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

[fifteenth]

I know there are other factors to consider besides the supposed spacing issue, but to me, what is clearly evident is how slow Luka is. Slower than usual. 

No matter how lethal a tank is, if it can't get out of the way of incoming attacks, it's bound to get hit over and over again until it's armor is no longer relevant.

Terrible analogy I know, but this where Luka is at right now. The Tiger took a hit on its tracks, can't move quick enough to effectively counter the puny Shermans.

Yeah, I am with you. I am surprised more folks don't seem to be noticing the difference. Whether it is injury, conditioning, weight, or whatever, he is noticeably the slowest he has been in his career. Then add in the worst shooting of his career and things are not pretty.

It's obvious that he's much slower right now than what we're used to. My guess is that we all see it but some folks don't want to talk about it or, because they're super protective of Luka they don't want to let themselves admit it. But his jog, his run, his moves, his spins, literally everything is slower. 

The causes seem to be pretty clear, and some of them are out of Luka's control. He's played an insane amount of basketball over the past two years, with an insane level of usage and responsibility, and it's taken a toll. His body hasn't had much of a rest and recovery period and he has nagging injuries that look like they'll be with him until he can get an extended rest and recovery time (a legit offseason).

His weight and conditioning appear to be part of the equation as well. So we have a combination of factors that Luka can't control and some factors that we hope maturity will help Luka to learn to control. 

So here's where we're at. Luka can still dominate like he did last night. He's amazing. He's still Luka. He's still one of the best players in the league while slowed down by fatigue, injuries, weight and conditioning. But he's not quite 100% Luka. 

So far this season I've been watching to see if passing time and some games off would result in Luka getting healed up and in better shape, and that we'd suddenly see last season's Luka running around on the court. But this morning I'm thinking that 85% Luka, slower on the court, injured and not in the best shape might just be this seasons Luka. I think he most likely needs an actual offseason to get right. 

But 85% Luka is awesome, the team is improving, and they have stuff they can accomplish this season. And then we have the hope of what Luka with a full offseason and some wisdom from these experiences will show up and do next year.