masterpiece ain't talked at all by NBA media. Only in twitter and yt by fans
@@stefangacev6414hes gonna be top 3 but yall must have recency bias if you cant look at embiids or giannis’ runs this season
@@musichub3926 nothing agains giannis or embid they are great but their team is much better Mavs are injury riddled team if Luka doesn't preform this well for this entire month tey would have been out of the play in, this is the same media that put Haliburton and SGA ahead of Luka i mean come on now like come on, DJJ out Green out, Grant out Kyrie and Lively out and here are the mavs in top 5 in the west but nobody wants to give him the credit
Frank Vogel and Jason Kidd were on the same team during that bubble.
He’s amazing but I have doubts that this style of play can win a championship
Exactly my thoughts as well. He deserves all the praise, but he carries way too much weight on his shoulders. Make the same video analysis vs. a strong team with great teamplay, it would show a different picture (e.g. the recent game vs. the Nuggets). But if it's just about Luka - well, he has plenty of seasons ahead, he will mature and maybe find a team that is ready to win a championship!
I see plenty of decision making flaws here, but the thing is, when teams double-team you this much, this soon, there's always an open three somewhere.
Obviously Luka's a great player to draw the attention and find the passes out of the doubles, but my feel is he could do it even more simply.
As an example, at 6:00 he had not only Powell open for a dunk, but also T.H. Jr. open for a three. The cross-court skip-pass that almost got intercepted was the worst option there, and he got lucky. Most of the rest could have gotten open threes for good shooters after the first screen w/o needing anything else.
We didn’t wait to crown Othani as the greatest player in baseball history despite not winning a World Series yet
At the age of 23, long before Messi captured his greatest triumph we didn’t wait to crown Messi the Greatest in history
We don’t have to wait with Luka Doncic, he is one of the greatest, he is one of those guys, he’s that special. The MVPs and Championships will come but in the meantime appreciate what your witnessing
who thinks ohtani is the greatest in history? way too early.
Different sports and only fanboys make those claims. The media has been pushing Messi on the people and they pushed back and it was branded as hate, as they always do. Ohtani is seen as the outright best in the World, a few playoff runs will put him in conversations.
Luka is the clear MVP and is playing the best basketball in the world right now.
This reminds me of when Kobe Bryant said the European players learned the fundamentals and I look at the gap of foreign players to these overpaid lazy American NBA players. The gap is only getting bigger and Kobe Bryant was right
Kobe always understood the game better than everyone else (besides maybe lebron) I would’ve loved to see him in this era with the vastly improved role player quality
LOL the very talented ones at least. Problem is I feel some of the American front office execs aren't as great evaluating those type of players who can be franchise builders. Which is how Jokic slipped to 2nd round (but lets be real Jokic has made HUGE leaps and bounds to his game from his rookie year) and how the Hawks wanted a hobbit who can shoot from 40 feet out but can only play make with screens over Doncic and his ability to lead an offense and score in various ways. Because there are many times the NBA FOs whiffed on EU players and we can list the names like Nikolo Tsivisliki, Jan Vesely, Darko Milicic and whoever else.
@@t4d0W I was told that the NBA wants to focus on foreign players because the American players are too spoiled. They're not dependable and they don't play unless they want to plus if they cater to the world, it would be more marketable for their sport
Wow dude you make great videos, really allows me to appreciate these players more
amazing analysis of a should-be MVP in the very meaning of the word
This was a great luka performance for basketball purists. So much to learn from it, his high IQ, passing versatility, no look dimes ON TOP OF BEING the best scorer in the league too.
Lol this is how you measure greatness. He is already being given his flowers at such a young age. Scary stuff to see his ceiling. He entered the league in his prime. Supreme patience and knowledge even as a dang rookie
MVP season. So far the most valuable player up to this point. Hope to see him win a championship one day.
Another incredible video. Thanks for all the work you do