GAME 3 NBA FINALS: Boston Celtics (2-0) vs. Dallas Mavericks (0-2)

[BigDirk41]

Once Luka fell down trying to draw the charge the ref was obliged to call either the charge or block. Can’t make a no call when the defender forces your hand like that.  There 100% has to be a call one way or another.  There’s nothing the ref can do. And, in that case, it’s a block. Luka wasn’t in position. That was just a low IQ play to leave your feet in that situation. Otherwise, it would have been a no call.

Yeah true. Maybe if he stayed upright, they don't call that.

[audiosway]

Tatum and Brown had 61 points last night though. 

So that is 1 point extra... but at what cost of defense?

Anyway... Luka, Kyrie and everyone else on the Mavericks need to score more or score in better ways than they have.

My point exactly. Everyone is railing on Luka for supposedly bad defense. Then they turn around in the same breath saying something has to be done because the Boston scorers are hunting Luka out. You can't have it both ways. If Luka and Kyrie outscore Tatum and Brown and Luka is being hunted out by Boston as the preferred defender the problem is somewhere else.

Maybe if some other players stepped up this series would be 2-1 in favor of Dallas. Luka is not by any means a lock down defender. Yet he was +9 last night. He had the highest +/- rating on the Mavs. Luka is NOT the problem.

[omahen]

I don't really see the issue with the refs. A couple of 50/50 calls going against the Mavs in the last few minutes of game three isn't enough to turn this into a big talking point. Refs are letting both teams play. Swallow the whistle on drives.
In the series against the Wolves the physicality benefited the Mavs. Made it much easier to slow down a slasher like Edwards. This time against a much better perimeter defense it is hurting them. When Holiday, White or Brown are allowed to handcheck even Kyrie and Luka have a hard time.

Isn't this the whole point really, at least related to this game? On one hand they allow physical play, which is fine. On the other hand they call a bunch of weak fouls on a player. How is he supposed to adjust, when criteria is so liberal and changes even within the game? For example in the same game - Luka got called an offensive foul for a hook and then a couple of minutes later got called defensive foul on similar hook move by Brown. Similar fouls Luka has been called, he was fouled many times in this game but whistle stayed silent. I don't think Mavs lost because of refs, but I can understand some of the frustrations.

Buying or Selling Each of Luka Dončić's 6 Fouls in Game 3 NBA Finals Loss to Boston | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors | Bleacher Report

[Reunion Mav]

http://youtube.com/post/UgkxdHOal_E4Jq0P...JU8QprTeRQ

This is a crazy stat on blow-by percentage against Luka.

Come on what is the get beat percentage for Luka’s defenders? Also very high. There are maybe 100 offensive players in the NBA who can get by all but the best defenders anytime they want. Ok. Luka is not the quickest defender with 2 bad legs. The real problem is we can’t double team because all 9 Celtics can score better than all but 2 of our guys which exposes all but every team’s best defenders. 

I hate this Luka hate because he complains. However I do like that this might create a Luka who is finally able to take unfair defense, cheap shots and missed calls the way Dirk did. He simply scored back viciously. Luka does sometimes also respond by stealing the ball. Do more of that to respond to the incredible level of frustration he experiences. 

I do also agree our bench does really need to rise to a confident and far more effective level tonight and hopefully 4 more games as well as over the summer.

[hakeemfaan]

I think we all agree with this, which is why absolutely no one here has made such claims, at least to my knowledge. That seems like taking an opinion to such an extreme that it no longer accurately represents the point some are trying to make.

This is about what it takes to be at the very top of the NBA mountain, which is something more difficult than anyone here can possibly imagine, myself included. There are levels to things. Of course he’s not lazy. If he were, we’d have never heard his name.

I am a Mavericks fan and a Luka Dončić fan. Selfishly, I want him to shove all of this criticism down everyone’s throat and assume a position of such revered dominance that no one can touch it. He’s not there yet, and I think anyone looking objectively would reach the same conclusion. Maybe he never will be, but we all believe that he can do it (as does Windhorst, as those actually interested in listening with an open mind know). Either way, none of that should ever be construed as a lack of gratitude for the hours and years of enjoyment he has already provided us. Frankly, and I don’t mean to aim this at you, HF, it’s kind of annoying to have to put that disclaimer on everything. We ALL want the best for the Mavs, and  forget the finals - if not for Luka, I highly doubt we would still even have this community. Dirk’s last decade was tough to watch.

No offense taken and hope the same the other way as well. 

I have seen the term tellutubby used in this thread.  

I absolutely agree with criticism about his griping. I absolutely agree he needs to get back on defense every single time.  However a lot of the criticism he gets about defense is unwarranted and is laziness from the national media and I see people here too now falling for that. 

Whether it was MJ or Kobe or Steph they always had another player who took on the other teams best guard. Yet Kobe and MJ are lauded as great defenders. Luka has one of the highest usage rates.  He is expending a lot of energy on offense. If he were consistently not in shape he would not be putting up the numbers he does. He would have been done a quarter into the season. People underestimate how much effort and energy just offense takes. 

People look at his build and assume he is not in shape. However as I said if that was true it’s impossible to have the offensive consistency he has with that usage rate. Jokic reduced to 250, didn’t like it and went back to 280. Luka is atrong as well. He bullies folks down low. Again this is not saying that there is not another level to where he can go but that is different from thinking he is shortchanging his potential right now by poor diet and habits off the court. I am not buying that narrative. If that were true then he is truly the best player to ever play the game that he can be so consistent offensively with such a high usage rate and have the energy to do it season after season while having terrible diet and sleep habits off the court.

It’s up to management and the coaches to find out how to reduce Luka’s overall usage rate. It is upto management to put a team out there that in key situations can hold their own when Luka goes to the bench. 

Once you do that then he will have more energy on defense.  He is never going to be a stud there but will do better once the team figured out how to reduce the current usage rate. 

To me the biggest isssue is with his maturity handling refs and staying focused on what he can control.

[KillerLeft]

No offense taken and hope the same the other way as well. 

I have seen the term tellutubby used in this thread.  

I absolutely agree with criticism about his griping. I absolutely agree he needs to get back on defense every single time.  However a lot of the criticism he gets about defense is unwarranted and is laziness from the national media and I see people here too now falling for that. 

Whether it was MJ or Kobe or Steph they always had another player who took on the other teams best guard. Yet Kobe and MJ are lauded as great defenders. Luka has one of the highest usage rates.  He is expending a lot of energy on offense. If he were consistently not in shape he would not be putting up the numbers he does. He would have been done a quarter into the season. People underestimate how much effort and energy just offense takes. 

People look at his build and assume he is not in shape. However as I said if that was true it’s impossible to have the offensive consistency he has with that usage rate. Jokic reduced to 250, didn’t like it and went back to 280. Luka is atrong as well. He bullies folks down low. Again this is not saying that there is not another level to where he can go but that is different from thinking he is shortchanging his potential right now by poor diet and habits off the court. I am not buying that narrative. If that were true then he is truly the best player to ever play the game that he can be so consistent offensively with such a high usage rate and have the energy to do it season after season while having terrible diet and sleep habits off the court.

It’s up to management and the coaches to find out how to reduce Luka’s overall usage rate. It is upto management to put a team out there that in key situations can hold their own when Luka goes to the bench. 

Once you do that then he will have more energy on defense.  He is never going to be a stud there but will do better once the team figured out how to reduce the current usage rate. 

To me the biggest isssue is with his maturity handling refs and staying focused on what he can control.

No offense taken on this end - discussing these things is what we’re here to do.

I agree with much of what you’ve written here. I agree that the complaining is by far the most black and white of the issues leveled against Luka. I agree that there are two sides to the other stuff, only…

With his conditioning, again, we’re talking about LEVELS. I actually think there’s correlation between his energy levels and his complaining/frustration. I agree his usage plays a part, too, but are we sure he’s not at least a little culpable with that being so high? Are we sure it’s Jason Kidd telling everyone that only Luka should ever have the ball? I feel like I have heard the opposite of that message delivered pretty consistently, and I don’t buy that there is no one else on the roster who is a competent basketball player.

And none of that is intended to put it all on Luka, either, because I do agree with your message. These aren’t binary issues.

[Reunion Mav]

I like this discussion and agree. However let’s just accept that Luka knows he is not officiated well much of the time and he is right. That’s why I suggest a Dirk response which everyone including the refs respect rather than somehow expecting a foreign futball lover to accept poor officiating. Dirk’s get them back focus and mentality served as his angry but controlled response.

[Reunion Mav]

Having fun works to some degree for Luka when anger doesn’t distract him but getting them back is fun.

I do hope this but kicking he is taking helps him master this and perhaps it will.

[KillerLeft]

Having fun works to some degree for Luka when anger doesn’t distract him but getting them back is fun.

I do hope this but kicking he is taking helps him master this and perhaps it will.

It’s all part of the learning process. 

Imho, the biggest mistake we, the Mavs fan community, have made is to assume that Luka was ready to win a championship almost right out of the gate. I understand WHY we thought that - because he is the first truly special player most have ever seen up close like this. The Mavs have never had a LeBron, an MJ, a Kobe, a Shaq, whatever. As amazing as Dirk was, it took him a while to become great. He certainly wasn’t as immediately difference making as Luka. This is new territory for we fans. 

But, it’s STILL going to be a journey. That’s clear. The Mavs failing on their first couple of attempts to build the team around him certainly hasn’t helped, but if we are able to acknowledge the nuances of how Luka, himself, is having to grow, we’ll have a deeper appreciation of what he/they have accomplished when he reaches the destination.

[michaeltex]

Imho, the biggest mistake we, the Mavs fan community, have made is to assume that Luka was ready to win a championship almost right out of the gate. 

Basic Truth.

Maybe coming in off the winning the MVP of the latest Euro championships, along with the overall trophy, elevated expectations once we saw how good he was against NBA-level competition.

Hopefully, having a family will settle him to allow the work on improving his weaknesses. Although I think he needs a summer off from Slovenian national team commitments, he feels the need to be there for his countrymen, so he plays a busy schedule in the offseason. Gotta admire his dedication to his guys.