08-01-2020, 04:15 PM
(08-01-2020, 03:40 PM)Scott41theMavs Wrote: Didn't Luka say something in the postgame interview about "getting it all together when the games matter?" That probably encapsulates why we lost this game right there. Not only were the scrimmages over, but this was by a pretty crushing margin (in its impact on the seedings and the Mavs' opportunity to avoid the Clippers and thus have a realistic possibility of advancing in the playoffs) the most important single NBA game Luka has yet played in his life. If it didn't matter, neither has any other NBA game he's ever played. SMH.Hey, Scott.
Believe this was the quote --
"We're a young team. We've got a lot to learn. We'll get better for sure. I know we're going to get together when it matters most, so I'm not worried about that."
I didn't take it as a statement that he thought the Rox game didn't matter. More as a rebuff to what could have been interpreted as a question inviting a diss of his teammates for collapsing in the clutch.
I really think that Luka is trying hard at the ends of games. Fighting off swarms of defenders and getting beaten up every time down the floor takes a lot of effort and commitment. However, it seems that he is expending a lot of energy in ways that are not effective at those times. I can imagine that Rick may sit down with him in the offseason and help him to see that the team needs to play in a different way when the defense bears down on him like that. Even the great Dirk had to learn how to deal with that. I think it is more growing pains than poor attitude. Hope so, anyway!