As a Dallas native I know you're right. The problem you didn't touch on is front office incompetence. We've seen this for DECADES with Dirk. We basically lucked in the trade that brought in Stevenson, Butler, and Haywood which was so essential to that 2011 title. If Luka is to win a title in Dallas we need a complete change of FO philosophy
Yeah and recently signing a washed as hell Mcgee, missing on Tyrese Maxey (better than Brunson), and probably not doing shit before this trade deadline...
It's mind blowing. Dallas is 8th in highest payroll. They made a good run last year but, looking at this season so far, it feels like the players outplayed the front office.
James Luka is a ball hog player handlebar like to pass that's why him and Kristaps didn't work Because Kidd isn't a great coach they tried to make Kristaps a spot shooter Kidd made no plays for Kristaps
@@lostone9700 or just surround him with good defenders. He has the body to where he can play defense but carrying the offense like he is now I can see why he allows teams to hunt him on the other end
And Luka much like his twin brother James Harden gotta at times fall back and let others shine. He ran Kristaps Porzingis and Jalen Brunson off. But they want to be the man. Harden and Morey = Luka And Cuban.
@@17thN.O lol did you compare James harden to Luka do you watch basketball? Luka is a young MJ or a young lebron and he proved it in the playoffs on the other hand harden is another version of Chris Paul a failure after failure with a 6th man numbers instead of 1st option numbers.
@@17thN.O Luka cares more about winning than being the man. If you've seen him play in the euroleague, FIBA, and eurobasket you can see how he defers way more to his teammates. If he really wanted to be the man all the time he would've taken eurobasket mvp from Goran Dragic in 2017. He says himself he's a playmaker not scorer, his teammates simply cant score in mavericks.
I think that's part of the "LeBron dilemma" he is talking about it in the video. From the start he's been so good at everything that the team struggles to find him a costar before he hits his stride. The franchise (knowing they're about to cash out to pay this great player) then does something a bit contradictive, but by not maximizing the player's early rise and seemingly lowballing free agents, getting "very close" to multiple big trades while fans just watch them all fall through.
Another understated part of this hell is that since the player performs so well that their team makes the playoffs, they never have lottery picks to select a young Robin to their Batman. It all has to be done through trades and free agency unless the organization has a serious eye for late draft talent. Which we all know is something very few teams can say.
Year, he isn’t suppose to be THAT good in his 2nd year and they can’t actually draft any top players , just because of him they can go in the playoffs but let’s be honest they’re not contender yet. So that’s the dilemma
Only LeBron took this dead end style the farthest, twice. But the other players let him down both times in those '07 and '18 nba finals. Those two seasons for LeBron are still unbelievable.
No, his teammates didn't let him down, the Lebron system did (just like it has for pretty much every ball hog player system in NBA history). He faced no one out east in '07 and his team was the 2nd seed so making it to the finals gets overblown way too much. In the finals, he sucked and was exposed for having no outside game or ability to deal with a completely clogged paint and plenty of bodies thrown out at him on the perimeter. Since the offense was give it to Lebron and he'll figure everything out, Spurs made them look wretched by sweeping them. '18 you might have a good case, but again, who'd he beat? All time great performance in G1 of the finals, but he still got swept when other teams GS faced got wins off GS. If Luka wants to win, they need to not go the James Harden, Lebron James super ball dominant style...unless they think they're gonna get lucky and find their Kyrie or Anthony Davis (with a bubble break season) to get Luka 1 or 2 rings absolute max.
Reminds me of some seasons of the Harden lead Rockets too. They just unfortunately ran into the Warriors dynasty. If CP3 didn't get injured that one year and the Rockets were able to win just one more game, I don't think they would have had any issues destroying the Lebron led Cavs that rebuilt at the trade deadline.
@@gumballwaterson1957 he’s not “super dominate” on the ball compared to harden or Luka. Stop it with that shit. Lukas usage rate this year is 38%! James in ‘18 was just under 32% with his highest being 33.7. There is far more ball movement in a lebron led offense. You’re letting something blind you.
@@gumballwaterson1957 love how you said “The LeBron System” led them down and only went to focus on the opposition. And because there isn’t that big hall of famer (I know Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, and Chauncey Billups are clearly just no names) it means the teams weren’t great.
@@FocusClimbing If your offensive system begins with a single player who initiates the offense and is, by far, the primary decision maker of the offense, and the primary finisher for an offense, it's the lebron system. Could've called it the Oscar Robertson offense too, but Lebron's the player who put the style on the map the last 20 years (just like GS or Phoenix is credited with small ball offense even though they're definitely not even close to the first). The only offensive system he played in that wasn't essentially 24/7 lebron ball was Miami. Got him to a ton of finals. I think it won them '16. The offensive style of a single player doing everything for an offense hasn't been very successful in NBA history.
Luka is great player and one of the best right now. But the main problem is that he has too much load. His ball usage is so high similar to James Harden. Kobe once stated that and he said that is the main reason why Harden never won championship. Luka needs another superstar or at least another star to get Dallas to compete but also I think Luka needs to play off ball little bit more and to unload himself. Hero mode Luka is great but in playoffs you cannot do hero mode all the time.
Can we not act like luka don’t have help Christine wood is a 20-7 player hardaway can get you 15-17 points same with dinwiddie also spencer can take some of the duties when they in together but luka don’t wanna play off ball which I don’t think can do
@@khaliekmason7006 Luka needs a true second star that can step up when he can’t or when he is resting. Finney Smith and Hardaway cannot create their own shots. Dinwiddie is the only other ball handler and he us wat too inconsistent. Wood is a good fit, but again, very inconsistent. He does not have someone that he can truly leave some of the offensive load to.
Great video! It has taken me 4 hours to really analyze Luka's game. I just believe he needs 4 more teammates because maybe he doesn't like his current one.
Christian Wood is averaging 17 points on 50% from the floor and 40% from 3 while also getting 8 boards. Dinwiddie is averaging 16 on 41% from 3… these guys aren’t bad . Luka just holds the ball way too much. I’m sick of players getting called bad while they’re offensive usage is just stand in the corner .
@@manz7860 alright then since ik damn well you don't watch the mavericks full game I can verify that Tim Spence and wood are playing good basketball this season
Interesting concept.. depending on one player and reducing the rest of the players proficiency. This is why I think the Magics are playing so well lately because ALL of their players are showcasing their abilities instead of relying on one.
One of the main issues with these types of players and why Steph and KD don’t fit into this category is off ball value even if u could build a perfect team around luka because he is basically a non factor off ball because of him not really being a catch and shoot player or fast/big enough to put in a cutter/dunker it would hard to put another ball handler/ shot creator with him
Luka is about to get the Giannis treatment, but possibly even worse because at least Giannis has the goofy lovable personality while people seem to really dislike Luka's personality
starting wood and moving luka off ball is the key to success. This has lebrons 2008 season written all over it. Where the cavs regressed from that run in 07 and went back to bron doing everything
Off ball for fkin who goddamn it?! So dinwiddie can run the offense? So DFS can get 30 turnovers a game trying to dribble the ball? So reggie can pass right back to whoever passed him the ball? So powell can play postups? So THJ can do his 5x between the leggs into a 30% pull up 3 every time? Like think about what you are actualy saying.
@@whocares3201 fam knock it the fuck off. Those players can swing the damn ball lol u acting like those players are dumb and can't move the ball to luka
@@colewrld901 you swing the ball once you create advantage. What the fck do you think passing around to guarded players achives? And no, some of those guys cant even make a simple post entry pass, that is a fact.
@@whocares3201 how would u know? We haven't seen Jason kidd even attempt to take the ball out of Lukas hands lol we saw phil jackson take the ball out mj and kobe hands and force them to trust their teammates and it led to amazing results
@@colewrld901 we actualy have. Go rewatch start of last season. DFS postups, THJ trying to create and shit. Worst offense in the league as the result. Shocking I know.
I really feel bad for Luka, but it is what it is. So he's signed on for 4 more years, so we'll just have to wait and see if he remains loyal or exercises his options when the time comes. I'm just hoping he gets some MVPs starting this year or the next before he leaves like LeBron did.
There are around 400 players in the league why do you feel sorry for him? there's a lot of hard-working great basketball players that don't win championships like Joel James harden and others you feel bad for them too? you must feel bad for a lot of people because there's a lot of people that ain't winning championships... so you can go through life keep on feeling bad or just face reality he doesn't work hard enough and he's not good enough to win and that shows you like rooting for losers for some strange weird reason
@Iambriangregory I feel bad because he's a young player playing at an exceptional level this early in his career and he's likely going to have to deal with for a long time until he makes a "decision" for himself or his team puts in the work to him in a contending squad. I don't feel bad for James Harden because he's had his chances and also I don't like the way he plays, and I wouldn't feel bad for Embiid because I'm not a fan of his plus he's had years to do something as well while Luka just got into his second extension contract this year?
@@navonmyhand7999 so he's a young player and you're already feeling sorry for him VERY STRANGE? That makes no sense at all you're talking out of both sides of your loose mouth! So he's got to pay his dues like everybody else !!you think you can jump the line einstein? And there's plenty of players out there that you can feel sorry for the never won championships and played good early in their career Patrick Ewing Charles Barkley . And in your strange twisted mind you keep on finding reasons why you don't feel sorry for other people but you find one person out of every 400 players in the NBA to feel sorry for you're a strange person you're weird so stop drooling out your mouth because what you're saying looks like vomit in basketball Case closed close your mouth!
This was a tough watch as a Mavs fan, but it looks like I have a new channel to subscribe to. Not too over the top, constructive and thoughtful. Watch out, Cainelovescali! Nice to see there are more chill nba channels out there.
I think it was Kerr or Draymond but they explained their defense of Harden in the playoffs which was basically let him dribble for 18 seconds of the shot clock. After while he’ll get tired. I think this can be applicable to Luka. They don’t really have a number two on this team. Then add to that they can’t add really anything because of the KP trades unless they just tank. They are in hell.
The problem is that Luka is a smarter player than Harden, so I don't think he will just dribble 18 seconds like that. But the thing is that Luka needs help, it is a fact. With a player like Luka, you can't even tank properly lmao
@@toshirohitsugaya857 actually they let luka do that same thing in the playoffs. Lukas teammates weren’t doing anything so during like game 2 or game 3 vs the warriors he would go late into the shot clocks because he was either tired or wanted to slow the pace but neither worked.
When I watch the Mavs I am always amazed and appalled at the same time. Luka does a lot of 1 on 5. It's amazing how good he is at it. But it can't be good for the rest of the team. And yet...with a couple of aggressive all-stars next to him: Look out!
Really interesting and well made video. Reminds me of Allen iversons story. Iverson is my personal fave player of all time and I think his all star and mvp performance over shadows his lack of a ring. But in the famous “practice” interview you can see how he doesn’t rly care about his own personal achievement he just wants championships yet at the same time he was sick of people blaming him for losing when he absolutely carried his team to the finals in the first place
You can feel Lukas frustration already. I think he knows and we know they will not make anything near last year's performance this season. I'm seriously worried he will share the same fate as Harden - a great player, achieving everything, just no ring.
LEGENDOFCH(EATING), this video changed my life. My entire view of everything that exists in this world, in fact, even in the entire universe. I can never look at anything I know the same way again. This video represents emotions that most humans could never understand. But I can. Thanks to this video I was awakened to many things previously considered unimaginable.
Love that the channel used Thinking Basketball in their research! He’s been covering heliocentric offenses a lot lately too and it explains the drop off the Hawks are facing and why Dallas can remain afloat. I’m hoping this year Mavs can see the different aspects in Luka’s game and maximize one of the many parts to his game this upcoming season
Watching Luka just reminds me why Larry and Magic were so great, Larry especially. Both on Mt Rushmore, both carried teams to championships straight away. With Larry he carried a nobody college to 33-0, then a 29 win Celtics to 61 wins in year 1 and a ring in year 2. Luka needs to study these two
LOL carried??? Bird had Parish, McHale, and Nate Archibald for his first ring. Magic had Kareem (top 3 all-time) Jamaal WIlkes, Norm Nixon and Michael Cooper for his first. Luka would give his left nut to have teammates like that.
Who would've thought that after all the years after birds retirement that he'd still be the greatest white hooper ever. Not a single white player has heen able to pass A hillbilly from a small town in Indiana 😂 Larry legend is too awesome.
Yes and... Johnson went to the Lakers and then got Worthy as well Bird got McHale soon after Etc So yes what you're saying is true about what Luka should do and those two greats went to much better franchises than this Dallas outfit 🙂
His study would conclude that he needs to transfer to better teams. Right now he's like MJ in early 80s Chicago, superstar level young player on a meh team
@@willhooke you're right he got McHale, but do you honestly consider McHale an all time great without Bird feeding him high percentage shots? Bird overcame Magic's Lakers that had arguably the best center of all time as his opposite, using McHale to his maximum, he was a luxury for Bird due to his post-skills and close range accuracy because Bird knew exactly how to maximise that - in another team that didn't understand how to utilise those strengths he may have ended up considered just another average center with a few people like me on the fringe arguing about what he could have been if he was given the right support - he certainly wouldn't be hall of fame. Just look at the stat difference when Bird wasn't on the floor with him. McHale wasn't there in the first year either when he took them from a 29 to a 61 win team. He wasn't at Indiana state for the 33-0 either. I love watching Luka, he's a generational talent, but he needs to understand why others were able to achieve so much more with potentially even less help. It took Michael the entire 80s to understand that putting up 40 every night wasn't winning him games - Michael had a season in the 80s where he was MVP, DPOY, got the scoring title and won the dunk contest in that single season, while being swept by Bird in the finals twice during that decade and soundly beaten even by a crippled Bird at the end of his career in the regular season in the 90s, 3-1 in Bird's favour the last season they both played if I recall correctly. An old, slow guy who had to lay down on the side of the court was still able to carry a worn out team well past their primes over a prime Michael, in 87 he was one missed shot from taking another ring with most of those injuries already having him fearing not being able to carry his kids, all while his best players were all carrying major injuries and he had absolutely no top level support, it would have been the most impressive ring in history if he pulled it off, but alas a lucky missed free throw lead to a call favouring the opposition, the baby skyhook and the rest is history - but the point is he damn near carried a worn down broken team of leftovers to a ring on his own that year, and Luka can't keep his team above 500. Luka just needs to find out what these guys did that he isn't doing, whether it's off-ball movement or whatever the effect is, and do it.
This why I love that Jokic is a center. He's a do it all player like Luka, but being a center he'll naturally have other shot creators on the court with him
@@youngmelo1841 I’m not just talking about having 1 good defender around Jokic 😂 the whole team has to be defence first, MPJ and Murray have to be moved for players who can defend.
@@youngmelo1841 Nuggets got him more defensive pieces this year, yet their defence got worse compared to last year 😂 Jokic can’t guard the perimeter or protect the rim, modern nba bigs have to at least do one of them, good luck winning a nba championship when guards can take your 7ft centre right to the rim.
Yeah basically, Luka Doncic is the system that’s a problem Rockets James Harden: he is the system 76ers AI : he is the system Early LeBron James Cavs: he is the system Early Michael Jordan Bulls: he is the system Need I say more
This video should be required viewing for anyone wanting to debate modern basketball. I've been saying this about Lebron and Russ for the last 10 years.
8:24 When Kobe Bryant said this, it was specific to how Harden was playing at that specific period. In the last 23 games when Kobe made those statements CP3 was regularly out with injury which had Harden taking 28 FGA, 12FTA averaging 43ppg 7apg 8rebs and had Usage Rate during that stretch of 44% USG. Harden was literally doing everything on Offense where his Offensive Load was in the 70% Percentile(insane All-Time Highs).
not everyone will be fortunate enough to get 15 or 10, or even 5, touches every game just to get into rhythm. and these are professional athletes, you don't compare them to local gym scrims
It wouldn't matter if they were making shots either. Teams like the Warriors, Bucks, Celtics, and Heat will destroy them because of how everyone has a specific job on both offense and defense.
Great video. Agree with everything. I've been on the train that Mavs should tank this season since it almost feels guaranteed if the Mavs don't do anything drastic then they are just gonna be in first round exit hell for many years to come.
I think motion needs to come back to NBA. Most role players, especially US players, were creators before but were forced into corner sitter roles because they didn't have to ability to utilize all the space the modern offense provides. Then we, the fans, sit around calling them bums because they clearly have no effective use in the offense.
I agree with your entire take .. you showed history, you showed present and all of the signs says the same thing luka has little to no chance on winning a championship I've been a fan of luka the second I watched a full game of him and he is too good for his own good.. this man has no flaws in his game
shooting, he's currently shooting pretty poorly from the FT and 3 point line, I don't believe he's a bad shooter though so his efficiency should get better.
@@yawgmoth6568 Right now? In December, Luka is shooting 40,4% from 3 and 78,3% from Free Throws. The thing is he start his season really badly in 3s. He started the season with 22,6% from 3s in October, November he shot 36,6% from 3. From the free throws, he shot 70% in November but almost 80% from October and December. Better than Lebron (for a comparison)
@@drizzyuzumaki8753 Just a bunch of people with nothing going on in their lives or mad they never reached their dreams attribute it to anyone who does must be selling their soul. Shit is sad
Another part of the cycle is that he’s so good that they’re going to struggle to get a great draft pick making his chances of getting a good teammate slimmer.
the problem with the mavs was that luka was to good early not a knock on luka since he was so good out of the gate and able to get that mavs to the playoffs they weren’t able to be bad enough to get a high pick in the draft to draft a star next to luka that is around the same age as him so now the mavs are in a constant cycle of trading for a star to win now
@@indamaking agreed. The Mavs just made terrible decisions down the road. They let go of a lot of key pieces while signing incompetent players to fat contracts. Their front office feels that their current roster is fine. Basically meaning that Luka is gonna have to do all the work while others stand around and shoot 3s. The team will never be truly contending for a chip until they let go of their egos and realize they need to build their team not around Luka but with Luka included to make any dent in that tough western conference.
The problem with this entire theory is that it only focuses on one aspect of basketball: offensive production. You completely neglect the defensive needs. If you surround Luka with some defensive stoppers, you would see a compounding problem for the league.
The solution is very simple, put another star that doesn't need to be assisted on every possession to score the ball and Luka will happily give him the ball everytime he can. Like he was doing in Real Madrid. Right now who can he give up the ball too in order to consistently score a point ???
Tbh, Luka is still a way to go to reach Jordan or LeBron status for one major reason -- defense. He can rack up all the numbers he and the Mavs want, but he won't be in absolute all-time class until he becomes at least an all-NBA defender. With that said, Luka is in an era of on-court homogony which makes it tougher (than previous eras) to develop truly impactful complimentary pieces offensively. And I think the regression of the NBA's offensive variety is largely to blame. Bigs who can absolutely WRECK in the post are being asked to shoot 3's and race up/down the court like they're guards... and that leaves the pressure solely square on Luka's shoulders. You want to find a potential legitimate partner for him that ultimately gets washed out in this style of game? Look no further than a man shown in this very video... Boban Marjanovic. His height and shoot dexterity would've made him a force in previous eras, but now he's a benchwarmer. Instead, guys like Jalen Brunson (who works best dominating possession) or Christian Wood (who conversely has virtually NO self-creation) have to be the 2nd option that ANY champion needs. And for the reasons mentioned, this obviously isn't a good fit. People can cite the analytics until they're blue in the face, but I've yet seen the correlation to victory for most of these numbers. If anything, we've seen Win Shares become totally cartoonish, compared to the at-worst-ballparking of player's values in all other eras, because the analytics don't account for context that legitimate determines outcomes on the court. This issue is a league-wide epidemic... and it's why we're seeing fewer and fewer champions play with the regular season greatness that was customary for any champ (and like 2-4 other contenders). If every team has like 1-2 guys dominating the ball and 3-7 guys providing pick-and-roll or catch-and-shoot or 3-and-D, then who exactly stands out? And the exceptions to this homogony very recently (see Phoenix's historic two-year run both on the road and against winning teams) are usually teams with cores too young (re: younger than 26) to be a complete championship thought like past greats. The NBA is honestly IMO facing a crisis in player development simply because it is so homogenous, and yet, front offices are doubling down on both the analytics and play style. Somehow, the countless injuries and the hockey-like size of middling teams aren't raising any alarms, but it's actually making these franchises (and NBA fanboys) believe we're in the "best" era of basketball ever. No, it's not. Far from it, IMO. The pendulum is too far in the opposite direction of tradition, to the point of not having a working compass on what actually translates best to greatness. Even the top-seeded teams are failing at this, given the recent playoff upsets (re: the top two seeds in each conference are 3-5 in the Conf Semis over the past 3 postseasons... which is UNTHINKABLE, given the sport's scoring structural support for favorites going chalk). The best would be settle down the pace enough to at least develop both the mid-range and post offense more, but NO TEAM wants to do this because it is "inefficient." Thing is that efficiency playing analytically on schedule is MUCH MORE EASILY EXPOSED in the playoffs than efficiency playing against the analytical grain. The Mavs and Luka are definitely in purgatory, but who these days can be equally dominant as a self-creator in the post and an off-ball finisher in the paint? The league simply doesn't afford many options for the Mavs to legitimately break into a championship class.
My goodness! Word for word, I said this exact same take to my friend who's been a Mavs fan since 1999. Finally! Somebody who thoroughly gets basketball at its best. We should create a podcast together; I'm impressed -- it's rather simple to assess these issues to some of us
Mark Cuban had a recent fat L in Crypto. He will use Luka to save a ton of money while being relevant in the league. Businessmen don't usually value accolades of their employees or talents as long as they profit, they're good.
I truly hope they get luka some help n I hope he's able to win multiple chips cuz he one of my favorite players next to steph and KD. Hope the best for the kid 🙏
Honestly I felt like rookie year luka was the best team version of him. He’s just been essentially James harden Houston 2.0 in this system luka when he played SG/SF the ball was not always in his hands and he was able to maneuver that way vs now it’s Luka the ball and try to have everyone else space out/iso ball luka
This is the problem when expectations are high and you produce right off the bat. You already set a high standard so anything below that is a failure, fortunately for Luka time is on his side
The Mavs's run to the WCF last season was a rare case of a heliocentric offense working perfectly when it needed to. The Suns could not focus on Luka for most of the series because his teammates had hot hands. Now we're seeing that if that does not happen consistently, they struggle. That's also the reason why his pairing with Porzingis didn't work out (besides his health).
No the Suns had a terrible scheme for Luka ball and no one who could guard him 1 on 1, Warriors had a great scheme for Luka ball as a team and Wiggins who could guard Luka 1 on 1. ruclips.net/video/K7zkHXmZv78/видео.html
Brunson played a big part being able to carry the offense when Luka wasn't in the game too and they lost him and never replaced him with another competent 6th man or even starter who could play a mini Luka role when he was on the bench or injured so at least there offensive team dynamic stays the same instead of just being lost out there.
As a Dallas native I know you're right. The problem you didn't touch on is front office incompetence.
We've seen this for DECADES with Dirk. We basically lucked in the trade that brought in Stevenson, Butler, and Haywood which was so essential to that 2011 title.
If Luka is to win a title in Dallas we need a complete change of FO philosophy
Yeah and recently signing a washed as hell Mcgee, missing on Tyrese Maxey (better than Brunson), and probably not doing shit before this trade deadline...
He'll probably leave, He's not Dirk in that sense. 2026 isn't that far away.
It's mind blowing. Dallas is 8th in highest payroll. They made a good run last year but, looking at this season so far, it feels like the players outplayed the front office.
James Luka is a ball hog player handlebar like to pass that's why him and Kristaps didn't work Because Kidd isn't a great coach they tried to make Kristaps a spot shooter Kidd made no plays for Kristaps
The Dallas Mavericks were one of the top teams in the West for years during the Dirk era. The West was just too competitive.
Luka could go 4-0 in the finals one day if he gets out of this situation
😂
I could win the lottery tomorrow with one ticket!
4 is my favorite number, actually.
To go 4 and 0 he would have yo be god at defense. That or the other team get injured.
@@lostone9700 or just surround him with good defenders. He has the body to where he can play defense but carrying the offense like he is now I can see why he allows teams to hunt him on the other end
The mavericks Need FOUR new players
more like 12
lmao i just got the joke
☠️
And Luka much like his twin brother James Harden gotta at times fall back and let others shine. He ran Kristaps Porzingis and Jalen Brunson off. But they want to be the man. Harden and Morey = Luka And Cuban.
@@17thN.O lol did you compare James harden to Luka do you watch basketball?
Luka is a young MJ or a young lebron and he proved it in the playoffs on the other hand harden is another version of Chris Paul a failure after failure with a 6th man numbers instead of 1st option numbers.
@@17thN.O Luka cares more about winning than being the man. If you've seen him play in the euroleague, FIBA, and eurobasket you can see how he defers way more to his teammates. If he really wanted to be the man all the time he would've taken eurobasket mvp from Goran Dragic in 2017. He says himself he's a playmaker not scorer, his teammates simply cant score in mavericks.
Biggest issue Luka faced was he was too good out of the gate
I think that's part of the "LeBron dilemma" he is talking about it in the video. From the start he's been so good at everything that the team struggles to find him a costar before he hits his stride.
The franchise (knowing they're about to cash out to pay this great player) then does something a bit contradictive, but by not maximizing the player's early rise and seemingly lowballing free agents, getting "very close" to multiple big trades while fans just watch them all fall through.
A Couple Years In The Draft Lottery Would've Of Been Good For The Mavs.
Yup. Too good to tank.
Could never pair him up with a top draft talent
no its just called high usage
These cheating jokes too funny 💀
i cry every time i read these. YT comment section is undefeated 😂
Pls explain lol
@@futurehofer1564 basically low was caught cheating 4 times by his fiance
@@bighomie4127damn how you know?
Legend Of Cheating
It will prob be 4 season till luka gets sum help 😢😢😢
He has help, hes just fkn ball hog. Maybe if he had a bunch of European teammates... Lemme stop
He had help and the fans said he didnt so his help left to a place where he is valued and can play without just standing on the wing 💀
@@futurehofer1564 you must not understand what hes tryna do with that “4”
Well now he knows how Lebron feels...he can either leave and request a trade or never win a ring ever.
This was a sneaky one🤝
LegendOfWinning is in relationship hell
His clogged arteries in hell too
nah 😭😭😭
Life was written love, these things are just a part of his story
Bro he got a girl 💀
@@lucidity929 well he had a girl but he decided to cheat😂😂
LOW must’ve known that suns in 4 guy on a personal level
☠️
Not funny anymore
@@AmeerBeats awe man i forgot the part where anyone asked
@@ivanmorales7678 he is not wrong tho. It is fucking hilarious.
@@ivanmorales7678 not funny
luka needs to start making these FOUR point plays
Great video. He is called legend of winning 4 a reason
Do you have any idea what music he closes his videos with (9:46)?
😭
The biggest winner in krogers
Legend of adultery
Luka is basically speed running the MJ story at this point. MJ was in the same boat in 87-88
Another understated part of this hell is that since the player performs so well that their team makes the playoffs, they never have lottery picks to select a young Robin to their Batman. It all has to be done through trades and free agency unless the organization has a serious eye for late draft talent. Which we all know is something very few teams can say.
Year, he isn’t suppose to be THAT good in his 2nd year and they can’t actually draft any top players , just because of him they can go in the playoffs but let’s be honest they’re not contender yet. So that’s the dilemma
I definitely feel bad 4 him
Nah Lmaooooo unless you deadass ain’t know. You mad foul doing 4 bro.
I don't he signed the contract
Yea it’s definitely un4tunate😔
Y’all are hilarious 😂
Feeling bad for a millionaire 😄 Couldn't be me
This comment section boutta be a movie
Nah too many actual basketball fans that don’t know the context 😔
We all root 4 luka 😢
Nah
@@allaccordingtoplan5560 its a joke 😂
@@SkodenMOC no its not 🤣
@@Notcleverenough it 4 sure is
@@SkodenMOC no, you are the joke 🤣
Only LeBron took this dead end style the farthest, twice. But the other players let him down both times in those '07 and '18 nba finals. Those two seasons for LeBron are still unbelievable.
No, his teammates didn't let him down, the Lebron system did (just like it has for pretty much every ball hog player system in NBA history). He faced no one out east in '07 and his team was the 2nd seed so making it to the finals gets overblown way too much. In the finals, he sucked and was exposed for having no outside game or ability to deal with a completely clogged paint and plenty of bodies thrown out at him on the perimeter. Since the offense was give it to Lebron and he'll figure everything out, Spurs made them look wretched by sweeping them.
'18 you might have a good case, but again, who'd he beat? All time great performance in G1 of the finals, but he still got swept when other teams GS faced got wins off GS. If Luka wants to win, they need to not go the James Harden, Lebron James super ball dominant style...unless they think they're gonna get lucky and find their Kyrie or Anthony Davis (with a bubble break season) to get Luka 1 or 2 rings absolute max.
Reminds me of some seasons of the Harden lead Rockets too. They just unfortunately ran into the Warriors dynasty. If CP3 didn't get injured that one year and the Rockets were able to win just one more game, I don't think they would have had any issues destroying the Lebron led Cavs that rebuilt at the trade deadline.
@@gumballwaterson1957 he’s not “super dominate” on the ball compared to harden or Luka. Stop it with that shit. Lukas usage rate this year is 38%! James in ‘18 was just under 32% with his highest being 33.7. There is far more ball movement in a lebron led offense. You’re letting something blind you.
@@gumballwaterson1957 love how you said “The LeBron System” led them down and only went to focus on the opposition. And because there isn’t that big hall of famer (I know Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, and Chauncey Billups are clearly just no names) it means the teams weren’t great.
@@FocusClimbing If your offensive system begins with a single player who initiates the offense and is, by far, the primary decision maker of the offense, and the primary finisher for an offense, it's the lebron system. Could've called it the Oscar Robertson offense too, but Lebron's the player who put the style on the map the last 20 years (just like GS or Phoenix is credited with small ball offense even though they're definitely not even close to the first). The only offensive system he played in that wasn't essentially 24/7 lebron ball was Miami. Got him to a ton of finals. I think it won them '16. The offensive style of a single player doing everything for an offense hasn't been very successful in NBA history.
You going to hell after that 4-0 Kroger Sweep LOW! Unbelievable!
Legend of Cheating: The Master of Kroger
LOW thought he was in Kroger HEAVEN
Luka is great player and one of the best right now. But the main problem is that he has too much load. His ball usage is so high similar to James Harden. Kobe once stated that and he said that is the main reason why Harden never won championship. Luka needs another superstar or at least another star to get Dallas to compete but also I think Luka needs to play off ball little bit more and to unload himself. Hero mode Luka is great but in playoffs you cannot do hero mode all the time.
Can we not act like luka don’t have help Christine wood is a 20-7 player hardaway can get you 15-17 points same with dinwiddie also spencer can take some of the duties when they in together but luka don’t wanna play off ball which I don’t think can do
@@khaliekmason7006 Luka needs a true second star that can step up when he can’t or when he is resting. Finney Smith and Hardaway cannot create their own shots. Dinwiddie is the only other ball handler and he us wat too inconsistent. Wood is a good fit, but again, very inconsistent. He does not have someone that he can truly leave some of the offensive load to.
Stop repeating bullshit you heard on the TV. Giannis has a bigger usage rate and had the same when he won his ring
@@AFFpinky
Holiday, Middleton, Lopez. Can't compare both teams.
@@raul5081 trash ass roster, difference is giannis is a true leader while luka starts having his 2 year old temper tantrums
All I can think is Dirk just off to the side "oh no not again".
Your first option should never be your ONLY option.
True sometimes you need multiple options, not just one every night.
Great video! It has taken me 4 hours to really analyze Luka's game. I just believe he needs 4 more teammates because maybe he doesn't like his current one.
🤓
Clever
Christian Wood is averaging 17 points on 50% from the floor and 40% from 3 while also getting 8 boards. Dinwiddie is averaging 16 on 41% from 3… these guys aren’t bad . Luka just holds the ball way too much. I’m sick of players getting called bad while they’re offensive usage is just stand in the corner .
Manufactured stats that aren't indicative of winning.
@@manz7860 alright then since ik damn well you don't watch the mavericks full game I can verify that Tim Spence and wood are playing good basketball this season
Fantastic Video Low
Agree with every point and i felt this happening even in the early days of his career
Somebody said you worried about the Mavs putting pieces around Luka, when you need to put the pieces of you life together 🥴😩
Didn’t nobody say that but you 😭
@@saintnick6413 😆😆😆😌
Bro wtf happened lmao
the fuck does that even mean
Interesting concept.. depending on one player and reducing the rest of the players proficiency. This is why I think the Magics are playing so well lately because ALL of their players are showcasing their abilities instead of relying on one.
One of the main issues with these types of players and why Steph and KD don’t fit into this category is off ball value even if u could build a perfect team around luka because he is basically a non factor off ball because of him not really being a catch and shoot player or fast/big enough to put in a cutter/dunker it would hard to put another ball handler/ shot creator with him
Luka is about to get the Giannis treatment, but possibly even worse because at least Giannis has the goofy lovable personality while people seem to really dislike Luka's personality
he is not helping with his constant complaining. I love to see him play, but this really annoys me to no end. Dirk never did that for example.
I see what you’re saying he’ll he probably drive KP away🤷🏿♂️
Legend of WINNING for a reason
*4
Cheating makes you the opposite of a legend or a winner
@@SuperNuclearUnicorn Who the fuck cares about the dudes personal life?
@@SuperNuclearUnicorn who is cheating
starting wood and moving luka off ball is the key to success. This has lebrons 2008 season written all over it. Where the cavs regressed from that run in 07 and went back to bron doing everything
Off ball for fkin who goddamn it?! So dinwiddie can run the offense? So DFS can get 30 turnovers a game trying to dribble the ball? So reggie can pass right back to whoever passed him the ball? So powell can play postups? So THJ can do his 5x between the leggs into a 30% pull up 3 every time? Like think about what you are actualy saying.
@@whocares3201 fam knock it the fuck off. Those players can swing the damn ball lol u acting like those players are dumb and can't move the ball to luka
@@colewrld901 you swing the ball once you create advantage. What the fck do you think passing around to guarded players achives? And no, some of those guys cant even make a simple post entry pass, that is a fact.
@@whocares3201 how would u know? We haven't seen Jason kidd even attempt to take the ball out of Lukas hands lol we saw phil jackson take the ball out mj and kobe hands and force them to trust their teammates and it led to amazing results
@@colewrld901 we actualy have. Go rewatch start of last season. DFS postups, THJ trying to create and shit. Worst offense in the league as the result. Shocking I know.
Once again Mark Cuban is sabotaging the mavs. Luka is wasting his prime and will unfortunately be another what if story if he isn’t traded
I really feel bad for Luka, but it is what it is. So he's signed on for 4 more years, so we'll just have to wait and see if he remains loyal or exercises his options when the time comes. I'm just hoping he gets some MVPs starting this year or the next before he leaves like LeBron did.
There are around 400 players in the league why do you feel sorry for him? there's a lot of hard-working great basketball players that don't win championships like Joel James harden and others you feel bad for them too? you must feel bad for a lot of people because there's a lot of people that ain't winning championships... so you can go through life keep on feeling bad or just face reality he doesn't work hard enough and he's not good enough to win and that shows you like rooting for losers for some strange weird reason
@Iambriangregory I feel bad because he's a young player playing at an exceptional level this early in his career and he's likely going to have to deal with for a long time until he makes a "decision" for himself or his team puts in the work to him in a contending squad. I don't feel bad for James Harden because he's had his chances and also I don't like the way he plays, and I wouldn't feel bad for Embiid because I'm not a fan of his plus he's had years to do something as well while Luka just got into his second extension contract this year?
@@Iambriangregory luka might br Dame all over again
Y’all creative af damn
@@navonmyhand7999 so he's a young player and you're already feeling sorry for him VERY STRANGE? That makes no sense at all you're talking out of both sides of your loose mouth! So he's got to pay his dues like everybody else !!you think you can jump the line einstein? And there's plenty of players out there that you can feel sorry for the never won championships and played good early in their career Patrick Ewing Charles Barkley . And in your strange twisted mind you keep on finding reasons why you don't feel sorry for other people but you find one person out of every 400 players in the NBA to feel sorry for you're a strange person you're weird so stop drooling out your mouth because what you're saying looks like vomit in basketball Case closed close your mouth!
This was a tough watch as a Mavs fan, but it looks like I have a new channel to subscribe to. Not too over the top, constructive and thoughtful. Watch out, Cainelovescali! Nice to see there are more chill nba channels out there.
I think it was Kerr or Draymond but they explained their defense of Harden in the playoffs which was basically let him dribble for 18 seconds of the shot clock. After while he’ll get tired. I think this can be applicable to Luka. They don’t really have a number two on this team. Then add to that they can’t add really anything because of the KP trades unless they just tank. They are in hell.
Warriors scheme against Luka ball ruclips.net/video/K7zkHXmZv78/видео.html
The problem is that Luka is a smarter player than Harden, so I don't think he will just dribble 18 seconds like that. But the thing is that Luka needs help, it is a fact. With a player like Luka, you can't even tank properly lmao
@@toshirohitsugaya857 actually they let luka do that same thing in the playoffs. Lukas teammates weren’t doing anything so during like game 2 or game 3 vs the warriors he would go late into the shot clocks because he was either tired or wanted to slow the pace but neither worked.
@@tarunganesg9700 Well yes... But it is his teammates faults if they don't move :/
Luka gonna start working at krogers if he don’t get help
When I watch the Mavs I am always amazed and appalled at the same time. Luka does a lot of 1 on 5. It's amazing how good he is at it. But it can't be good for the rest of the team. And yet...with a couple of aggressive all-stars next to him: Look out!
1-5=-4
Really interesting and well made video. Reminds me of Allen iversons story. Iverson is my personal fave player of all time and I think his all star and mvp performance over shadows his lack of a ring. But in the famous “practice” interview you can see how he doesn’t rly care about his own personal achievement he just wants championships yet at the same time he was sick of people blaming him for losing when he absolutely carried his team to the finals in the first place
You can feel Lukas frustration already. I think he knows and we know they will not make anything near last year's performance this season. I'm seriously worried he will share the same fate as Harden - a great player, achieving everything, just no ring.
Same as Russ too
LEGENDOFCH(EATING), this video changed my life. My entire view of everything that exists in this world, in fact, even in the entire universe. I can never look at anything I know the same way again. This video represents emotions that most humans could never understand. But I can. Thanks to this video I was awakened to many things previously considered unimaginable.
Love that the channel used Thinking Basketball in their research! He’s been covering heliocentric offenses a lot lately too and it explains the drop off the Hawks are facing and why Dallas can remain afloat. I’m hoping this year Mavs can see the different aspects in Luka’s game and maximize one of the many parts to his game this upcoming season
Watching Luka just reminds me why Larry and Magic were so great, Larry especially.
Both on Mt Rushmore, both carried teams to championships straight away.
With Larry he carried a nobody college to 33-0, then a 29 win Celtics to 61 wins in year 1 and a ring in year 2.
Luka needs to study these two
LOL carried??? Bird had Parish, McHale, and Nate Archibald for his first ring. Magic had Kareem (top 3 all-time) Jamaal WIlkes, Norm Nixon and Michael Cooper for his first. Luka would give his left nut to have teammates like that.
Who would've thought that after all the years after birds retirement that he'd still be the greatest white hooper ever. Not a single white player has heen able to pass A hillbilly from a small town in Indiana 😂 Larry legend is too awesome.
Yes and...
Johnson went to the Lakers and then got Worthy as well
Bird got McHale soon after
Etc
So yes what you're saying is true about what Luka should do and those two greats went to much better franchises than this Dallas outfit
🙂
His study would conclude that he needs to transfer to better teams. Right now he's like MJ in early 80s Chicago, superstar level young player on a meh team
@@willhooke you're right he got McHale, but do you honestly consider McHale an all time great without Bird feeding him high percentage shots?
Bird overcame Magic's Lakers that had arguably the best center of all time as his opposite, using McHale to his maximum, he was a luxury for Bird due to his post-skills and close range accuracy because Bird knew exactly how to maximise that - in another team that didn't understand how to utilise those strengths he may have ended up considered just another average center with a few people like me on the fringe arguing about what he could have been if he was given the right support - he certainly wouldn't be hall of fame.
Just look at the stat difference when Bird wasn't on the floor with him.
McHale wasn't there in the first year either when he took them from a 29 to a 61 win team.
He wasn't at Indiana state for the 33-0 either.
I love watching Luka, he's a generational talent, but he needs to understand why others were able to achieve so much more with potentially even less help. It took Michael the entire 80s to understand that putting up 40 every night wasn't winning him games - Michael had a season in the 80s where he was MVP, DPOY, got the scoring title and won the dunk contest in that single season, while being swept by Bird in the finals twice during that decade and soundly beaten even by a crippled Bird at the end of his career in the regular season in the 90s, 3-1 in Bird's favour the last season they both played if I recall correctly.
An old, slow guy who had to lay down on the side of the court was still able to carry a worn out team well past their primes over a prime Michael, in 87 he was one missed shot from taking another ring with most of those injuries already having him fearing not being able to carry his kids, all while his best players were all carrying major injuries and he had absolutely no top level support, it would have been the most impressive ring in history if he pulled it off, but alas a lucky missed free throw lead to a call favouring the opposition, the baby skyhook and the rest is history - but the point is he damn near carried a worn down broken team of leftovers to a ring on his own that year, and Luka can't keep his team above 500.
Luka just needs to find out what these guys did that he isn't doing, whether it's off-ball movement or whatever the effect is, and do it.
I met Luka at a Krogers once, was short $4 and he said he got it. Way better role model than LOW
Here after his 60/21/10 to just reaffirm the title of this video.
This why I love that Jokic is a center. He's a do it all player like Luka, but being a center he'll naturally have other shot creators on the court with him
Jokic has a different problem, as a centre he can’t anchor a defence, Jokic needs defenders around him to win in the playoffs.
@@AliMohamed-yq4wn which player doesn't? 1 player could carry a good offense. The same can't be said about defense. Rudy Gobert is the perfect example
@@youngmelo1841 I’m not just talking about having 1 good defender around Jokic 😂 the whole team has to be defence first, MPJ and Murray have to be moved for players who can defend.
@@AliMohamed-yq4wn Brown, KCP, Gordon. There's such a thing as defensive line ups
@@youngmelo1841 Nuggets got him more defensive pieces this year, yet their defence got worse compared to last year 😂 Jokic can’t guard the perimeter or protect the rim, modern nba bigs have to at least do one of them, good luck winning a nba championship when guards can take your 7ft centre right to the rim.
Yeah basically, Luka Doncic is the system that’s a problem
Rockets James Harden: he is the system
76ers AI : he is the system
Early LeBron James Cavs: he is the system
Early Michael Jordan Bulls: he is the system
Need I say more
You can’t hide 4ever Legend of Cheating
Why you say that? How did he cheat I’m not hipped
Lmaooooo
@@JabrenHarris98he cheated on his girl 4 times one with o girl from kroger,low did 4peat
@@BillCosby681 🤣🤣🤣🤣 the way he looks and he got the nerve to cheat?
@Moneyluva trust me when someone does it to you’ll know how bad it hurts
This video should be required viewing for anyone wanting to debate modern basketball. I've been saying this about Lebron and Russ for the last 10 years.
LOW in Kroger HELL
8:24 When Kobe Bryant said this, it was specific to how Harden was playing at that specific period. In the last 23 games when Kobe made those statements CP3 was regularly out with injury which had Harden taking 28 FGA, 12FTA averaging 43ppg 7apg 8rebs and had Usage Rate during that stretch of 44% USG.
Harden was literally doing everything on Offense where his Offensive Load was in the 70% Percentile(insane All-Time Highs).
fire vid from legend of kroger, as usual
he is top 4 in kroger's hall of fame 😂😂 😂
He work at a Kroger? Lol
@@manz7860 Cheated on his girl 4 times with a girl who works at Krogers...
@@lukamajnic88 lol. That boy need to learn cheating takes far too much energy.
Luka's not the problem, it's the guys around him bricking open shots.
it's hard to get into a rhythm when you not the touching the ball. I like Luka too, but that's a problem.
It’s easier to get into rhythm when you get a feel for having the ball, no team is going to have nothing but catch and shoot player around 1 star
not everyone will be fortunate enough to get 15 or 10, or even 5, touches every game just to get into rhythm. and these are professional athletes, you don't compare them to local gym scrims
@@KimmyR3 oh let me guess, you believe these professional athletes don't need to stretch before the game too? common man.
It wouldn't matter if they were making shots either. Teams like the Warriors, Bucks, Celtics, and Heat will destroy them because of how everyone has a specific job on both offense and defense.
Luka needs the 4 horsemen of Apocalypse
It is not a LeBron dilemma, it is the Mavs front office being dim and worthless like it has been for years.
Great video. Agree with everything. I've been on the train that Mavs should tank this season since it almost feels guaranteed if the Mavs don't do anything drastic then they are just gonna be in first round exit hell for many years to come.
Not gonna lie that's the most I've ever heard Shawn Marion talk.
Man them 2007 Suns should have won a championship if Amare and Diaw never got suspended in game *4*
great vid. Beautifully put. Watching him tonight was all this was shown. Well done
He just had a 60 point triple Double
No its not hard to construct team around Luka. Mavericks front office is just incompetent and Cuban is cheapest owner in the league.
You mean Robert from the Suns.
I know he got kicked off recently but his level of cheapness is honestly disgusting
I think motion needs to come back to NBA. Most role players, especially US players, were creators before but were forced into corner sitter roles because they didn't have to ability to utilize all the space the modern offense provides. Then we, the fans, sit around calling them bums because they clearly have no effective use in the offense.
The mavericks won 2 playoff games without Luka last year either he has help or jaelyn brunson was better than people gave him credit for
He had more than enough help, Steph just won a championship with a front court production of just 6 points per game 😂
This is how I felt about Jokic last year. Luka deserves better.
I agree with your entire take .. you showed history, you showed present and all of the signs says the same thing luka has little to no chance on winning a championship I've been a fan of luka the second I watched a full game of him and he is too good for his own good.. this man has no flaws in his game
shooting, he's currently shooting pretty poorly from the FT and 3 point line, I don't believe he's a bad shooter though so his efficiency should get better.
@@yawgmoth6568 Right now? In December, Luka is shooting 40,4% from 3 and 78,3% from Free Throws. The thing is he start his season really badly in 3s. He started the season with 22,6% from 3s in October, November he shot 36,6% from 3. From the free throws, he shot 70% in November but almost 80% from October and December. Better than Lebron (for a comparison)
Very humble talking about the people with the most triple doubles legend of quad dubs
It's like an unintended punishment for being so good
IT IS Not unintended, thats Wat U get For selling your Soul 2 the devil, His cheap Deals never Work Out in the Long run
@@Beennoo12 lmao what
Nah it's the punishment for being loyal to a franchise. Which is why LeBron went to the Heat.
@@Beennoo12aye you gotta provide the evidence now
@@drizzyuzumaki8753 Just a bunch of people with nothing going on in their lives or mad they never reached their dreams attribute it to anyone who does must be selling their soul. Shit is sad
Feels like every teammate of Luka would be a bench player in any other team
0:51 that was one of the most egregious carries I've ever seen.
Another part of the cycle is that he’s so good that they’re going to struggle to get a great draft pick making his chances of getting a good teammate slimmer.
They might get a lottery pick this year
Who’s watching after the 60 point triple double?
Who thinks luka will win FOUR championships in the future
Surprised that Wilt is in that list?
Good sir, I'm not surprised that Wilt is in ANY list
💯
Not sure if even luka can pull of a 4-0 tho no cap
He should go to Sacramento with his buddy Sabonis. Now the grass is somehow greener there somehow 😂
the problem with the mavs was that luka was to good early not a knock on luka since he was so good out of the gate and able to get that mavs to the playoffs they weren’t able to be bad enough to get a high pick in the draft to draft a star next to luka that is around the same age as him so now the mavs are in a constant cycle of trading for a star to win now
The draft isn’t the only way to build a contender
@@indamaking agreed. The Mavs just made terrible decisions down the road. They let go of a lot of key pieces while signing incompetent players to fat contracts. Their front office feels that their current roster is fine. Basically meaning that Luka is gonna have to do all the work while others stand around and shoot 3s. The team will never be truly contending for a chip until they let go of their egos and realize they need to build their team not around Luka but with Luka included to make any dent in that tough western conference.
It's genuinely shocking watching the mavs with luka on the court compared to off the court. They just don't know what to do offensively without him.
As a Dallas fan I hope they do more for Luka than they did Dirk give this man a team
The problem with this entire theory is that it only focuses on one aspect of basketball: offensive production. You completely neglect the defensive needs. If you surround Luka with some defensive stoppers, you would see a compounding problem for the league.
That is if he gets help in the 1st place.
now he dropped 60 21 10 xD
Bro said welcome to nba hell 4:29 and i got a H&M ad
Luka has so much passion for the game, i Love when players get emotional its, it shows how much they care
The solution is very simple, put another star that doesn't need to be assisted on every possession to score the ball and Luka will happily give him the ball everytime he can.
Like he was doing in Real Madrid.
Right now who can he give up the ball too in order to consistently score a point ???
At least Luka doesn’t cheat the game, unlike some people.
😂
Ok bozo 🤣🤣
You guys think Luka will be a loyalist to the Mavericks like Dame has been to the Blazers?
I hope not...
Tbh, Luka is still a way to go to reach Jordan or LeBron status for one major reason -- defense. He can rack up all the numbers he and the Mavs want, but he won't be in absolute all-time class until he becomes at least an all-NBA defender.
With that said, Luka is in an era of on-court homogony which makes it tougher (than previous eras) to develop truly impactful complimentary pieces offensively. And I think the regression of the NBA's offensive variety is largely to blame. Bigs who can absolutely WRECK in the post are being asked to shoot 3's and race up/down the court like they're guards... and that leaves the pressure solely square on Luka's shoulders. You want to find a potential legitimate partner for him that ultimately gets washed out in this style of game? Look no further than a man shown in this very video... Boban Marjanovic. His height and shoot dexterity would've made him a force in previous eras, but now he's a benchwarmer. Instead, guys like Jalen Brunson (who works best dominating possession) or Christian Wood (who conversely has virtually NO self-creation) have to be the 2nd option that ANY champion needs. And for the reasons mentioned, this obviously isn't a good fit. People can cite the analytics until they're blue in the face, but I've yet seen the correlation to victory for most of these numbers. If anything, we've seen Win Shares become totally cartoonish, compared to the at-worst-ballparking of player's values in all other eras, because the analytics don't account for context that legitimate determines outcomes on the court.
This issue is a league-wide epidemic... and it's why we're seeing fewer and fewer champions play with the regular season greatness that was customary for any champ (and like 2-4 other contenders). If every team has like 1-2 guys dominating the ball and 3-7 guys providing pick-and-roll or catch-and-shoot or 3-and-D, then who exactly stands out? And the exceptions to this homogony very recently (see Phoenix's historic two-year run both on the road and against winning teams) are usually teams with cores too young (re: younger than 26) to be a complete championship thought like past greats.
The NBA is honestly IMO facing a crisis in player development simply because it is so homogenous, and yet, front offices are doubling down on both the analytics and play style. Somehow, the countless injuries and the hockey-like size of middling teams aren't raising any alarms, but it's actually making these franchises (and NBA fanboys) believe we're in the "best" era of basketball ever. No, it's not. Far from it, IMO. The pendulum is too far in the opposite direction of tradition, to the point of not having a working compass on what actually translates best to greatness. Even the top-seeded teams are failing at this, given the recent playoff upsets (re: the top two seeds in each conference are 3-5 in the Conf Semis over the past 3 postseasons... which is UNTHINKABLE, given the sport's scoring structural support for favorites going chalk). The best would be settle down the pace enough to at least develop both the mid-range and post offense more, but NO TEAM wants to do this because it is "inefficient." Thing is that efficiency playing analytically on schedule is MUCH MORE EASILY EXPOSED in the playoffs than efficiency playing against the analytical grain.
The Mavs and Luka are definitely in purgatory, but who these days can be equally dominant as a self-creator in the post and an off-ball finisher in the paint? The league simply doesn't afford many options for the Mavs to legitimately break into a championship class.
My goodness! Word for word, I said this exact same take to my friend who's been a Mavs fan since 1999. Finally! Somebody who thoroughly gets basketball at its best. We should create a podcast together; I'm impressed -- it's rather simple to assess these issues to some of us
This is a great break down. Beautifully articulated.
Luka is amazing. My 2nd fav player after Jokic
Mark Cuban had a recent fat L in Crypto. He will use Luka to save a ton of money while being relevant in the league.
Businessmen don't usually value accolades of their employees or talents as long as they profit, they're good.
I truly hope they get luka some help n I hope he's able to win multiple chips cuz he one of my favorite players next to steph and KD. Hope the best for the kid 🙏
Legend is in Monogamy HELL
Honestly I felt like rookie year luka was the best team version of him. He’s just been essentially James harden Houston 2.0 in this system luka when he played SG/SF the ball was not always in his hands and he was able to maneuver that way vs now it’s Luka the ball and try to have everyone else space out/iso ball luka
I ain’t trying to hear none of this… him and the dude in Denver need to start winning??? I have never seen so many excuses for two players before.
This is the problem when expectations are high and you produce right off the bat. You already set a high standard so anything below that is a failure, fortunately for Luka time is on his side
Low said joker is the greatest big man in nba history with no playoff runs😂after that I stopped taking him serious
The Mavs's run to the WCF last season was a rare case of a heliocentric offense working perfectly when it needed to. The Suns could not focus on Luka for most of the series because his teammates had hot hands. Now we're seeing that if that does not happen consistently, they struggle. That's also the reason why his pairing with Porzingis didn't work out (besides his health).
No the Suns had a terrible scheme for Luka ball and no one who could guard him 1 on 1, Warriors had a great scheme for Luka ball as a team and Wiggins who could guard Luka 1 on 1. ruclips.net/video/K7zkHXmZv78/видео.html
Brunson played a big part being able to carry the offense when Luka wasn't in the game too and they lost him and never replaced him with another competent 6th man or even starter who could play a mini Luka role when he was on the bench or injured so at least there offensive team dynamic stays the same instead of just being lost out there.
KP was made of glass while here and Carlisle wasn't sold on him.
Look at Kristaps and Brunson this year. It’s. Luka ball that’s killing this team.
Luka in MVP contention this year but LOW is the undisputed MVP of the Kroger league
Nah you def gotta do the seven layers of NBA Hell. This is one of them but i’m sure there are other layers that you will knock out of the park
Bro please the cheating jokes are old now I came to see comments about the video
No hashtag me too
I feel like Wembanyama's the perfect running mate for Luka in my opinion 🤷🏻♂️