(01-25-2023, 12:29 PM)hakeemfaan Wrote: The issue though has never been there on the national team for Slovenia.
Yes he should be more mature and do the things he can control better but even veterans sometimes don’t act the most mature way when they are in a poor situation. Heck we have had players like LeBron and Kyrie gripe even wben they have all stars next to them saying they don’t have enough. Meanwhile Luka is playing alongside average journeymen. He is carrying the lions share on offense night in night out.
So while I too get frustrated with some things he does and have criticized Luka as well, IMO the last playoffs showed that this guy is very close to leading teams to perennial contender status if there is some halfway decent talent level around him. Most other teams he will go to will have at least one young stud or all star level player. This guy is not going to lead his new team to one title but multiple titles and we will be left thinking how we nitpicked him endlessly here, while the talent level and front office/coaching were subpar.
I understand what you are saying and agree totally that the team needs upgrades. However, that doesn't change Luka's approach. He should play the same way no matter who is on the floor with him. I mentioned in my previous post about Larry Bird. Bird came into Boston as a rookie and took the same 29 win team the year before to 61 wins. They didn't win a title that year but with team upgrades he won 3.
It shouldn't matter who is on the floor. You bring it every night and good things will happen. Complaining to the refs about no calls or bad calls and coming in not motivated for games won't get Luka any closer to his goals. I know it's got to be hard getting motivated every night in a long season to play when you are that good. He has to find a way.
Right now the main difference I see between LeBron and Luka is that LeBron could always get motivated to play in the regular season. He just didn't have Luka's mental toughness and would shrink in the playoffs. If Luka can learn to get motivated in the regular season whatever team he has will be a team no one wants to play ever.
We didn't make the cut but thanks for all the support!