I love how you brought up how people love using hindsight to revise history when the general consensus was the complete opposite. As a sixers fan, I see so many people saying “how did we draft markelle fultz over jayson Tatum or nerlens Noel over porzingus?” They say this like those picks weren’t universally criticized by the fanbases that chose those players. Furthermore, they act like you can copy and paste a player to a different franchise and have them end up the same even tho the development teams are very different and may not allow them to succeed
Jalen Brunson was NEVER an overpay. He was AMAZING in the playoffs, and single handily carried the Mavs in round 1. Blame the Mavs for not signing him then, and for not 4yr/55mil
TBF to the Mavs FO, Brunson was unplayable during the LAC vs. DAL 2021 playoffs. He was invisible, same with KP. And then, in another playoff before that during the Bubble, he was injured. So the general consensus back then was that opposing teams could nullify Brunson with taller, lengthier players. Plus, he wasn't a defensive presence, unlike FVV or Lowry -- players at similar height and profile. So coming into the 2021 - 2022 season, the expectation of Brunson was super low as it was his "prove it" season. It wasn't until the 2022 ASB came around that his efficiency went up. But by then, his mind was already made up that he was leaving in the off-season.
To be fair I think many realized Brunson’s potential in the playoffs while Luka was out, and even at times during the regular season last year. I think the general consensus was more so that Brunson was never going to be able to sustain that type of production while playing next to Luka (as most smaller shot -creating guards would) than “nobody saw this in Brunson”
Mavs fan here i said the year prior to wcf appearance he needs more shots and during the season I said his efficiency has gone up I bet if they let him shoot 14-16 times a game he would a 20+ per game guy until luka gets in shape to play a more ball movement friendly offense we will waste a guy like Jaden or ky every year.
Man not everybody was saying that I remember vividly y’all was saying Brunson was over paid and the knicks would still suck and when the knicks was 0.500 and was horrible a couple months in people laughed like they were right.
He's a generational talent.... nobody wants to see his talent wasted, everyone wants to see him battle at the highest level and prove his standing in the all time rankings...others just wanna see how he would play with a competent and fitting team/organization
Except this is a generational talent, and we live in a world where anyone can leave any team with any circumstances. So any disgruntlement means the situation is a big deal
@@chrollodranx-hunter3389 LEt me give a few examples of wasted talent. Lebron (early cavs years) Cp3 (clippers years) Irving (early cavs years.) Kevin Garnet(Early Minnesota years) Dirk nowitzki( his whole dallas career). Hate or love it this happens and is not uncommon.
We can acknowledge how dominate of a player Luka is offensively, while also acknowledging that until he takes his defense more serious, gets into better shape and is willing to play some offense off the ball, building around Luka will be a near impossible task that translates to winning modern basketball.
I don’t think off ball is his problem, it’s just mostly his team defense Luka included. Off ball isn’t a reason why you don’t make the playoffs especially when you made WCF. From Magic to LeBron and 80s Jordan and Kobe you can be possession magnet and still make the playoffs and make deep runs and even championship runs.
Luka's an underrated defender. He's never going to be a lockdown defender, but he's still average to slightly above average. And, he was in shape to start this season, so you're a year behind. He's also not able to play off ball because he doesn't have an actual secondary shot creator. They were 5th in the west before trading for Kyrie. Luka isn't the issue.
@@michaelh7490 Luka is absolutely the issue. He is a below average defender and you can clearly see it if you watch his games, it is how the warriors blitz them in 5 games last WCF. He has a terrible attitude on the courts towards refs and consistently complaining. And of course he is going to get the max contract which is going to make it even harder to build that team with the right talent to make a push.
@@Matthanna90 You're absolutely a casual fan. Literally, he was 4th in the league at steals, has had a fantastic defensive win share rating and overall defensive rating the last season and the season before. The Warrior's didn't beat him because he's awful at defense; they won because they had way more options on offense and in the post. They also hunted Luka defensively to tire him out so he's less efficient on offense. This is a common defensive tactic, one that Luka is also well known for. Luka being their only real offensive threat means he has to put much more effort on side of the ball. Does he need to mature a bit with his talking at the refs? Everything else you listed is laughable though. They literally made it to the WCF last year and were 5th in the West before getting Kyrie. Every winning team has a max contract on it; what are you even talking about?
He does need to get in shape. But the amount of basketball he plays even in the off-season I’m surprised he still looks chubby. He needs to fix his diet
Nah, they need a 2 way wing next to him. Luka can play with another ball handler. Give him a Jaylen Brown type wing, a 3nD guy, and lob threat/rim protectors. What you're proposing is essential Houston Harden and we know that won't work
at the time it wasnt tho, dude got out hustled/defended by 6 foot guards at the time but I get it if he developed more of a feel for it after the injury it should be a good play for anyone 7+
I feel like people think too much of Luka's talent and that it's one of the main things that are hurting them. First of all Luka holds the ball way too much. Sure he does incredible things with it but ultimately he can't handle such a high usage rate for the whole season + the playoffs, especially when teams start to target him on defense every time. Also because everyone thinks so highly of Luka, they think that him being in a less than ideal situation from the start is unfair. This puts massive pressure on the front office to make moves and haste prevents them from making really good moves. Kyrie is not what the Mavs need but he was the biggest star available so they felt like they had to go for him. MJ, LeBron, Curry, Hakeem, Shaq... There is a long list of all-time greats who struggled to win games at the beginning of their career. Teams need time to get better. Stop acting like every year is crucial for Luka. He still has plenty of time.
it has to be jason kidd responsibility as well. who set the tactics and who got the final say ? i think the jkidd and the front office spoiled him by giving him full authority to run the court. experienced coach wouldnt have done that. or maybe they lost on purpose to do jkidd dirty so that the front office would fire jkidd at some point like nets did to nash. funny part was , luka is never the ball hog guy during his entire europe stint from 2015-2018. so whos problem here ? theres a coach for a reason, if every single fan can notice how ball dominant he is and he should play more defense and complain lesser ,the coach and staff dont know ?or they just literally too scared to voice up becuz the boss gave too much power to doncic ?
Luka kinda has the Lebron syndrome where your team HAS to be tailor made for his heliocentric playstyle. And he makes a lot of stats look dog next to him because Luka has to have the ball nearly all the time
@@frozenmallet09 Kyrie and Christion Wood are very good at playing next to Luka. The problem is they have zero rim protection, front office is a joke and Coach Kidd is a terrorist who wont stop giving Wood minutes and instead started Dwight Powell who should be a third-string center. They also bought McGee and not playing him lmao.
The thing is Bron had a pretty easy path to the finals that year, he only needed to take on the .500 nets, .500 wizards and pistons with no Wallace. Still pretty impressive but the comp young Bron faced in the east doesn’t compare to Luka’s west
Thank you for this video, I have been speaking about how highly heliocentric offenses protect the superstar from criticism, and makes it difficult to pair with other superstars. The cycle of simplified role players being not enough, then when they get a second another star they turn them into a simplified role player.
If Jalen Brunson had stayed on the Mavs. you know what everyone would be saying? "Who does Luka have as help? His 2nd best player is this undersized guy Jalen Brunson who averages just 16 PPG."
Before Phil Jackson became the head coach of the bulls Michael Jordan was pretty much doing this exact same thing. Dallas front office need to study what they did before it’s too late otherwise luka only gonna have self accolades to show for it by the end of his career
As a Dallas native, and MFFL. The team is coached by a 🤡 Clearly they weren't a top team but the roster, if guided right, they could have been a top 6 easily, but Kidd doesn't have a clue. The roster needs an overhaul but Cuban keeps making them worse. Luka has to decide he wants to be one of the best rather than a very good player and the teams has to be better coached.
@@darrengordon-hill yes. There's multiple problems all at once. Is that hard to follow? Kidd is the biggest problem but he won't be fired, Cuban already said so.
@@jamesR1990 he will be once the players get enuf of him and they will do a nets (against nash) and force the boss to fire him. every MFFL will understand how clueless is jason kidd , and i blame him for spoiling luka . luka become extremely ball dominant becuz jkidd simply dont call for a different tactics, he let luka run everything with his own thoughts and full authority.which coach do that ? not even kobe la and mj bulls
You're right, Mavs might be getting a bit too much flak for letting Brunson go but this really speaks to the their lack of urgency in extending him or even at least using him as a trade asset because his value was at it's highest (at that point) coming off a deep playoff run. Knowing how difficult it is for them to attract FAs, to let him just walk was a poor decision and therefore Mavs deserve the blame. Other teams (Hornets come to mind) have overpaid players because they knew that was the only way to get those talents
If you watch the Mavs and think offense is the problem, you don't know what you're talking about. Luka and Kyrie were scoring more points than the Kings per 100 possessions, while they were on the floor together. Mavs offense wasn't the problem while Luka was playing with Brunson and Porzingis either. Only a true hater can watch these Mavs and think Luka and the offense is the problem, while everybody's scoring on them in the paint and they can't grab a rebound to save their life.
The issue is kyrie does nothing for the team... it was an awful trade. The only thing it does is give Luka a little bit of a break offensively and lightens the scoring load. But the issue is Luka needs the ball in his hands to be effective. So that does absolutely nothing getting another ball handler. What they need is a bunch of defenders around him and a bunch of shooting. He's not an easy player to build around
I call bs on “NOBODY SAW THIS POTENTIAL IN BRUNSON” bro what? 😅 All I needed to see was him on the floor without Luka in the playoffs to know he had that dog in him
We can play the blame game and point the finger in many directions but in my opinion we're not holding Luka accountable. He still dominates the ball, his shooting is inconsistent, his defense isn't great and he always gets tired by the end of games. Also, his body language was terrible this year. He's either complaining to the ref or shaking his head in disbelief after missing a shot instead of running back on defense
I think this is a very smart take, I never enjoyed the ball hog mentality being a spurs fan for years, though TP was a scorer ball-hog type, he knew when he needed to be, but the spurs had amazing defense that allowed him to get his high % layouts and shots. Luka is like 70% of the offense for the Mavs, A set either begins or ends with him. Back him up with more possessions, by getting better dedicated defenders, and hustlers and let him do his thing. I do agree as well, he needs to be a better defender, Iv commented on several highlight video's where he just stands there on defense, It might not be his role, but man, he looks terrified whenever anyone has him isolated.
He's the point guard. Why wouldn't EVERY set begin with him? He's also one of the best passers in the league (9 assists per game for his career). So if his teammates are open, he will get them the ball. If the offense stagnates it's because nobody is moving and trying to get themselves in a position to score. Look at the Warriors....they literally never stop running through screens and cutting to try to get easy shots. It's like watching a track meet. Then you have the Mavs where 4 guys stand outside the 3 point line waiting for Luka to draw a double team and find them for a set shot. How is that his fault?
I completely agree. Bei ng someone who grew up watching ball back in the 90's, personally i have never liked the idea of a score-first PG, let alone a ball-hog point Tp me ii come from the generation that saw the PG as the distributor, the floor-general. However, if you have a team that lacks scoring, in those cases by all means - the PG should step pg and score. And the best pass-first PG's, were actually great scorers themselves, but they would only step up and do that if they needed to, but if there on a team with alot of talent, they're aware that the flow of an offense is greatly hindered by a dude dribbling the air outa the ball and then chucking up shots. One of my favorite examples was Terry Porter back in the late 80's to mid-90's for the Blazers. Sure statistically he wasn't mind-blowing or anything, but 7 or so seasons he was a consistent 15 to 18 ppg scorer while being a pass-first distributor primarily even though he could have very well have been a dominant scoring PG due to his height and deadly outside jumper. But he wasn't, because he was on a team that not only had Clyde Drexler, but had consistently 7 guys averaging double figures, (which for back then was a big deal. I mean - compare that to the Bulls of the early 90's, where literally they were lucky to have one - maybe 2 other guys putting up double figures outside of the MJ, Pippen, and Horace Grant trio. Whether is was Kersey, Duckworth, Cliff Robinson, and others - including Porter, those guys all really woulda averaged over 20 a game if they weren't all playing on the same team. Porter would score if he needed to, but he knew that frankly, there were other guys who could do it better and knew the team was better with him being the distributor. Nothing annoys me more than watching a team that actually has good scorers, and yet have a super ball-dominant PG or point-forward hogging the ball. That along with guys being ridiculously underutilized by their coaches, like Porzingis for example. Going back to Parker though, he was a pretty great scorer, but he would only step up and be that scorer if he needed to be, and he knew that Duncan and Manu were as good or better, and made sure they'd get as many looks as they needed - which is why they were so damn good for so damn long, (which being a blazer fan my whole life, is something i very much wished was not the case lol)
@@8301TheJMan Its why I enjoy watching CP3 still. It does help tremendously when you can rely on others. I think the Mavs have good scorers, most of them can have a good night, but on @S Des point, perhaps i focused too much on one guy when the whole team just might not have good chemistry.
@@KunaTuna That's so true. Going back to Dallas has plenty of weapons who are greatly under-utilized. Guys like Hardaway Jr, who specifically has always been a better scorer off the dribble, while also having a very underrated driving game, but has been relegated to being pretty much strictly a spot up shooter, which honestly i think may have alot to do with his streakiness since he's been in Dallas. CP3 is a perfect example of the sort of PG you'd want on your team if you have a number of other great scorers, like when he was at the Hornets he had David West, and the Clips he had Griffin.
The thing with ktaps was.. yea his numbers went up in washington but was it conductive to winning? Putting up numbers on a bad team doesnt really mean anything.
He said at 23. Because at 24 that is wen Bron became a monster in defense. + saying that without mentioning that the mavs were the 4th seed before the Kyrie trade us very misleading.
@@zombie92110 even then, LeBron at 23 was a top 3 player in the league where as Luka was a top 5 player at 23; Giannis, Jokic and Curry were better that szn than Luka
Is Luka the problem? That is the only question that no ever asks. We’ve had plenty of NBA players throughout history who just can’t get along with another big time scorer. But he has been anointed as a generational talent….yeah, sure.
Anyone who is a real fan said it was a bad trade you have 2 ball dominant players who play no defense and too make it more confusing one is the slowest player in the league and match him with one who thrives on fast breaks it makes no sense
I went to high school with jalen and dude was a flat out winner. He got us a state championship when no team from our entire county had ever won before.
I agree, I just think a lot of ppl thought if they kept Brunson they would be better also bc of the players they had to give up for Kyrie and yea they still wouldn’t go that far in the playoffs but it just feels like they went backwards. But yea I think you’re right about the play style and coaching being the bigger issue.
The way our team looks & played last year in the playoffs was gone, didn’t use Wood, McGee rotations & plays ran are terrible, us moving off Kp then he is actually playing better now. To now where we were struggling to make the playoffs at the end of the season Sad
The Mavs issues to me are systemic, from the top down. Since Dirk won his ring they've consistently chased star players at the expense of developing their roster and at the expense of their assets. As a result they lack depth and they're very asset-poor. They let Tyson Chandler walk (hell, they let Steve Nash walk, back in the day). They let Brunson walk, obviously, and there have been other examples of this too. The star-chasing attitude has led them to the Kyrie situation now, where they traded their best remaining defensive player (on an already thin defensive roster) for a guy who doesnt defend at all. And previous iterations of this are why they have no bigs aside from JaVale McGee and Christian Wood, who are both... well, not good, to say the least (they chased "star" big men in earlier summers to no avail). The way they run the team isnt conducive to building a team with any kind of depth and support for Luka. They've also consistently leaned into a Houston-era Harden-style from a very early age in Luka's career, so he really doesnt ever play another way.
@@mattcollett9370 Harden is in a better team with embiid, And what winning player are you talking about? How many finals appearances harden has in a decade, Tell me i'm waiting.
What the Mavs need is a change in the offensive system. Worry about the personnel after the fact; you need some sort of read and react system that lets Luka be the core of the engine that not only keeps it running but prevents it from stalling. More Jokic, less Rockets-era Harden. Until that happens, this cycle will repeat until he leaves.
The Mavs problem was defense not Offense and thats were they messed up… they focused to much on the scoring versus which in their trade they actually got rid of one or not two of their prime defensive players
@@roslolian11 kp wasn’t a bad pickup the way they utilized him was bad, offense’s that solely rely on three point shooting always get exposed in the playoffs And I don’t think kyrie can’t work it just won’t work rn with these weak defenders surrounding them
It’s not hard to build around luka just build around him the same way you would build around Lebron, luka just has to grow as an off ball player because he’s been playing with a lot of 1 dimensional players who can’t create for themselves
Other NBA youtubers said the same thing, it should be clear to see now that he should learn to play off ball. In my opinion he should learn to set screen to give open oppurtunities to his teamates because that will create more variety in offense.
Josh Giddey has supplanted Luka as my favorite player. How ironic it will be if Giddey has a more impactful career as the leader of a championship team.
Luka might be going through same struggle (if you wanna call it that) that LeBron teams had. Having a superstar talent w a unique skillset and finding players who can complement them. A few players have struggled playing alongside 'Bron (due to fit, pressure or playing out of position) and maybe that's why we see a similar trend w the Mavs, wouldn't be surprised if Woods or Powell left and started flourishing again.
@@littlebig2162 At some point, KP was one of the worst contracts in the league, got moved and now he's playing better. Maybe Powell is being incorrectly used for his skillset or maybe he'd be best utilized coming off the bench
I’m the cheer captain of the Luka FA club but there was a lot of truth in this video. Luka and the Mavericks have to change up their approach this off-season. Right now they are more of a team that is optimized for Luka to put of 32-8-8 and not one that is optimized for winning. In my opinion if Luka spends the off-season getting in proper pro athlete shape it would be the best thing for his team. Ball movement is a huge issue for the Mav’s and when Luka just stands around it exasperates the point. Imagine a Kyrie (any decent guard really) run action to the right with a pin down screen to Luka’s 3 point hotspot on the left to get him a shot or back door cut for a slam. Because I’ve watched every Mavericks game since Luka was a rookie and that play doesn’t exist for them.
nobody ever wants to place the blame on luka cause THEY BOX SCORE MERCHANTS. i blamed luka in 20-21 season for what that offense looked like w kp. even with kp being a floor spacer i saw numerous of times where theyd run a pick and pop and kp would be wide open and luka would just take on 2 defenders by himself while dribbling the air out the ball. way too many times. but everyone blamed kp just bc he was ass in the 2021 playoffs
There's waaaaaay too many 25/30 a night dudes who are just cones on defense. These dudes get pampered straight out of the draft and become nightmares to manage because they're the golden child who can do no wrong. Eventually the League will figure out that 30 and no D ain't how you win chips.
Luka needs to figure himself out and what he wants out of his career. 1 he needs to get in shape, 2 he needs to stop putting the entire offense on his back. 3 HUSSLE!!!
If the mavs can get the right pieces this off season, I could definitely see the Luka and Kyrie led Mavs being back as a top 6 seed in the West next season.
I've been saying that the Mavericks' run to the WCF last year was an outlier. It was an example of a heliocentric offense clicking on all cylinders at the right time combined with their effective defensive schemes they were using. Now that none of those things worked as well this season as they did last year, the Mavericks were a much lesser team.
I am a huge Luka fan my friends call me a Luka dick rider but low was right about this one right here… Luka has things to fix but he really needs to fix his attitude and be a better leader
To this day, I thought KCP was the best co-star for Luka, both are very versatile in offense and their only problem is offball offense. I think the Dallas was to blame to why it did not work out. Also right now is the time for Luka to prove himself as a championship star player, there are many star players in the NBA but few stars can really be effective when aiming for the championship. Stars that need to need to hog the ball to be effective is now becoming useless in modern NBA.
luka needs defensive wings and shooters around him. but they keep trading away key defensive pieces for stars that will have lesser production around luka affecting the overall quemistry.
A friend of mine once said Jalen Brunson plays with the swagger/confidence like he always knows he’s going to score….he said this when Brunson was in Dallas too so there had to be some ppl who recognized his game, even the Knicks gave him that bag because they knew what he was capable of
Luka to me is pretty much James Harden. The reason he don’t get the Harden criticism is cuz he’s white. I told my roommate that Luka was a white James Harden and he thought I was crazy and he thought Luka was more like Larry Bird 😂
I'm watching Euroleague, and when I first saw Luka at age 17 in Real Madrid, I fell in love. Every touch of his was pure art. But He's not athletic enough to be a prime guard in the NBA. He's too slow, so he forces a predicted lousy style of play that reduces teammates upgrades.
That was still a 45 win team. Luka wishes lmao. Even Adam Silver is shaking his head at how they extended the playoffs to the 10th seed....and the mavs still failed that 😂
As a Mavs fan who lives in Dallas and goes to games regularly, Porzingis was insanely frustrating because Carlisle misused him. They've had the wrong personnel, coaching, strategy and everything else around Luka. Letting go of Jalen Brunson was also dumb AF and they should've done something with him, if you ever saw him play in real life he and Luka were the best 2 players in the team. It's just frustrating overall to be a Mavs fan, they don't make the worst decisions, but they also don't make very good ones either.
none of the mavs fan thinking we will win the west when DFS is part of the trade , traded a 16ppg two way guard and the best defender of the team for a upgraded scoring guard is not a winning situation.
@@paulchen6329 there were absolutely some people saying the Mavs were WCF contenders. Not hating on the Mavs or their fans, but they never had a chance after that trade, not sure what good they saw in it
The biggest hole they had to fill was a strong rebounder/shot blocker. Look at their rebound numbers vs their opponents. The Bulls have a slightly better record but are basically the same but are basically tied with their opposition. The Mavs give up FAR more rebounds than they get in addition to a shit defense that gives up tons of open 3s every game. Their team is a train wreck and honestly I think it's time they think about restructuring and letting Luka go somewhere he can win.
Kyrie was a few tenths away from 50/40/90 playing next to Luka. The pairing will work with the right players around him. KP could not post up shorter guards. I can tell you have never watched him play. But his problem was his availability.
Dallas Mavericks' problem is the same since more than 7 years: defense. Players like Boban, Salah, Marquese Chriss, Wood, Kristaps Porzingis and McGee didn't succeed because this franchise is simply very bad. Dallas Mavericks management ruins every good players they acquire.
-They should draft a 6'8-6'10 Power Forward who's a decent defender and can average 20 ppg -They should trade for a defensive center who grabs rebounds and center -they need a good bench -keep Kyrie They can make WCF
Luca's complaining to the refs has GOT to stop. They're not going to take anything he says seriously when he cries about almost every foul. It's very unbecoming for a man with his God given abilities
trae young is having a more successful career then luka thus far with a worse teams. the difference between the 2? trae has passing luka has size. one of those helps your teammates gain confidence, rhythm, iq, chemistry throughout a season
He said luka at his age is better than lebron at the same age which isn't true lebron made the finals at 22 and was carrying the Cavs to 60 win seasons every year before leaving to Miami
haha delusional , prime harden and houston got cp3 and prime capella , sent luka a prime cp3 and prime capella then we will see if this is a v 2 james harden
They should’ve payed Brunson a year before he left. I remember that being a bit of a talkin point but before he was on the last year of his deal they had the opportunity to opt out of his contract to renegotiate another one but they decided to kick the can down the line, basically betting against him breaking out. Edit: I also do admit I still wouldn’t have had them going for. Still they would had Brunson and if he still broke out beside luka, he’d be a valuable trade asset.
Let's not make Dallas's team last year better than it really was ! Phoenix was having issues even before the regular season ended with Crowder , Ayton and Magee and that threw the chemistry off for the whole team that's why 2 of the 3 are no longer Suns and it showed when they played NOLA in their first round and it just finished off with Dallas . Dallas got spanked in the Western conference finals because they really didn't have the talent to be there and they weren't any better this year but they really blew it by letting Brunson just walk that started the down slide ! The biggest problem in Dallas is Luka period ! He's the biggest cryer and whiner in the league , he holds the ball to long and leaves his teammates disengaged , everythinghas to be about him at the expense of the team .
I’ve been watching this channel since like 2016 and you consistently have good takes that age well. Even if a lot of people in the moment might disagree
The point about Brunson isn't necessarily that they should have gotten into a bidding war with the Knicks. They had opportunities to extend him for cheaper before he became a UFA and the Knicks entered the picture. That's a fumble.
Didn’t mention that, while KP’s post up percentages increased, his post up attempts haven’t changed. Feel like it’s more of a locker room mindset than anything on the court. He had many open threes in Dallas and hit at a much lower clip than he has in Washington
If Luka can get into shape, become a willing defender, and play off ball, then building and coaching around him can become easier. Give him a another ball handler who’s unselfish, and some great 3 &/or D guys with rebounding skills and they could be a finals team(also, Kidd gotta be better or get a better coach.
as said, he's only just 24 and isnt fully developped as a superstar, he needs to work on many aspects of his game mainly his defense and his off-ball usage... obviously he will always have a high usage rate but being able to still be good of ball would greatly help him
Die hard Mavs fan. While I agree a lot of this vid a lot if the Mavs problems on offense can be solved w/ Luka working on his spot up shooting. With a teammate like Ky this is imperative. As it stands he HAS to have the ball in his hands to get a shot up. VERY rarely do I remember a player driving and kicking out to Luka for an open shot. On Defense Luka just has to learn how to be a pros pro. Right now it’s like he gets by on talent alone, which is actually kind of impressive. If he wants to become formidable on D he will HAVE to drop 20-25 lbs come…and this should be BEFORE training camp; this will give the coaching staff more clarity as to how they want to run offense (set plays, run n gun, slow half-court grind offense, etc.). In short, Luka needs to get mad. My hope would be that he’s watching the playoffs seeing former teammates ball out and that motivates him to get in serious basketball shape. As it stands he’s currently in Slovenia and keeps up more w/ Euro sports so idk how much chance I have of my wish coming true 😅
Luka has already gave up. He is declining early. He has proof that he cannot exist with another star (pozingis, Kyrie and Brunson who knows this). He needs the ball in his hands all the time. 50% of GMs predicted he will be MVP at start of season. Look at the outcome.
People are saying "Harden in Houston," and that isn't a bad comparison. Hopefully Luka can change up his style like James has, because I agree with a lot of what was said in this video. Even Jordan never won a ring before Phil Jackson made him play in a system that maximized the other players on the Bulls.
If I was Cuban I would focus on getting a high motor combo guard that can play alongside Luka. You must try to recapture that chemistry he had with Brunson. Then get some role players that can hustle and make open shots. Luka is a great playmaker but he can’t be the only one on the floor because he is not a fast paced player. When you play that slow you lose the opportunity to get easy buckets in transition.
Dribble dribble dribble than if he doesn't shoot a step back three or drive he gives the ball to a teammate with 3 seconds left on the shot clock that's a winning formula
The issue I think is Luka is not an offensive threat without the ball. He doesn't space the floor well since he's only about an average 3 pt shooter and he isn't fast enough to consistently be a cutter to the rim. A lot of the times when he doesn't have the ball he just stands at the 3 pt line and waits for the ball. KPs post numbers are better now since Bradley Beal is at least an above average 3 pt shooter so they can't just double KP the way they could if he was posting with Luka as his teammate. I love Luka and he one of my favorite players but he needs to figure out something to do when he doesn't have the ball.
Carmelo Anthony was one of those guys types as well (Only effective when the ball is in his hands) and we all saw how hard he was to build around and get to a championship
Luka's actually a great shooter from three when he has open looks, but he takes the most difficult and most contested shots in the league. He's the most double teamed player in the league. He's a great floor spacer. KP's issue wasn't Luka; it was how he was used by Carlisle and how his injuries derailed his ability to play post or move off the line.
he was a threat without the ball during his stints in RM and younger v ersion of Slovenia alongside dragic . we can simply see the issues here , jkidd dont know how to run his tactics he just give luka full authority to run the court. change a coach and i can tell u ,problame fix at least 50%
Tbh honest, I didn't foresee Knicks Brunson and the Mavs who drafted him and saw him everyday in practice probably had good cause to pause before handing him a $100M contract. But letting him walk was just a poor business decision, they could've done a sign-and-trade, look at what Warriors did w KD, had a half season w an overpaid DLo and swapped him for Wiggins.
Have people already forgotten what JKidd did in Milwaukee? Giannis played the exact same way Luka is rn, had to have the ball in his hands at all times because the coaching staff allowed it to happen. I'm not saying Luka doesn't have problems with his game, but a good coach would point them out and hold him accountable
Mark Cuban is the reason the MAVS did not make the PLAYOFFS or finish in the Top 5 of the WESTERN CONFERENCE allowing BRUNSON to sign with the KNICKS, trading your whole roster for IRVING, and also trading PORZINGIS who had a COMEBACK season with the WIZARDS. And this OWNER had LUKA with IRVING sitting out a CRITICAL game against the BULLS that could have helped the MAVS make the PLAY IN smfh
wat u said bout first part is right but porzingis ? without dinwiddie / bertans last season playoff the mavs wont make so far with porzingis, they literally win with small 5 not a traditional line up and get demolished by warriors becuz warriors has better and more completed small 5 line up. and u can blame why they gave up the game but the thing is not in their hand , if end up okc won all their game due to bad records against okc they still wont make to play in. and if they gave up now they still can secure that top 10 picks and not give it to knicks . go read some facts first b4 throwing shyt
I love how you brought up how people love using hindsight to revise history when the general consensus was the complete opposite. As a sixers fan, I see so many people saying “how did we draft markelle fultz over jayson Tatum or nerlens Noel over porzingus?” They say this like those picks weren’t universally criticized by the fanbases that chose those players. Furthermore, they act like you can copy and paste a player to a different franchise and have them end up the same even tho the development teams are very different and may not allow them to succeed
Everyone knew what they know now at the time but nobody could stop it.
Nerlens Noel was not in the same draft as Porzingus
Jalen Brunson was NEVER an overpay. He was AMAZING in the playoffs, and single handily carried the Mavs in round 1. Blame the Mavs for not signing him then, and for not 4yr/55mil
That would’ve been a steal bruh
TBF to the Mavs FO, Brunson was unplayable during the LAC vs. DAL 2021 playoffs. He was invisible, same with KP. And then, in another playoff before that during the Bubble, he was injured.
So the general consensus back then was that opposing teams could nullify Brunson with taller, lengthier players. Plus, he wasn't a defensive presence, unlike FVV or Lowry -- players at similar height and profile.
So coming into the 2021 - 2022 season, the expectation of Brunson was super low as it was his "prove it" season. It wasn't until the 2022 ASB came around that his efficiency went up. But by then, his mind was already made up that he was leaving in the off-season.
He was amazing in one series out of 5. He absolutely stunk again the Clippers and GSW, and mediocre against the Suns.
To be fair I think many realized Brunson’s potential in the playoffs while Luka was out, and even at times during the regular season last year. I think the general consensus was more so that Brunson was never going to be able to sustain that type of production while playing next to Luka (as most smaller shot -creating guards would) than “nobody saw this in Brunson”
Like niggas can’t get better at basketball in their 4th year in the league or second options can’t exist
He's just trying to cover his own ass from his horrible Knicks takes.
Brunson was obviously very very good and a smart player
Mavs fan here i said the year prior to wcf appearance he needs more shots and during the season I said his efficiency has gone up I bet if they let him shoot 14-16 times a game he would a 20+ per game guy until luka gets in shape to play a more ball movement friendly offense we will waste a guy like Jaden or ky every year.
Man not everybody was saying that I remember vividly y’all was saying Brunson was over paid and the knicks would still suck and when the knicks was 0.500 and was horrible a couple months in people laughed like they were right.
I feel like the Mavs situation is taken way too deep. Not every great player in the league can be on a great team, that’s just how it is
He's a generational talent.... nobody wants to see his talent wasted, everyone wants to see him battle at the highest level and prove his standing in the all time rankings...others just wanna see how he would play with a competent and fitting team/organization
We live in a era where they give out participation trophies soo everyone likes to think that everyone deserves to win a championship.
@@CesarRamirez-cn5fwI think participation trophies have been dying out with the generation who was handing them out.
Except this is a generational talent, and we live in a world where anyone can leave any team with any circumstances. So any disgruntlement means the situation is a big deal
@@chrollodranx-hunter3389 LEt me give a few examples of wasted talent. Lebron (early cavs years) Cp3 (clippers years) Irving (early cavs years.) Kevin Garnet(Early Minnesota years) Dirk nowitzki( his whole dallas career). Hate or love it this happens and is not uncommon.
We can acknowledge how dominate of a player Luka is offensively, while also acknowledging that until he takes his defense more serious, gets into better shape and is willing to play some offense off the ball, building around Luka will be a near impossible task that translates to winning modern basketball.
I don’t think off ball is his problem, it’s just mostly his team defense Luka included. Off ball isn’t a reason why you don’t make the playoffs especially when you made WCF. From Magic to LeBron and 80s Jordan and Kobe you can be possession magnet and still make the playoffs and make deep runs and even championship runs.
Luka's an underrated defender. He's never going to be a lockdown defender, but he's still average to slightly above average. And, he was in shape to start this season, so you're a year behind. He's also not able to play off ball because he doesn't have an actual secondary shot creator. They were 5th in the west before trading for Kyrie. Luka isn't the issue.
@@michaelh7490 Luka is absolutely the issue. He is a below average defender and you can clearly see it if you watch his games, it is how the warriors blitz them in 5 games last WCF. He has a terrible attitude on the courts towards refs and consistently complaining. And of course he is going to get the max contract which is going to make it even harder to build that team with the right talent to make a push.
@@Matthanna90 You're absolutely a casual fan. Literally, he was 4th in the league at steals, has had a fantastic defensive win share rating and overall defensive rating the last season and the season before. The Warrior's didn't beat him because he's awful at defense; they won because they had way more options on offense and in the post. They also hunted Luka defensively to tire him out so he's less efficient on offense. This is a common defensive tactic, one that Luka is also well known for. Luka being their only real offensive threat means he has to put much more effort on side of the ball.
Does he need to mature a bit with his talking at the refs? Everything else you listed is laughable though. They literally made it to the WCF last year and were 5th in the West before getting Kyrie. Every winning team has a max contract on it; what are you even talking about?
He does need to get in shape. But the amount of basketball he plays even in the off-season I’m surprised he still looks chubby. He needs to fix his diet
The Mavs might have to do what Philly did with Iverson: surround their star with 4 elite defenders, some who can shoot.
thats what every team needs to do with superstars lol
@@justinherrera1700 that’s physically not doable for every team, esp when some starts are defensive stars
@@avacadomangobanana2588 ofc its not, but its still what every team needs
But Luka can't play 42mpg like iverson... He gonna get tired like always.... He needs to play defense and move without the ball
Nah, they need a 2 way wing next to him. Luka can play with another ball handler. Give him a Jaylen Brown type wing, a 3nD guy, and lob threat/rim protectors. What you're proposing is essential Houston Harden and we know that won't work
"It's not a good play for someone that is 7'3"
-Rick Carlisle
That's about the dumbest shit I've heard all day💀
at the time it wasnt tho, dude got out hustled/defended by 6 foot guards at the time but I get it if he developed more of a feel for it after the injury it should be a good play for anyone 7+
I feel like people think too much of Luka's talent and that it's one of the main things that are hurting them.
First of all Luka holds the ball way too much. Sure he does incredible things with it but ultimately he can't handle such a high usage rate for the whole season + the playoffs, especially when teams start to target him on defense every time.
Also because everyone thinks so highly of Luka, they think that him being in a less than ideal situation from the start is unfair. This puts massive pressure on the front office to make moves and haste prevents them from making really good moves. Kyrie is not what the Mavs need but he was the biggest star available so they felt like they had to go for him.
MJ, LeBron, Curry, Hakeem, Shaq... There is a long list of all-time greats who struggled to win games at the beginning of their career. Teams need time to get better. Stop acting like every year is crucial for Luka. He still has plenty of time.
it has to be jason kidd responsibility as well. who set the tactics and who got the final say ? i think the jkidd and the front office spoiled him by giving him full authority to run the court. experienced coach wouldnt have done that. or maybe they lost on purpose to do jkidd dirty so that the front office would fire jkidd at some point like nets did to nash. funny part was , luka is never the ball hog guy during his entire europe stint from 2015-2018. so whos problem here ? theres a coach for a reason, if every single fan can notice how ball dominant he is and he should play more defense and complain lesser ,the coach and staff dont know ?or they just literally too scared to voice up becuz the boss gave too much power to doncic ?
lebron left cleveland to win and shaq made a finals appearance in yr 3
Luka kinda has the Lebron syndrome where your team HAS to be tailor made for his heliocentric playstyle. And he makes a lot of stats look dog next to him because Luka has to have the ball nearly all the time
Give Lebron players like Christian wood and Kyrie at Luka’s age. He would make it work.
@@frozenmallet09 Kyrie and Christion Wood are very good at playing next to Luka. The problem is they have zero rim protection, front office is a joke and Coach Kidd is a terrorist who wont stop giving Wood minutes and instead started Dwight Powell who should be a third-string center. They also bought McGee and not playing him lmao.
@@shazazy4137because he doesn't want nobody else to shine outside him
You’re literally brain dead if you think Lebron is heliocentric. He passes up plays to teammates just as many plays as he makes
@@raymondthomas1574 That's just false. Kyrie avg 27/6/5 next to Luka. The problem is not them, it's the lack of rim protector.
You did have a MAJOR L take by saying he’s better than bron at same age bron was in the finals at 22 🤷🏽♂️ with 66 wins
The thing is Bron had a pretty easy path to the finals that year, he only needed to take on the .500 nets, .500 wizards and pistons with no Wallace. Still pretty impressive but the comp young Bron faced in the east doesn’t compare to Luka’s west
@@AveChristusRex789 can’t use this logic when Luka didn’t even make the play in prime bron is at least a second round exit regardless of his situation
@@AveChristusRex789 this is the weakest the west has been in decades Luka dropped the ball not even making it to the play in
Luka's playing in a stacked West. Lebron was playing in a super weak East.
@@ktvindicare this is the weakest the west has been in decades 😂😂
Thank you for this video, I have been speaking about how highly heliocentric offenses protect the superstar from criticism, and makes it difficult to pair with other superstars. The cycle of simplified role players being not enough, then when they get a second another star they turn them into a simplified role player.
We saw that happen to Chris Bosh in Miami and Kevin Love in Cleveland.
If Jalen Brunson had stayed on the Mavs. you know what everyone would be saying? "Who does Luka have as help? His 2nd best player is this undersized guy Jalen Brunson who averages just 16 PPG."
Before Phil Jackson became the head coach of the bulls Michael Jordan was pretty much doing this exact same thing. Dallas front office need to study what they did before it’s too late otherwise luka only gonna have self accolades to show for it by the end of his career
As a Dallas native, and MFFL. The team is coached by a 🤡
Clearly they weren't a top team but the roster, if guided right, they could have been a top 6 easily, but Kidd doesn't have a clue. The roster needs an overhaul but Cuban keeps making them worse.
Luka has to decide he wants to be one of the best rather than a very good player and the teams has to be better coached.
You called Jason Kidd a "clown"... but then went on about the owner and star player
@@darrengordon-hill yes. There's multiple problems all at once. Is that hard to follow?
Kidd is the biggest problem but he won't be fired, Cuban already said so.
@@jamesR1990 he will be once the players get enuf of him and they will do a nets (against nash) and force the boss to fire him. every MFFL will understand how clueless is jason kidd , and i blame him for spoiling luka . luka become extremely ball dominant becuz jkidd simply dont call for a different tactics, he let luka run everything with his own thoughts and full authority.which coach do that ? not even kobe la and mj bulls
@@darrengordon-hill I don't get why people can't think that both statements can be true. Kidd is a problem, but so does the owner and the players.
You're right, Mavs might be getting a bit too much flak for letting Brunson go but this really speaks to the their lack of urgency in extending him or even at least using him as a trade asset because his value was at it's highest (at that point) coming off a deep playoff run. Knowing how difficult it is for them to attract FAs, to let him just walk was a poor decision and therefore Mavs deserve the blame. Other teams (Hornets come to mind) have overpaid players because they knew that was the only way to get those talents
If you watch the Mavs and think offense is the problem, you don't know what you're talking about. Luka and Kyrie were scoring more points than the Kings per 100 possessions, while they were on the floor together. Mavs offense wasn't the problem while Luka was playing with Brunson and Porzingis either. Only a true hater can watch these Mavs and think Luka and the offense is the problem, while everybody's scoring on them in the paint and they can't grab a rebound to save their life.
The issue is kyrie does nothing for the team... it was an awful trade. The only thing it does is give Luka a little bit of a break offensively and lightens the scoring load. But the issue is Luka needs the ball in his hands to be effective. So that does absolutely nothing getting another ball handler. What they need is a bunch of defenders around him and a bunch of shooting. He's not an easy player to build around
Blah blah blah. Without defense your Luka Baby Boy offense cannot win championships 😂😂😂
I’m happy to see people online switching from sh*tting on Dame to sh*tting on Luka
I call bs on “NOBODY SAW THIS POTENTIAL IN BRUNSON” bro what? 😅 All I needed to see was him on the floor without Luka in the playoffs to know he had that dog in him
I've argued enough that Luka's playstyle limits those around him. Porzingis was getting fewer looks in the playoffs than Brunson, THJ and Boban.
Luka be holding niggas back💀💀💀
We can play the blame game and point the finger in many directions but in my opinion we're not holding Luka accountable. He still dominates the ball, his shooting is inconsistent, his defense isn't great and he always gets tired by the end of games. Also, his body language was terrible this year. He's either complaining to the ref or shaking his head in disbelief after missing a shot instead of running back on defense
Thank you for not just saying “Kyrie again” or “Luka keep crying”
I think this is a very smart take, I never enjoyed the ball hog mentality being a spurs fan for years, though TP was a scorer ball-hog type, he knew when he needed to be, but the spurs had amazing defense that allowed him to get his high % layouts and shots. Luka is like 70% of the offense for the Mavs, A set either begins or ends with him. Back him up with more possessions, by getting better dedicated defenders, and hustlers and let him do his thing. I do agree as well, he needs to be a better defender, Iv commented on several highlight video's where he just stands there on defense, It might not be his role, but man, he looks terrified whenever anyone has him isolated.
He's the point guard. Why wouldn't EVERY set begin with him? He's also one of the best passers in the league (9 assists per game for his career). So if his teammates are open, he will get them the ball. If the offense stagnates it's because nobody is moving and trying to get themselves in a position to score. Look at the Warriors....they literally never stop running through screens and cutting to try to get easy shots. It's like watching a track meet. Then you have the Mavs where 4 guys stand outside the 3 point line waiting for Luka to draw a double team and find them for a set shot. How is that his fault?
I completely agree. Bei ng someone who grew up watching ball back in the 90's, personally i have never liked the idea of a score-first PG, let alone a ball-hog point Tp me ii come from the generation that saw the PG as the distributor, the floor-general. However, if you have a team that lacks scoring, in those cases by all means - the PG should step pg and score. And the best pass-first PG's, were actually great scorers themselves, but they would only step up and do that if they needed to, but if there on a team with alot of talent, they're aware that the flow of an offense is greatly hindered by a dude dribbling the air outa the ball and then chucking up shots. One of my favorite examples was Terry Porter back in the late 80's to mid-90's for the Blazers. Sure statistically he wasn't mind-blowing or anything, but 7 or so seasons he was a consistent 15 to 18 ppg scorer while being a pass-first distributor primarily even though he could have very well have been a dominant scoring PG due to his height and deadly outside jumper. But he wasn't, because he was on a team that not only had Clyde Drexler, but had consistently 7 guys averaging double figures, (which for back then was a big deal. I mean - compare that to the Bulls of the early 90's, where literally they were lucky to have one - maybe 2 other guys putting up double figures outside of the MJ, Pippen, and Horace Grant trio. Whether is was Kersey, Duckworth, Cliff Robinson, and others - including Porter, those guys all really woulda averaged over 20 a game if they weren't all playing on the same team. Porter would score if he needed to, but he knew that frankly, there were other guys who could do it better and knew the team was better with him being the distributor. Nothing annoys me more than watching a team that actually has good scorers, and yet have a super ball-dominant PG or point-forward hogging the ball. That along with guys being ridiculously underutilized by their coaches, like Porzingis for example. Going back to Parker though, he was a pretty great scorer, but he would only step up and be that scorer if he needed to be, and he knew that Duncan and Manu were as good or better, and made sure they'd get as many looks as they needed - which is why they were so damn good for so damn long, (which being a blazer fan my whole life, is something i very much wished was not the case lol)
@@SDesWriter Yea, you got a point.
@@8301TheJMan Its why I enjoy watching CP3 still. It does help tremendously when you can rely on others. I think the Mavs have good scorers, most of them can have a good night, but on @S Des point, perhaps i focused too much on one guy when the whole team just might not have good chemistry.
@@KunaTuna That's so true. Going back to Dallas has plenty of weapons who are greatly under-utilized. Guys like Hardaway Jr, who specifically has always been a better scorer off the dribble, while also having a very underrated driving game, but has been relegated to being pretty much strictly a spot up shooter, which honestly i think may have alot to do with his streakiness since he's been in Dallas. CP3 is a perfect example of the sort of PG you'd want on your team if you have a number of other great scorers, like when he was at the Hornets he had David West, and the Clips he had Griffin.
Luka complainers to much when it comes to foul calls. He also is not dedicated to the defensive end
The thing with ktaps was.. yea his numbers went up in washington but was it conductive to winning? Putting up numbers on a bad team doesnt really mean anything.
LOW: Luka at the age of 24 is better than LeBron.
Luka at 24: misses the postseason and 7-19 with Kyrie Irving.
He already walked back that take
He seriously said that lol.
He just wants Kai on the lakers because lakers fans throw tantrums if they don’t get a shiny new toy every season
He said at 23. Because at 24 that is wen Bron became a monster in defense.
+ saying that without mentioning that the mavs were the 4th seed before the Kyrie trade us very misleading.
@@zombie92110 even then, LeBron at 23 was a top 3 player in the league where as Luka was a top 5 player at 23; Giannis, Jokic and Curry were better that szn than Luka
Is Luka the problem? That is the only question that no ever asks. We’ve had plenty of NBA players throughout history who just can’t get along with another big time scorer. But he has been anointed as a generational talent….yeah, sure.
Bro, you NAILED IT! I've been saying this for 3 YEARS on my podcast!
Anyone who is a real fan said it was a bad trade you have 2 ball dominant players who play no defense and too make it more confusing one is the slowest player in the league and match him with one who thrives on fast breaks it makes no sense
I went to high school with jalen and dude was a flat out winner. He got us a state championship when no team from our entire county had ever won before.
Should of kept porzingis and Brunson.
Not to mention Seth Curry. I also liked DeAndre Jordan.
I agree, I just think a lot of ppl thought if they kept Brunson they would be better also bc of the players they had to give up for Kyrie and yea they still wouldn’t go that far in the playoffs but it just feels like they went backwards. But yea I think you’re right about the play style and coaching being the bigger issue.
The way our team looks & played last year in the playoffs was gone, didn’t use Wood, McGee rotations & plays ran are terrible, us moving off Kp then he is actually playing better now. To now where we were struggling to make the playoffs at the end of the season
Sad
The Mavs issues to me are systemic, from the top down. Since Dirk won his ring they've consistently chased star players at the expense of developing their roster and at the expense of their assets. As a result they lack depth and they're very asset-poor. They let Tyson Chandler walk (hell, they let Steve Nash walk, back in the day). They let Brunson walk, obviously, and there have been other examples of this too. The star-chasing attitude has led them to the Kyrie situation now, where they traded their best remaining defensive player (on an already thin defensive roster) for a guy who doesnt defend at all. And previous iterations of this are why they have no bigs aside from JaVale McGee and Christian Wood, who are both... well, not good, to say the least (they chased "star" big men in earlier summers to no avail). The way they run the team isnt conducive to building a team with any kind of depth and support for Luka. They've also consistently leaned into a Houston-era Harden-style from a very early age in Luka's career, so he really doesnt ever play another way.
Great point about they either attack the player (Trae Young) or defend the player (Luka Doncic)
Facts
No excuses for Luka Doncic.
Facts
Lol remember how folks came at harden? Keep that same energy with luka
Luka _oncic is just a glorified Har_en
Stuffs the stat sheet like crazy but doesn’t play much defense.
And people tried to say he wasn't just a harden. Now look at this
Prime Harden clears Luka easily imo. Even now, it’s obvious that Harden is a more “winning” player
Recency bias is a hell of a thing
Y’all whiling but ok
@@mattcollett9370 Harden is in a better team with embiid, And what winning player are you talking about? How many finals appearances harden has in a decade, Tell me i'm waiting.
What the Mavs need is a change in the offensive system. Worry about the personnel after the fact; you need some sort of read and react system that lets Luka be the core of the engine that not only keeps it running but prevents it from stalling. More Jokic, less Rockets-era Harden.
Until that happens, this cycle will repeat until he leaves.
Bro they were in 4th place in the west when they traded all their defense for kyrie Irving..
Exactly. Why people thought that was a good trade is still beyond me
The Mavs problem was defense not Offense and thats were they messed up… they focused to much on the scoring versus which in their trade they actually got rid of one or not two of their prime defensive players
Finally someone given light to the situation with Luka and the Mavs from both a coaching, player and statical perspective
The problem with Luka is how to build around him
Nah it's easy to build around Luka problem is Mavs kept getting bad stars to pair with him like Kristaps and Kyrie.
Through the draft!!
Instead, the told him to drag trash to success
Pretty easy. Good big man for pick and roll/lobs and 3 and D wings
@@roslolian11 kp wasn’t a bad pickup the way they utilized him was bad, offense’s that solely rely on three point shooting always get exposed in the playoffs
And I don’t think kyrie can’t work it just won’t work rn with these weak defenders surrounding them
It’s not hard to build around luka just build around him the same way you would build around Lebron, luka just has to grow as an off ball player because he’s been playing with a lot of 1 dimensional players who can’t create for themselves
Other NBA youtubers said the same thing, it should be clear to see now that he should learn to play off ball. In my opinion he should learn to set screen to give open oppurtunities to his teamates because that will create more variety in offense.
Offensive genius alone does not win championships.
Winners NEVER quit and quitters NEVER win.
Josh Giddey has supplanted Luka as my favorite player. How ironic it will be if Giddey has a more impactful career as the leader of a championship team.
“Post ups not a good play anymore” lmao Gianni’s eating every night posting up tf he talking bout 😂
Luka might be going through same struggle (if you wanna call it that) that LeBron teams had. Having a superstar talent w a unique skillset and finding players who can complement them. A few players have struggled playing alongside 'Bron (due to fit, pressure or playing out of position) and maybe that's why we see a similar trend w the Mavs, wouldn't be surprised if Woods or Powell left and started flourishing again.
Powell flourishing? you are kidding right? he has no place in a starting 5 in NBA, he might be a good teammate but thats all he is
@@littlebig2162 At some point, KP was one of the worst contracts in the league, got moved and now he's playing better. Maybe Powell is being incorrectly used for his skillset or maybe he'd be best utilized coming off the bench
That clip of him complaining to the ref mid play was crazy. Luka better get his sh*t together or he will not become the guy yall swear he is.
I’m the cheer captain of the Luka FA club but there was a lot of truth in this video. Luka and the Mavericks have to change up their approach this off-season. Right now they are more of a team that is optimized for Luka to put of 32-8-8 and not one that is optimized for winning.
In my opinion if Luka spends the off-season getting in proper pro athlete shape it would be the best thing for his team. Ball movement is a huge issue for the Mav’s and when Luka just stands around it exasperates the point. Imagine a Kyrie (any decent guard really) run action to the right with a pin down screen to Luka’s 3 point hotspot on the left to get him a shot or back door cut for a slam. Because I’ve watched every Mavericks game since Luka was a rookie and that play doesn’t exist for them.
nobody ever wants to place the blame on luka cause THEY BOX SCORE MERCHANTS. i blamed luka in 20-21 season for what that offense looked like w kp. even with kp being a floor spacer i saw numerous of times where theyd run a pick and pop and kp would be wide open and luka would just take on 2 defenders by himself while dribbling the air out the ball. way too many times. but everyone blamed kp just bc he was ass in the 2021 playoffs
Yeah it’s crazy that everyone blames kp for playing bad and not luka for playing good. That’s the dumbest take I have ever heard.
Luka Doncic is the new James Harden
Agree 100%. I've been saying the same thing about luka and the mavs for the past year but everyone I talked to about kept calling me crazy.
There's waaaaaay too many 25/30 a night dudes who are just cones on defense. These dudes get pampered straight out of the draft and become nightmares to manage because they're the golden child who can do no wrong. Eventually the League will figure out that 30 and no D ain't how you win chips.
Luka needs to figure himself out and what he wants out of his career.
1 he needs to get in shape, 2 he needs to stop putting the entire offense on his back. 3 HUSSLE!!!
If the mavs can get the right pieces this off season, I could definitely see the Luka and Kyrie led Mavs being back as a top 6 seed in the West next season.
As a mavericks fan, I approve of this video
I've been saying that the Mavericks' run to the WCF last year was an outlier. It was an example of a heliocentric offense clicking on all cylinders at the right time combined with their effective defensive schemes they were using. Now that none of those things worked as well this season as they did last year, the Mavericks were a much lesser team.
I am a huge Luka fan my friends call me a Luka dick rider but low was right about this one right here… Luka has things to fix but he really needs to fix his attitude and be a better leader
I don't think he can Leave the Mavs , I'm a Nets fan so Im glad Spencer is back. But Luca leaving Mavs would be a Toxic Move
To this day, I thought KCP was the best co-star for Luka, both are very versatile in offense and their only problem is offball offense. I think the Dallas was to blame to why it did not work out.
Also right now is the time for Luka to prove himself as a championship star player, there are many star players in the NBA but few stars can really be effective when aiming for the championship. Stars that need to need to hog the ball to be effective is now becoming useless in modern NBA.
KCP is not a star.
Dončić has ball non stop, of course you can't notice other players beside him. He doesn't know how to play without ball!
luka needs defensive wings and shooters around him. but they keep trading away key defensive pieces for stars that will have lesser production around luka affecting the overall quemistry.
A friend of mine once said Jalen Brunson plays with the swagger/confidence like he always knows he’s going to score….he said this when Brunson was in Dallas too so there had to be some ppl who recognized his game, even the Knicks gave him that bag because they knew what he was capable of
Luka to me is pretty much James Harden. The reason he don’t get the Harden criticism is cuz he’s white. I told my roommate that Luka was a white James Harden and he thought I was crazy and he thought Luka was more like Larry Bird 😂
I'm watching Euroleague, and when I first saw Luka at age 17 in Real Madrid, I fell in love. Every touch of his was pure art.
But
He's not athletic enough to be a prime guard in the NBA. He's too slow, so he forces a predicted lousy style of play that reduces teammates upgrades.
Man get off your knees man
like kobe used to say...who's he supposed to pass to? Kwame Brown? Smush Parker?
That was still a 45 win team. Luka wishes lmao.
Even Adam Silver is shaking his head at how they extended the playoffs to the 10th seed....and the mavs still failed that 😂
As a Mavs fan who lives in Dallas and goes to games regularly, Porzingis was insanely frustrating because Carlisle misused him. They've had the wrong personnel, coaching, strategy and everything else around Luka.
Letting go of Jalen Brunson was also dumb AF and they should've done something with him, if you ever saw him play in real life he and Luka were the best 2 players in the team. It's just frustrating overall to be a Mavs fan, they don't make the worst decisions, but they also don't make very good ones either.
A lot of people saw brunsons potential. Basically everyone that kept up with the mavs in the playoffs last year knew brunson was this good
lmfao right?? we literally saw him score 30 a game and lead the mavs to the fuckin conference finals!?!?!
Man y'all thought they were winning the west , when he first got traded lmao
nobody did
none of the mavs fan thinking we will win the west when DFS is part of the trade , traded a 16ppg two way guard and the best defender of the team for a upgraded scoring guard is not a winning situation.
I don’t remember anybody saying that
@@paulchen6329 there were absolutely some people saying the Mavs were WCF contenders. Not hating on the Mavs or their fans, but they never had a chance after that trade, not sure what good they saw in it
@@mattr2626 who cares about some people. The vast majority was well aware of all the flaws
No the biggest problem is there defence or lack there of, they can score with anybody but can't stop anyone to save their lives.
at 10:10 that kid swerved his hand away from the clap💀
The biggest hole they had to fill was a strong rebounder/shot blocker. Look at their rebound numbers vs their opponents. The Bulls have a slightly better record but are basically the same but are basically tied with their opposition. The Mavs give up FAR more rebounds than they get in addition to a shit defense that gives up tons of open 3s every game. Their team is a train wreck and honestly I think it's time they think about restructuring and letting Luka go somewhere he can win.
Kyrie was a few tenths away from 50/40/90 playing next to Luka. The pairing will work with the right players around him.
KP could not post up shorter guards. I can tell you have never watched him play. But his problem was his availability.
Hey , I hear you! I’m an Atlanta hawks fan and I see the same pattern as what you’re describing in Dallas….Misery loves company
Dallas Mavericks' problem is the same since more than 7 years: defense. Players like Boban, Salah, Marquese Chriss, Wood, Kristaps Porzingis and McGee didn't succeed because this franchise is simply very bad. Dallas Mavericks management ruins every good players they acquire.
-They should draft a 6'8-6'10 Power Forward who's a decent defender and can average 20 ppg
-They should trade for a defensive center who grabs rebounds and center
-they need a good bench
-keep Kyrie
They can make WCF
Luca's complaining to the refs has GOT to stop. They're not going to take anything he says seriously when he cries about almost every foul. It's very unbecoming for a man with his God given abilities
trae young is having a more successful career then luka thus far with a worse teams. the difference between the 2? trae has passing luka has size. one of those helps your teammates gain confidence, rhythm, iq, chemistry throughout a season
Agreed 🧠🏀
And hey legend of winning u said luka was better then bron hey please don’t compare him to the GOAT 😂😂
when did he say this
@@Joshknowsball0 players choice shorts on one them
He said luka at his age is better than lebron at the same age which isn't true lebron made the finals at 22 and was carrying the Cavs to 60 win seasons every year before leaving to Miami
@@boobietheboy yeah that’s my point I just didn’t have time to put it all
Lebron at 22 wasn’t the goat his comparison was fair wrong but i can see the arguments that u could make for luka vs lebron at 22
This team is literally just a v2 of James harden and the Houston rockets imo
haha delusional , prime harden and houston got cp3 and prime capella , sent luka a prime cp3 and prime capella then we will see if this is a v 2 james harden
@@jackchan6624 I’m talking post and pre cp3 rockets played their offense through harden and only harden basically
@@jackchan6624 Harden was winning 50 games with bums before CP3 even made his way to Houston and he never missed the playoffs lol
@@jackchan6624 I agree with Miguel
They should’ve payed Brunson a year before he left. I remember that being a bit of a talkin point but before he was on the last year of his deal they had the opportunity to opt out of his contract to renegotiate another one but they decided to kick the can down the line, basically betting against him breaking out.
Edit: I also do admit I still wouldn’t have had them going for. Still they would had Brunson and if he still broke out beside luka, he’d be a valuable trade asset.
Great video bruh. Plain gr8 analysis
Let's not make Dallas's team last year better than it really was !
Phoenix was having issues even before the regular season ended with Crowder , Ayton and Magee and that threw the chemistry off for the whole team that's why 2 of the 3 are no longer Suns and it showed when they played NOLA in their first round and it just finished off with Dallas .
Dallas got spanked in the Western conference finals because they really didn't have the talent to be there and they weren't any better this year but they really blew it by letting Brunson just walk that started the down slide !
The biggest problem in Dallas is Luka period !
He's the biggest cryer and whiner in the league , he holds the ball to long and leaves his teammates disengaged , everythinghas to be about him at the expense of the team .
I’ve been watching this channel since like 2016 and you consistently have good takes that age well. Even if a lot of people in the moment might disagree
The point about Brunson isn't necessarily that they should have gotten into a bidding war with the Knicks. They had opportunities to extend him for cheaper before he became a UFA and the Knicks entered the picture. That's a fumble.
Didn’t mention that, while KP’s post up percentages increased, his post up attempts haven’t changed. Feel like it’s more of a locker room mindset than anything on the court. He had many open threes in Dallas and hit at a much lower clip than he has in Washington
If Luka can get into shape, become a willing defender, and play off ball, then building and coaching around him can become easier. Give him a another ball handler who’s unselfish, and some great 3 &/or D guys with rebounding skills and they could be a finals team(also, Kidd gotta be better or get a better coach.
as said, he's only just 24 and isnt fully developped as a superstar, he needs to work on many aspects of his game mainly his defense and his off-ball usage... obviously he will always have a high usage rate but being able to still be good of ball would greatly help him
Die hard Mavs fan. While I agree a lot of this vid a lot if the Mavs problems on offense can be solved w/ Luka working on his spot up shooting. With a teammate like Ky this is imperative. As it stands he HAS to have the ball in his hands to get a shot up. VERY rarely do I remember a player driving and kicking out to Luka for an open shot. On Defense Luka just has to learn how to be a pros pro. Right now it’s like he gets by on talent alone, which is actually kind of impressive. If he wants to become formidable on D he will HAVE to drop 20-25 lbs come…and this should be BEFORE training camp; this will give the coaching staff more clarity as to how they want to run offense (set plays, run n gun, slow half-court grind offense, etc.). In short, Luka needs to get mad. My hope would be that he’s watching the playoffs seeing former teammates ball out and that motivates him to get in serious basketball shape. As it stands he’s currently in Slovenia and keeps up more w/ Euro sports so idk how much chance I have of my wish coming true 😅
Luka has already gave up. He is declining early. He has proof that he cannot exist with another star (pozingis, Kyrie and Brunson who knows this). He needs the ball in his hands all the time. 50% of GMs predicted he will be MVP at start of season. Look at the outcome.
People are saying "Harden in Houston," and that isn't a bad comparison. Hopefully Luka can change up his style like James has, because I agree with a lot of what was said in this video. Even Jordan never won a ring before Phil Jackson made him play in a system that maximized the other players on the Bulls.
If I was Cuban I would focus on getting a high motor combo guard that can play alongside Luka. You must try to recapture that chemistry he had with Brunson. Then get some role players that can hustle and make open shots. Luka is a great playmaker but he can’t be the only one on the floor because he is not a fast paced player. When you play that slow you lose the opportunity to get easy buckets in transition.
Luca…crybaby….
Dribble dribble dribble than if he doesn't shoot a step back three or drive he gives the ball to a teammate with 3 seconds left on the shot clock that's a winning formula
The issue I think is Luka is not an offensive threat without the ball. He doesn't space the floor well since he's only about an average 3 pt shooter and he isn't fast enough to consistently be a cutter to the rim. A lot of the times when he doesn't have the ball he just stands at the 3 pt line and waits for the ball.
KPs post numbers are better now since Bradley Beal is at least an above average 3 pt shooter so they can't just double KP the way they could if he was posting with Luka as his teammate.
I love Luka and he one of my favorite players but he needs to figure out something to do when he doesn't have the ball.
Carmelo Anthony was one of those guys types as well (Only effective when the ball is in his hands) and we all saw how hard he was to build around and get to a championship
Luka's actually a great shooter from three when he has open looks, but he takes the most difficult and most contested shots in the league. He's the most double teamed player in the league. He's a great floor spacer. KP's issue wasn't Luka; it was how he was used by Carlisle and how his injuries derailed his ability to play post or move off the line.
he was a threat without the ball during his stints in RM and younger v ersion of Slovenia alongside dragic . we can simply see the issues here , jkidd dont know how to run his tactics he just give luka full authority to run the court. change a coach and i can tell u ,problame fix at least 50%
@@jackchan6624it has nothing to do with Kidd has everything to do with him
@@raymondthomas1574 Sure, you can ask Laso. But be beware, he does not like such stupid questions.
Tbh honest, I didn't foresee Knicks Brunson and the Mavs who drafted him and saw him everyday in practice probably had good cause to pause before handing him a $100M contract. But letting him walk was just a poor business decision, they could've done a sign-and-trade, look at what Warriors did w KD, had a half season w an overpaid DLo and swapped him for Wiggins.
Have people already forgotten what JKidd did in Milwaukee? Giannis played the exact same way Luka is rn, had to have the ball in his hands at all times because the coaching staff allowed it to happen. I'm not saying Luka doesn't have problems with his game, but a good coach would point them out and hold him accountable
Mark Cuban is the reason the MAVS did not make the PLAYOFFS or finish in the Top 5 of the WESTERN CONFERENCE allowing BRUNSON to sign with the KNICKS, trading your whole roster for IRVING, and also trading PORZINGIS who had a COMEBACK season with the WIZARDS. And this OWNER had LUKA with IRVING sitting out a CRITICAL game against the BULLS that could have helped the MAVS make the PLAY IN smfh
wat u said bout first part is right but porzingis ? without dinwiddie / bertans last season playoff the mavs wont make so far with porzingis, they literally win with small 5 not a traditional line up and get demolished by warriors becuz warriors has better and more completed small 5 line up. and u can blame why they gave up the game but the thing is not in their hand , if end up okc won all their game due to bad records against okc they still wont make to play in. and if they gave up now they still can secure that top 10 picks and not give it to knicks . go read some facts first b4 throwing shyt
What whole roster only traded two people