HALLELUKA: Luka Clinches All-NBA 1st team. 4th in 5 years

[SleepingHero]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LTMJ_KAHnM


Just Luka things holy crap.

[SleepingHero]

https://twitter.com/Mavs_FFL/status/1627...11169?s=20

Jokic chilling with Luka in that vid. Here's some words he had to say about Luka.

[Dundalis]

Didn't we trade for Kyrie to lower Luka's usage rate? Luka can be the PG when Kyrie sits. It's just a small sacrifice he needs to make playing with another superstar. 

We've seen Luka punish guys easily on the post. With less dribbling too. 

No doubt they'll figure it out soon. Offense won't be a problem anyway, it's the overall defense.

The problem is Kyrie doesn't want to, nor has he proven in the past to be at his best when he's a teams primary playmaker (Boston). He's always been best as the scoring guard who serves as the ancillary playmaker. Kyrie will play more on ball than he has so far, but he's not Brunson or Dinwiddie in terms of his TOP and DPP rates. His TOP was exactly the same as Dinwiddie's despite not playing with anyone near as ball dominant as Luka on the Nets, and his dribbles per possession was way less. Kyrie is nowhere near as ball dominant as everyone has been saying, and in fact he's been more effective the less he's taken on primary playmaking duties.

That being said, I totally understand wanting the offensive tempo to be more like when Luka isn't ball handling. But Kyrie will continue to actively give the ball up IMO, which has been the main factor in driving the ball movement, which will consistently have the ball ending up in Luka's hands relatively early in the shot clock, since almost no one else seems to know what to do with the ball when they don't have a wide open shot (apart from THJ, Wood and Green when he isn't being overly passive)

[SleepingHero]

https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/16...4173745153


Some more Luka-Jokic shenanigans ft. Kyrie

[SleepingHero]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TqfIfTtF1w

This was hilarious

[SleepingHero]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE3R9B_5uCo

[Chicagojk]

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2023/2/21/...doncic-mvp

[SleepingHero]

https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/16...3320065035

[Chicagojk]

https://twitter.com/junior_miller/status...76769?s=61&t=-aAylloVlVRI2-DRvoajoA

[Time Machine Dirk]

https://twitter.com/junior_miller/status...76769?s=61&t=-aAylloVlVRI2-DRvoajoA

Great. One game sample size...   We all know Lebron complains usually more than that. And I think Luka really had more reason to complain in the Laker's game than Lebron...    *cough* refs sucked! *cough* (I hope I don't get fined for this by Adam Silver.)

However...Do we have to compare complaining now? What the heck? That others complain doesn't change the fact that Luka's complaining is too much. It's annoying and I would claim that it affects his energy and his performance as well as the team's. So it contributes to losing games. It is a loser's mentality to complain as much as he does. He should be better than that and hold himself to higher standards.

[LukaMVP]

that's why i agree with many other posters here who believe draymond would be an awesome piece to have alongside luka. it ain't just about the game itself. You need such kind of a personality to win tough matchups. Morris would have been a good option to bring some thug genes to our games but dude is done as rock. with draymond on our side I'm sure luka would complain much less, and dray would strengthen our D as well, both at wing and low post tbqfh.

[SleepingHero]

https://theathletic.com/4264890/2023/03/...efs-upset/

A pretty fair article by Cato here. Here's the stuff on Luka:

So let’s talk about those, with a specific emphasis on Luka Dončić’s visible and loudly enunciated recent frustrations. Let me be clear, as I’ll write later in this article: Dončić is singular reason why this team is dangerous and successful. Any criticism of him comes from the lofty expectations he’s set for himself. But since many of your questions focused on him, I felt it worthwhile to respond in kind.

Micah N. asks, “I’ve been super hesitant to jump on the ‘Luka needs to mature’ bandwagon, but watching Sunday’s game (against the Lakers), I couldn’t help but feel that way. I’m curiously if you feel similarly.”

My barometer for Dončić’s temperament is whether it affects his play multiple times per game, and especially for multiple possessions in a row. Lately, it has. The technical foul he received against the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday wasn’t only earned but sought out. Dončić had survived one yelling bout with one of the game’s officials before he sought out another one to berate, practically forcing the whistle against him. If Dončić picks up two more technical fouls this season, he’ll serve an automatic one-game suspension.

These frustrations are affecting his defensive effort multiple times each game, and perhaps even occasionally his shot selection. The issues crop up not only with Dončić’s transition defense, but in moments like this, where he doesn’t even attempt to box out his man on a rebound attempt.

https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/...64.mp4?_=1


Dončić’s anger might be righteous. He seeks out and sustains plenty of physical contact throughout games, some of which inevitably isn’t called for fouls. But that’s the life of an NBA superstar. Worse, his frustrations with the officiating cascade into consecutive sequences of negative results for his team: failed box outs, four-on-five defensive possessions, hasty stepback 3s and more. For all of the advantages Dončić creates through his sheer, undisputed talent, he’s giving too much of them back through avoidable on-court behavior.

I don’t know how to fix that, not with immediate effect. But it has to change for the Mavericks to be more successful.

[MaxiThreeba]

Luka needs to actually take an offseason.  He needs to spend that offseason with someone who will work his ass and call him out.  There is no one giving that to him in the Mavs organization.  The one guy who probably did signed with the Knicks after the Mavs FO managed to completely bungle his situation no less than 4 times.

Cuban stepped in and shut down a lot of Dirk's international ball, specifically in 2009 and 2010 and we all know what happened in 2011 for the Mavs.  Cubes doesn't have the stones to give Luka the same mandate.

Luka needs a stateside offseason in the worst way.  Instead, he will be in the FIBA World Cup this summer.  I understand and respect Luka's desire to bring something special to his home country.  But Slovenia isn't paying him $40 million a year.

There will come a summer when Luka finally takes advantage of an actual offseason and the physical and mental improvements that could bring.  Hopefully he is in a Mavs uniform for the NBA season that follows that summer.

[omahen]

Luka needs a stateside offseason in the worst way.  Instead, he will be in the FIBA World Cup this summer.  I understand and respect Luka's desire to bring something special to his home country.  But Slovenia isn't paying him $40 million a year.

I agree a lot Luka needs rest in some of the offseasons to be at his best. Of course it is very difficult to demand that from him, as it would make him unhappy. He enjoys playing above anything else. I think, this is a situation only himself can come to.

Of course, we can't really claim he came unprepared this summer. But rest is important. Season is very long.

[MaxiThreeba]

I agree a lot Luka needs rest in some of the offseasons to be at his best. Of course it is very difficult to demand that from him, as it would make him unhappy. He enjoys playing above anything else. I think, this is a situation only himself can come to.

Of course, we can't really claim he came unprepared this summer. But rest is important. Season is very long.

I'm not saying he has to go Aaron Rodgers and lock himself in a dark cabin...or create the LD77 fitness/nutrition line like Tom Brady.

I am also not suggesting Luka doesn't put in the work.  You don't just roll out of bed and lead the NBA in scoring.  

I do think he needs an offseason of just being in the lab and not on the other side of the world playing nonstop basketball.  If it makes him a little unhappy to miss some national team games/tourneys, he will get over it.  Right now, he sacrifices time from his $40 million a year job...I think its perfectly okay to flip that script for a few years.

[omahen]

If it makes him a little unhappy to miss some national team games/tourneys, he will get over it.

Will it? Or will it make him request a trade, since Mavs can't really claim they are making his life easier on the court?

In any case, it is pretty obvious Mavs have made a culture where they totally depend on Luka and nothing can make him unhappy. This is their doing, not Luka. This is also a sign of a weak organization culture.

[MaxiThreeba]

Will it? Or will it make him request a trade, since Mavs can't really claim they are making his life easier on the court?

In any case, it is pretty obvious Mavs have made a culture where they totally depend on Luka and nothing can make him unhappy. This is their doing, not Luka. This is also a sign of a weak organization culture.

You won't get a single argument from me that Cuban is a terrible owner and the stink of his failure reaches all parts of this franchise.  

I'd love if Dirk sat Luka down and explained how important finally stepping away from the national team and that summer grind was for him.  I think Luka would receive that coming from Dirk.

I'd love it even more if Luka came to the realization on his own.

[omahen]

You won't get a single argument from me that Cuban is a terrible owner and the stink of his failure reaches all parts of this franchise.  

I'd love if Dirk sat Luka down and explained how important finally stepping away from the national team and that summer grind was for him.  I think Luka would receive that coming from Dirk.

I'd love it even more if Luka came to the realization on his own.

But you have to take it into account, that winning a title with your country or make it to the finals against USA is likely the biggest achievement a player like Luka or Dirk can have. Dirk did miss some summers, but he was still more often than not available for Germany. Slovenia or Germany are not USA with endless amount of talented players. Germany had Dirk and a bunch of "nobodies", Slovenia has Luka. USA team can easily afford to miss several stars and still have the best team. Slovenia has troubles making it to the tournament without Luka. Iztok Franko wrote a nice article on it a while ago (too lazy to find it, sorry).

I am just trying to show the issue is not that easy. I agree rest is important if you want to be the best possible version for NBA season.

[ItsGoTime]

I will argue if Luka drinks a good amount in his off time, not playing with his national team can’t be an option. Although, didn’t the national team go into their final game all with hangovers?

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

https://twitter.com/dfwticket/status/163...93349?s=20