10-15-2019, 12:52 PM
(10-15-2019, 08:32 AM)michaeltex Wrote: So I have a question for those with waaay more BB smarts than me...
Eyeball-wise, Luka had a great, very "Luka" game. Passing, rebounding, wicked stepbacks, etc. But my question is about drives to the rim.
Does he finish well or does he sort of bail out hoping for a foul call? I ask because there were a couple of times it seemed like he made a contested drive and the ball didn't even come close to the rim. I realize I'm picking nits here, but just wanted to hear what the wiser heads here think.
I understand that it takes a lot of guts and energy to make the move to the rim, I'm just wondering if there is enough efficiency right now. He does seem to be getting some veteran calls now that weren't there last season.
Trust your eyes! Luka was not that great with driving, contested shots near the rim. The statistics Sleepinghero posted are a little misleading because those numbers include WIDE OPEN layups. You can look at several average players with similar or even better numbers.
NBA dot com has tracking numbers on specific play sets like drives, catch and shoot, etc. you can check out and play around with: https://stats.nba.com/players/drives/?Season=2018-19&sort=DRIVES&dir=1&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&CF=PLAYER_NAME*E*luka
Last season, Luka's FG% off drives was 48.7%; star players with similar size like LeBron, Durant, Kawhi, Harden, etc. were at 53% or better; Ben Simmons was at 51%. The best players with a similar percentage I can find were Jimmy Butler (46%) and Paul George (47.5%).
Luka is better or close to some smaller players like Fox, Mitchell, Lillard, Kemba, etc. but smaller players typically struggle more often due to their size.
In a nutshell, Luka is a good enough driver and is efficient enough, if that answers your question. He can definitely get better in this department but it is not a requirement as with the Paul George example; George compensates with his elite 3PT% and strong FT%, an area Luka needs to make strides in.