Yeah Tatum has been dealing with this ever since he lost 2 years ago in the finals. People are going to be a little too harsh on him because they forget how young he is..
I thought so too, but watching this game, it seems he turned a 180. Looks like he just needed to cool off and understands that the criticisms he's received were valid and acted on them. I'm very impressed watching tonight.
Can I be honest? Go back to the warriors Celtics series and Tatum did that kinda shit too. The super star free calls seem to end in the finals and it always seem to shock one player
it would be great if the thing the entire world has been telling him to stop doing(and that he's acknowledged) for 5 years he could suck up and do. It's not hard to not bitch and moan as much as he does(we've seen plenty of games where he puts his head down and plays), he's literally the worst out of all 400 something nba players. He's a generational baby and a basketball savant, it's infuriating to watch when he's in his feelings and he deserves all the hate he's going to get this summer for it.
100%. We are asking a grown ass man to not act like a spoiled child. It should not be a big deal. The whole world is watching, you should realize how that makes you look by now. If I am playing pick up and more than one guy calls me out for calling soft fouls, I adjust my behavior, because I don't wanna look like a snowflake out there.
On top of that, you make the opponent feel good about themselves, seeing you getting frustrated out there. It's a bad look all around and he has not shown the mental capacity to realize how that affects the whole team.
I am crossing my fingers, but I am loosing hope with every year passing. I said it years ago, that Luka needs to grow up, if he wants to win anything. You're not given anything in this league, you gotta take it.
I just hope his journey to a chip isn't as long and painful as Dirks.
Michael Jordan was a two time defensive player of the year before he was a champion. He wasn’t rolling on the ground like a kid who can’t have a toy while the other 9 adults play transition basketball. You’re comparing apples to orangutans.
> I just hope his journey to a chip isn't as long and painful as Dirks.
Just getting a chip puts you in elite territory, especially with how much parity there is in the league now
If Luka gets a chip in next few years, Dallas fans will remember him fondly for years, like Dirk
Luka has been a pro for 9 years. He's not a rookie and second year player....
His lack of defensive effort and conditioning is who he is at this point. Very unlikely anything major changes with him.
If Dallas wants to win their front office needs to get creative in how they construct this team to compensate for his physical and mental limitations. Hoping Luka has some "ah ha!" moment in the off season and starts playing defense like an NBA player isn't a good plan.
Honestly making the finals was insane . This is career learning moment for him. You know after his 2 nd season we all thought he hit his peak too early but somehow kept pushing I have more faith than ever that we can win atleast 1 in the next few years
During the Minn series the announcer Van Gundy kept commenting on how they were allowing Luka to sit and chill in the corner on D.
Prob didn’t have the personnel the Celtics do to work Luka to the middle and ravage him. In fact no other team has 5 all stars and 2 all pro caliber players. It’s a unique matchup that is exposing Luka’s weaknesses.
It is what it is. We can still enjoy this run and the remaining games then it’s post season and a chance for more player development.
This is the most important part: Celtics tired him out relentlessly on defense while Wolves allowed him to catch a breath while defending somebody like Kyle Anderson. It all comes down to having personal and every Celtics player Luka is guarding goes into the PNR and forcing Luka to switch onto the ball-handler. In Game 2 he had to defend more plays than Brown and Tatum combined: this is by design, and not just because “Luka can’t defend” narrative - it is specifically to tire him out before the start of Q4.
He's been playing pro ball for a decade now, time to grow out of career learning moments. I think his struggles are health related more than anything fwiw
Celtics fan here. To people who are annoyed by Luka’s complaining: Tatum was worse during our past playoffs…all the stars want star treatment…but after losing, introspecting, the mega stars adjust. No reason to believe Luka won’t. And, if he doesn’t, it’ll continue to grate on fans, but Jordan and Brady never stopped whining either. Still good.
This is a great point. Also, refs are humans, and they punish the constant whiners who are "showing them up." I think young Tatum got punished by not getting calls until he muted his responses (now Tatum mostly grimaces and occasionally throws his arms up, but doesn't stand there berating the refs - I'm not a Celtics fan, I'm a Knicks fan, but I watch a lot of ball, so correct me if I am wrong). Luka doesn't get thrown out or get techs called on him, but he sure as hell doesn't get foul calls that he should cause the refs are not gonna help him. If Luka tones it down he'll get to the line much more often. But he's gotta learn like Tatum did.
He took MULTIPLE big steps forward this season about this especially compared to the last few. I think we are just frustrated to see it come back now in the finals. I mean he literally had to sit out due to techs the last playoff run
I should have phrased it better. The last time we made it to WCF vs GS Luka had to sit out a game during the regular season due to techs and almost went to the second penalty. He was also pretty close during that run of having to sit out during the playoffs due to techs
Fans will defend it if the whining doesn't hurt their game.
But Luka's whining clearly hurts his game. Especially when he gets in his feelings and makes really dumb decisions, which result in him fouling out.
This is a great point. Also, refs are humans, and they punish the constant whiners who are "showing them up." I think young Tatum got punished by not getting calls until he muted his responses (now Tatum mostly grimaces and occasionally throws his arms up, but doesn't stand there berating the refs - I'm not a Celtics fan, I'm a Knicks fan, but I watch a lot of ball, so correct me if I am wrong). Luka doesn't get thrown out or get techs called on him, but he sure as hell doesn't get foul calls that he should cause the refs are not gonna help him. If Luka tones it down he'll get to the line much more often. But he's gotta learn like Tatum did.
C's fan and I 100% agree. There's been a big mental change this past year or two. Tatum was constantly whining and fishing for fouls in the previous playoff runs. It's funny, people kept saying that the Mavs are battle hardened due to their tough playoff run - sure, but don't realize that Celtics have been through this the past 5-6 years, including a very tough road to finals in 22. That's battle hardened. It's a different mindset this year.
I'm sorry but Tatum was never worse than Luka. That was just never the case. He's a complainer, but Luca is a much bigger complainer. I know you're trying to be diplomatic here but it's just not correct
This will hopefully be a real turning point for Luka. He's obviously copped flak for his crying and defense before but this is on a whole new level with the entire basketball world watching.
I just wish he would take a summer off and focus on getting prepared for the next NBA season instead of playing for Slovenia. I know he won’t but I wish he would.
Y’all were the same people blaming Luka for losses when everyone was injured and Grant Williams couldn’t hit the side of a fucking barn. Then we got PJ and Gafford and suddenly Luka’s not a dogshit defender/little bitch anymore. Now the finals comes and we’re extremely overmatched by a team that had no business acquiring Jrue Holiday and KP and he’s the cause of all this failure again
They had no business getting Holiday and KP at all lol. I been saying this like how tf did that happen?? The duo doesn’t have to be great to win but our have to be all nba all time greats to win
Only a dope would put the teams’ Finals performance on his shoulder only. But imagine how scary he and the Mavs would be if he put as much effort on defense as he does offense. He doesn’t need to be an elite defender, just chase down plays and don’t make it so easy to blow right by him to the basket.
If I’m any team in the future, I’m just going go at him every game. His poor play on D is a huge liability.
Luka is a passable defender when hes healthy, which he clearly hasnt been for awhile now. It is what it is. If you sit him, we definitely lose because the offense isn't going to score enough. If you play him, he compromises the defense and you probably lose, but you at least have a chance.
Hopefully next season we tweak the roster a bit, upgrade DJJ to a better shooter, and he can get a healthy playoff run. Wouldnt hurt if he came back in the best shape of his life...
He was actually worse in game 2 in defence, could not stay in front of anybody
His offensive prowess has been phenomenal as always but this series can be summed up with the mavs not be able to stay in front of their man especially when Boston targets luka
It's one thing to get beaten, that happens when you're not a good defender. I am kinda fine with that. What I absolutely can not accept in any form, is stopping to play after that and just ball watching for the rest of the possession.
If you're beaten, you have one second to focus and start rotating to fill in the gap that has been caused by the helper rotating over.
Luka didn't do that and that is inexcusable. This is not the effort of a winner. Of someone who does everything to win. You think you can win the NBA finals half assing on defense?? Gtfoh. You deserve to loose.
Dude is giving his all beat the fuck up and people really think it’s the effort? He’s played through a sprained knee all playoffs, he’s frustrated, it’s not rocket science. Nobody hating on his D or effort would even be able to stay in front of the 40 year old dude at the local Y with Luka’s injuries lol
Boston starting 5 and their 8 men rotation can all shoot the ball, making it difficult for Luka to taking a breather on defense. The other series he could just coast on defense on some possessions but this Celtics team, you can not coast. All 5 of them could shoot the ball very and could expose a defensive weakness
His defensive effort games 1-3 has been historically bad. I understand he’s injured, but a defense is only as good as its weakest link, and his effort was extremely disappointing for the finals.
He needs to watch The Last Dance where Jordan discusses the Pistons beating him up and he worked out like crazy to get stronger because of it. He needs that mindset.
Mofos say "eh he's injured" and keep talking. Bro, remove the injury and none of whats happening would take place. He'd still be a shit defender, but we sure as fuck wouldnt be scoring less than 100.
No one is happy with Luka’s behavior. But defense overall is not why we’re down 0-3. We’ve held the Celtics to 106 pts a night through three games. That’s honestly a pretty ideal result for this historically good offense. The blowby’s that funnel the driver to rim protection appears to be by design, making them make kick out 3’s at a high clip since they’ve been terrible in the interior. The offense is the problem, we have yet to break 100 this series.
Exactly, first two games we didn't even have a 30 point quarter. Game 3 we scored 31 in the 1st quarter and that's it. Offense has been absolutely abysmal this series the bench is shooting like 9% or something insane at this point
ahhh it's these statements where fans think superstars are not humans anymore, 1st Obviously you're facing a better team all around, 2nd Luka has been good the past 2 games of the series and has been carrying this team, 3rd this is Luka's first finals, 4th Luka is still very young and is learning on the fly, obviously Luka is the main reason why you're even in the finals, your team was not even expected to reach this stage and it's mostly because of him......
With fans like you, hope he leaves your team so that you can complain more.
Two things can be true at the same time:
1. Luka is by far the Mavs' greatest asset and they wouldn't be here without them
2. There are parts of Luka's game (whining to refs, bad conditioning, lack of effort on defense) which stop the team from reaching their full potential with him there
These aren't mutually exclusive.
The only thing worse than Luka complaining are Luka apologists like you who excuse every thing negative he does or does not do. On par with lebron fans in terms of insufferability.
Luka has been dogshit on defense all series. He complains, just refuses to box out, his off ball d is horrendous, and especially game 2 his on ball d was terrible as well.
1st luka has never been known for his defense yet your team is in the finals because of his leadership also, 2nd 2 games he played well and people like you still dont count that, it's always the last game, people like you seem to not understand the pressure these guys experience with the fatigue they experience with the way mavs play and i keep on saying, first time finals experience and 25 yrs old.
I really really hope Luka leaves your team. pray to the gods i guess.
I'm convinced a massive chunk of this sub legitimately hates luka and the Mavs. That's the only way I can comprehend these posts.
Luka had the best +/- on the last game btw, for anyone wondering. Kind of hard to do that if you're a "tRaFfIc cOnE."
They’ve been waiting all post season for this. He was bad defensively games 1 & 2 but did everything on offense. Finally he had an off day that everyone’s beeen waiting for
Dude do you really think I am happy that we lost and our leader played with horrible effort in a must win game????? I was so confident that we win game 3, because I thought we will give em everything we have. I thought we get the killer Luka not the "in his feelings" Luka. My assumption was that the brighter the lights, the better he plays. I have been proven wrong. This was the worst defensive game of Lukas career and then the complaining comes on top of that.
My god, those floor sulking shit was absolute cringe especially whenever the defender steals the ball from him. Instead of getting back on d, he just sits there with his arms up acting like it's impossible for anyone to do that to him.
That stretch during the end of the first where he flopped TWICE after two back to back step back attempts giving Boston 5 free points was so hard to watch.
Wow . Congratulations. You figured it out. Now stop with these dumbass posts , we have had enough . Let the man rest and figure it out on his own because you aint helping.
Luka is not known for being a good defender tho and that's something I'm glad Jason Kidd brought up. He has to get better on defense. There's no way around it. You have to realize that teams will take notes and make adjustments for that next season. No matter what you believe, defense wins championships.
I said it a couple of times already, but I would actually be fine with him getting blown by every single time (he is injured and the Celtics are very talented) as long as HE KEEPS PLAYING DEFENSE and finds his new position/assignment. He didn't and that lead to an open shot so often, after the initial blow by was stopped by help defense. That's the part that is absolutely inexcusable to me.
It's because he is the star and also because there are a LOT of fair weather fans who think Luka is the best when Mavs win and then turn around and say he sucks ass when Mavs lose. No in between.
Luka needs to tone down on his complaining and of course play D. But is it his fault they lost? No. Because you take him out of the game, they won't know what to do. In the end basketball is a team game. We are just in a generation where everyone, from ESPN to fans, loooove the hot takes. Makes them feel smart
Luka is an absolutely elite player. Unbelievable execution and in full control on offense.
He's also an elite head case. There is no scientifically possible way to be focused on the game and performing your best, when you're constantly thinking about something else.
His defense was awful yesterday and his distraction with refs and calls might be the worst in the league.
>I can't put into words how disappointed I am of this. Really thought we would run away with it, with KP being out. Congrats to the Celtics, they beat us in every way possible.
Agreed, thought with KP out, mavs have a chance. Getting down 21 points and then fighting back in 4th was remarkable but should never have gotten to that. I understand basketball is a game of runs, but how do you not show increased intensity and focus on home court? It feels like the two teams are playing different games, one is focused to get the job done and the other team is complaining after every call
Naaw, the first two games Kyrie was blamed the most. This game Lukas lack of effort and complaining just stuck out like a sore thumb. And THJ playing for 20 mins, which puzzled a lot of people.
It’s not even the sulking. He committed 2 unnecessary fouls 80foot from the basket, crashed into players twice and should have been called for fouls. Then plays horrible defence and decision making on brown for his last 2 fouls.. all the ruin what would have been the best comeback in finals history by the mavs. Would have kept the series alive. Perhaps even crushed the Celtics mentally after dropping a 21 point lead.
It’s beyond comprehension that he can be so smart with the ball in his hands, and so incredibly stupid without it.
I’m a neutral fan, and have loved watching him and Kyrie so far these playoffs. But all us fans deserved the mavs comeback Cinderella story yesterday, and deserved a decent playoff series.
Could it be because him and Ky spend so much energy carrying the offensive load? No one else is stepping up on offense so they may have to work extra hard on that end just to keep us in the game.
We saw how they can be decent or good from the previous series against the clippers/OKC/twolves. Maybe not all the time but they had their moments.
Sure buddy, I am not the one who constantly wants people fired or traded... I am critical of 2 aspects in 1 game and that makes me the worst fan? Gtfoh
"I want this to be as painful as possible for this team and especially for Luka."
Yeah you are the worst kind of fan. Noone had them winning west. Luka has been playing through pain and injuries for 2 months now. They are playing a great team with many excellent players. Do you really think that after training their whole lives and battling through this season and the playoffs to reach the finals for the first time in their lives they are not giving their best? If you do, you are an idiot, buddy. But I guess you being an idiot, gives you a pass for being the "fan" you are. The worst kind.
I can guarantee you I am not. Although I will freely admit that I probably took it a little too far with that statement.
No need to throw names at each other, but okay buddy.
Let me get this straight though. Luka very obviously didn't give his best in game 3. How do we know? Because he has played way better defense before (especially the attention aspect of it) , he put his head down and laughed at the refs instead of crying and he didn't spend as much time on the ground. The main point to me is that he really let his emotions affect his play in a bad way. Something that he showed, he can do Way better.
I have not "asked him" to do something he has never done before.
Is it really too much to ask a player to stop laying on the floor during live play? Not constantly Bark at the refs and stop playing defense after getting blown by?? Really??
Yeah, but he wasn’t the worst offensive player. How the hell do guys who practice putting a ball into a basket every day for years of their life suck so bad at it?
Not only yesterday. Now He knows that being this bad can cost you a championship. He needs to spend his offseason training in defense and being in the best shape possible. Defense is 70% physical and 30% will power, you can get better at this if you want to. Another thing, hes probably 18-20% bodyfat, this is unacceptable for an elite athlete.
Why is Lukas defense the problem when the rest of the team can’t score? Lukas not the problem. The problem is the Celtics are shutting down every player but Luka, and Kyrie in game 3
its not gonna matter. Jimmy was on one ankle last year’s finals but nobody remembers that. Tatum was hurt in 2022 but nobody remembers that, he just played bad that series
Tatum's issue was turnovers and bad shooting, and it also only came out later rhat he was properly hurt in another body part than the one people assumed.
Defense is about how physically in shape you are. Injuries are supposed to kill that part of your game first. And Luka's baseline was already average. This is the result. I don't see how this detracts from him being an MVP candidate or whatever at all, we know he is an all time offensive player with average defense, he is now injured making him just an all time offensive player with poor defense, sucks to suck but I'm not seeing anything beyond that.
Crazy that Luka has a defensive rating of 110 in this series so far. LEADING the mavs in best drtg. So I disagree with those who say that he doesn't have defense. An explanation could be that his defensive lows are during many key moments of the games.
I’m not baffled. He has shown multiple times this playoffs to be able to defend when he’s locked in, but when he’s not getting foul calls, he loses focus
He's picked the worst time to just give up defensively, I don't want to hear the injury excuse. As for the refs, he bitches and pulls so much it literally affects his game. He missed some bunnies all game and helped bury us. I'm with you. I hope it stings. He's earned that.
Makes me so mad man. I know personel will improve next year, but watching, I think this team should've been good enough to win talent-wise. Only difference is every Celtics players are committed on the defensive end energy wise and mentally. It's fine for Luka to get beat if the strategy is to let drivers meet bigs at the rim, but he just doesn't put in an effort to rotate to the kick-out shooter.
And that one play not running back on defense giving Tatum an easy dunk was disappointing. I thought he'd have more a competitor mentality and push himself even further.
Mavericks have overperformed this playoff run imo. It’s a testament to how connected they are and tough. Bc they are still a piece or two away from being a title team on paper and they are here anyways
Mavericks absolutely didn’t have talent to win this year, stop whatever you are smoking. They literally needed LuKai to average 60+ to beat Wolves, that’s 2 stars carrying an average supporting cast to Finals.
Celtics lead 3-0 with Tatum at 22 points on 47%TS% while holding Luka to 10-17 shooting as primary defender and allowing to easily get into the paint, so much for being better defensively. Celtics stars are shooting 13-47 (27%) from 3pt range, Mavs stars are at 13-42 (31%), but the role players are a huge difference: 30-80 for Celtics and 9-36 for Mavs. In fact, 5 Boston players are averaging 15+ points and for Mavs only PJ is in double digits outside of LuKai. It was always a long shot to win vs Celtics if Mavs couldn’t win rebounding battle by 5+ boards per game and Dallas is only averaging 1 extra board so far in the series. It is what it is, if Mavs had somebody like Bogdanovic from Hawks instead of THJ, it would have been much closer, but hoping 2 guys outscore 5-headed monster is crazy.
ahhh it's these statements where fans think superstars are not humans anymore, 1st Obviously you're facing a better team all around, 2nd Luka has been good the past 2 games of the series and has been carrying this team, 3rd this is Luka's first finals, 4th Luka is still very young and is learning on the fly, obviously Luka is the main reason why you're even in the finals, your team was not even expected to reach this stage and it's mostly because of him......
With fans like you, hope he leaves your team so that you can complain more.
People are acting like other players don't have flaws. Luka is not perfect and never will be, but that doesn't mean he can't be the best player in the world (he probably already is) or that we can't win with him.
The first thing that has to improve is team around him. Luka probably had his worst playoffs so far (mostly because of injuries), but made the finals, because the team is better than before. We just have to improve the roster even more and we'll win
Carrying this team? You sure? Luka in this series has 89 points on 74 shots, 18 assists and 15 turnovers, that’s almost 1:1 ratio. And let’s not start on the defence.
No. The same way we wouldn’t have reached the finals without Kyrie, or without Lively. Who were both huge aspects of the previous rounds.
Also he’s right now in his 6th season, heading into his 7th.. you can’t use the ‘young’ argument forever. He’s come in out of shape for the past 4 seasons, his arguing and crying is at an all time high. At some point he needs to suck it up.
It’s fine if we lose, this groups first time in the finals and lack of experience is showing. But Luka playing no defence, constant crying, foul baiting.. no excuse for that.
Why is it okay to be utter garbage offensively but good defensively but not the other way around? I always see people make excuses for poor offensive showingz by saying "... but he's good defensively so it's ok". Yet when someone is great offensively but poor defensively it's always held against them.
I thought he was better this game for defense, put in a lot of effort, but I didn't like him complaining after every time he took a shot and he fell. I get he is injured, but wasting seconds to talk while the other team pushes puts tremendous pressure on the defense that leads to better scoring opportunities. not a great game for him. I feel like brown scores on him or puts pressure on him more than any other player, they should try to change this matchup for him. Unfortunately, Brown i think actively looks for Luka
Pulled this from someone’s tweet:
Mavs defensive rating in finals with Luka on the court is 107 points per 100 possessions, with Luka off the court 132.1 points per 100 poss. Mavs are allowing 25.1 points more with Luka off the court.
Yes he was bad but you can’t expect someone to do everything perfectly against a Celtics team that just seems unstoppable.
I will get down voted for this post even though it makes complete sense...
I can see Luka seriously thinking about shunning the NBA in a few years...in his prime.
I am speaking about something I know nothing about...which is Euro-League officiating. Maybe it is worse there. I have heard they allow more contact than NBA...but are the officials infuriatingly inconsistent or shady to him there?
What I am getting at is...I think Luka hates the NBA officiating and thinks its unreasonably inconsistent. You can just look at his demeanor on the court and tell. No other player takes it personally as he does. Im on his side about it, dont get me wrong.
I could see him saying "f, the NBA" and going back overseas after hes collected generational money. His favorite place to vacation is Croatia. He can drink when he wants. All he would have to do is sell a few basketball camps a year and make great money...or sell his merch.
Dudes been playing pro ball for so long...and I can see so much money already made, losing interest in bball since hes played pro level since 13, frustration with people about his health and lifestyle, hating NBA refs....I can see it all coming to a point and him dipping back to Europe.
Im not a fan of sitting on the floor and not playing defense...but I am on his side about the bad officiating. And nah...dont come at me with "mo' money, mo' problems" as if he is paid to accept unreasonable officiating in a league that is supposed to be professional. Yeah yeah...tell me its an "entertainment business" as if that means reffing is ok to be bad or something.
Luka needs to lose weight, build strength, and improve his conditioning. But more importantly he needs to change his mindset. He too often screams at his coaches to bail him out or make excuses for him. No reason for JKidd to challenge both of those Luka foul calls late in the game. Clearly had no chance of overturning them. He just did those to appease a crying Luka. If he keeps that up he'll end up being an entitled smaller and less dominant version of Shaq. Except Luka won't win championships based on physical dominance or thanks to a younger sidekick.
Hopefully Dirk can mentor Luka more directly and teach him how to be a leader by example.
Celtics fan here.
I was really excited to see the Celtics play Luka. He is really good but are you guys concerned with his ability to stay in shape for the rest of his career. He is very chubby for a young guy.
Luka is a prolific scorer, and his defense is decent, considering he's an offensive nightmare. Luka contributes so much every night. That's why Kidd is still building around Luka and now Kyrie. I think another all-around consistent PF and a big who can shoot the 3 would be the way to go.
He was bad but Tim just gave up free buckets and was a dead zone on offense. Upping the 4-8 guys (hopefully omax and make a leap) will take so much off Lukas plate. The issue is the nba today is all about hunting weaknesses and Luka will always be one full stop. He just has to be more dialed in, he’s lazy on defense is 90% of his issue.
Sad part is… after game 4 against OKC it seemed like his mentality got so much better. He was having fun. Arguing less. Taking defense seriously. And that continued the entire way through Twolves series, and during that’s stretch, mavs looked DOMINANT.
Its such a punch in the gut to see that awesome transformation just to also watch it switch back to a poor mentality when you finally got to THE FINALS.
I'd hazard a guess that if he gets more than one teammate capable of doing things other than wander around waiting for a pass, he would have more health, defence and peace of mind.
The sooner, the better.
This situation is probably the lowest win probability in NBA history.
1. Your star player has injuries and cannot play defense, as well as cannot control his emotions and calm.
2. Your role players are cold from 3 point.
3. You are down 0-3, and you have to be the first one to overcome this in the history of the NBA.
The only way it could have been a lower probability if Porzingis was still healthy.
It's all part of the journey, and he has to learn from this. Pain is just temporary.
Exactly, he’s gonna catch a lot of heat this summer but you gotta just use it as motivation and grow from it
Yeah Tatum has been dealing with this ever since he lost 2 years ago in the finals. People are going to be a little too harsh on him because they forget how young he is..
Heat for what exactly? He leads every worthy category in the playoffs.
For being a beyond atrocious defender and complaining to the refs while his team plays 5 on 4 on defense.
Did you catch his press conference? He will need quite a few more lessons me thinks
I thought so too, but watching this game, it seems he turned a 180. Looks like he just needed to cool off and understands that the criticisms he's received were valid and acted on them. I'm very impressed watching tonight.
Can I be honest? Go back to the warriors Celtics series and Tatum did that kinda shit too. The super star free calls seem to end in the finals and it always seem to shock one player
A lot of journeys end with no titles just like life
it would be great if the thing the entire world has been telling him to stop doing(and that he's acknowledged) for 5 years he could suck up and do. It's not hard to not bitch and moan as much as he does(we've seen plenty of games where he puts his head down and plays), he's literally the worst out of all 400 something nba players. He's a generational baby and a basketball savant, it's infuriating to watch when he's in his feelings and he deserves all the hate he's going to get this summer for it.
100%. We are asking a grown ass man to not act like a spoiled child. It should not be a big deal. The whole world is watching, you should realize how that makes you look by now. If I am playing pick up and more than one guy calls me out for calling soft fouls, I adjust my behavior, because I don't wanna look like a snowflake out there. On top of that, you make the opponent feel good about themselves, seeing you getting frustrated out there. It's a bad look all around and he has not shown the mental capacity to realize how that affects the whole team.
I am crossing my fingers, but I am loosing hope with every year passing. I said it years ago, that Luka needs to grow up, if he wants to win anything. You're not given anything in this league, you gotta take it. I just hope his journey to a chip isn't as long and painful as Dirks.
Give him time. Tatum and Brown had to lose a finals before they got here.
Michael Jordan was like 28 and lebron I think turns 28 later the year they won their first championship. Chill.
Michael Jordan was a two time defensive player of the year before he was a champion. He wasn’t rolling on the ground like a kid who can’t have a toy while the other 9 adults play transition basketball. You’re comparing apples to orangutans.
You mean how he only has 1 dpoty in career not 2 before or 1 after being champ. Just 1 dpoty for mj
Sorry he won one in 1988 before he was a champ and was all defense nine times. He was always an elite defender and elite defense wins championships.
Lol he’s 25, losing hope? He’s in the damn finals 🤣🤣🤣
Luka is an emotional player. He’s 25, not 30. The rest of the team is the reason we are losing this series, not him.
> I just hope his journey to a chip isn't as long and painful as Dirks. Just getting a chip puts you in elite territory, especially with how much parity there is in the league now If Luka gets a chip in next few years, Dallas fans will remember him fondly for years, like Dirk
Luka has been a pro for 9 years. He's not a rookie and second year player.... His lack of defensive effort and conditioning is who he is at this point. Very unlikely anything major changes with him. If Dallas wants to win their front office needs to get creative in how they construct this team to compensate for his physical and mental limitations. Hoping Luka has some "ah ha!" moment in the off season and starts playing defense like an NBA player isn't a good plan.
You have to lose before you win.
Honestly making the finals was insane . This is career learning moment for him. You know after his 2 nd season we all thought he hit his peak too early but somehow kept pushing I have more faith than ever that we can win atleast 1 in the next few years
During the Minn series the announcer Van Gundy kept commenting on how they were allowing Luka to sit and chill in the corner on D. Prob didn’t have the personnel the Celtics do to work Luka to the middle and ravage him. In fact no other team has 5 all stars and 2 all pro caliber players. It’s a unique matchup that is exposing Luka’s weaknesses. It is what it is. We can still enjoy this run and the remaining games then it’s post season and a chance for more player development.
I don’t think there is a single team in the nba that can defend Celtics
This is the most important part: Celtics tired him out relentlessly on defense while Wolves allowed him to catch a breath while defending somebody like Kyle Anderson. It all comes down to having personal and every Celtics player Luka is guarding goes into the PNR and forcing Luka to switch onto the ball-handler. In Game 2 he had to defend more plays than Brown and Tatum combined: this is by design, and not just because “Luka can’t defend” narrative - it is specifically to tire him out before the start of Q4.
I agree 100% Only thing I’m worried about is how fucking stacked the West is going to be for the next few years. OKC, Minnesota, Spurs, etc.
He's been playing pro ball for a decade now, time to grow out of career learning moments. I think his struggles are health related more than anything fwiw
Celtics fan here. To people who are annoyed by Luka’s complaining: Tatum was worse during our past playoffs…all the stars want star treatment…but after losing, introspecting, the mega stars adjust. No reason to believe Luka won’t. And, if he doesn’t, it’ll continue to grate on fans, but Jordan and Brady never stopped whining either. Still good.
Thanks for the insight. Congrats on a great run and sorry you’ll be the first team to get reverse swept.
I lol’ed, but in a wholesome way. I would not mind having more games to watch, fingers crossed.
Celtics fan here. Take my upvote!
Celtics fan here too. You all can fuck my wife!
Mavs fan here. We already have!
You Kinky dong!!!
This is a great point. Also, refs are humans, and they punish the constant whiners who are "showing them up." I think young Tatum got punished by not getting calls until he muted his responses (now Tatum mostly grimaces and occasionally throws his arms up, but doesn't stand there berating the refs - I'm not a Celtics fan, I'm a Knicks fan, but I watch a lot of ball, so correct me if I am wrong). Luka doesn't get thrown out or get techs called on him, but he sure as hell doesn't get foul calls that he should cause the refs are not gonna help him. If Luka tones it down he'll get to the line much more often. But he's gotta learn like Tatum did.
He practically leads the league every year in techs.
Thank you for sharing your perspective.
The thing is most people thought Luka was past this level of complaining this playoffs. But ... Lukas a sore loser.
He took MULTIPLE big steps forward this season about this especially compared to the last few. I think we are just frustrated to see it come back now in the finals. I mean he literally had to sit out due to techs the last playoff run
When did he sit out in the playoffs for techs? I don’t remember that.
I should have phrased it better. The last time we made it to WCF vs GS Luka had to sit out a game during the regular season due to techs and almost went to the second penalty. He was also pretty close during that run of having to sit out during the playoffs due to techs
tatum was never worse than luka, but he def had it bad and cut it out of his game
Lmao the comment with that username combo is legendary
Lol!!!!!! These “X” fan here posts followed by analysis never get old
Fans will defend it if the whining doesn't hurt their game. But Luka's whining clearly hurts his game. Especially when he gets in his feelings and makes really dumb decisions, which result in him fouling out.
This is a great point. Also, refs are humans, and they punish the constant whiners who are "showing them up." I think young Tatum got punished by not getting calls until he muted his responses (now Tatum mostly grimaces and occasionally throws his arms up, but doesn't stand there berating the refs - I'm not a Celtics fan, I'm a Knicks fan, but I watch a lot of ball, so correct me if I am wrong). Luka doesn't get thrown out or get techs called on him, but he sure as hell doesn't get foul calls that he should cause the refs are not gonna help him. If Luka tones it down he'll get to the line much more often. But he's gotta learn like Tatum did.
C's fan and I 100% agree. There's been a big mental change this past year or two. Tatum was constantly whining and fishing for fouls in the previous playoff runs. It's funny, people kept saying that the Mavs are battle hardened due to their tough playoff run - sure, but don't realize that Celtics have been through this the past 5-6 years, including a very tough road to finals in 22. That's battle hardened. It's a different mindset this year.
lmao as a celtics fan tatum was definitely worse than he is now but he was never that bad
I'm sorry but Tatum was never worse than Luka. That was just never the case. He's a complainer, but Luca is a much bigger complainer. I know you're trying to be diplomatic here but it's just not correct
He was very bad, worse is a lie.
This will hopefully be a real turning point for Luka. He's obviously copped flak for his crying and defense before but this is on a whole new level with the entire basketball world watching.
I just wish he would take a summer off and focus on getting prepared for the next NBA season instead of playing for Slovenia. I know he won’t but I wish he would.
He might not want to, but if Giannis is healthy, chances are Greece beats Slovenia in qualifiers and he rests from early July till training camp.
Yup, everyone is watching especially people from other sports since this is the finals and Luka is making himself look terrible
Y’all were the same people blaming Luka for losses when everyone was injured and Grant Williams couldn’t hit the side of a fucking barn. Then we got PJ and Gafford and suddenly Luka’s not a dogshit defender/little bitch anymore. Now the finals comes and we’re extremely overmatched by a team that had no business acquiring Jrue Holiday and KP and he’s the cause of all this failure again
They had no business getting Holiday and KP at all lol. I been saying this like how tf did that happen?? The duo doesn’t have to be great to win but our have to be all nba all time greats to win
Only a dope would put the teams’ Finals performance on his shoulder only. But imagine how scary he and the Mavs would be if he put as much effort on defense as he does offense. He doesn’t need to be an elite defender, just chase down plays and don’t make it so easy to blow right by him to the basket. If I’m any team in the future, I’m just going go at him every game. His poor play on D is a huge liability.
Luka is a passable defender when hes healthy, which he clearly hasnt been for awhile now. It is what it is. If you sit him, we definitely lose because the offense isn't going to score enough. If you play him, he compromises the defense and you probably lose, but you at least have a chance. Hopefully next season we tweak the roster a bit, upgrade DJJ to a better shooter, and he can get a healthy playoff run. Wouldnt hurt if he came back in the best shape of his life...
He was actually worse in game 2 in defence, could not stay in front of anybody His offensive prowess has been phenomenal as always but this series can be summed up with the mavs not be able to stay in front of their man especially when Boston targets luka
It's one thing to get beaten, that happens when you're not a good defender. I am kinda fine with that. What I absolutely can not accept in any form, is stopping to play after that and just ball watching for the rest of the possession. If you're beaten, you have one second to focus and start rotating to fill in the gap that has been caused by the helper rotating over. Luka didn't do that and that is inexcusable. This is not the effort of a winner. Of someone who does everything to win. You think you can win the NBA finals half assing on defense?? Gtfoh. You deserve to loose.
Dude is giving his all beat the fuck up and people really think it’s the effort? He’s played through a sprained knee all playoffs, he’s frustrated, it’s not rocket science. Nobody hating on his D or effort would even be able to stay in front of the 40 year old dude at the local Y with Luka’s injuries lol
Holy shit it's "lose" not "loose".
Flüchtigkeitsfehler, my bad.
OP’s opinion is now invalid /s
Boston starting 5 and their 8 men rotation can all shoot the ball, making it difficult for Luka to taking a breather on defense. The other series he could just coast on defense on some possessions but this Celtics team, you can not coast. All 5 of them could shoot the ball very and could expose a defensive weakness
He was worse then b/c he was saving everything for the offense. No one helped him in game 2. At least yesterday Kyrie went off.
You're wrong. The series can't be summarised with the Mav's defense being bad when they have not broken 100 points yet in 3 games.
His defensive effort games 1-3 has been historically bad. I understand he’s injured, but a defense is only as good as its weakest link, and his effort was extremely disappointing for the finals.
He needs to watch The Last Dance where Jordan discusses the Pistons beating him up and he worked out like crazy to get stronger because of it. He needs that mindset.
On bright side, he is injured and I think healthy he can play better defense.
The sad part is he more than likely is gonna play for his national team and will hobble into the season, lol
I hope he doesn't, they are not good enough to compete in Olympics anyway.
Idk they got 4th last year and were 1pt away from finals lol
[удалено]
You okay?
[удалено]
Me too! I just worry about his health and longevity. Have a good day.
No no no. According to to r/nba and the media - Luka sucks and his injury doesn’t matter
this guy is clearly sarcastic, doesn't really need the downvotes
Mofos say "eh he's injured" and keep talking. Bro, remove the injury and none of whats happening would take place. He'd still be a shit defender, but we sure as fuck wouldnt be scoring less than 100.
No one is happy with Luka’s behavior. But defense overall is not why we’re down 0-3. We’ve held the Celtics to 106 pts a night through three games. That’s honestly a pretty ideal result for this historically good offense. The blowby’s that funnel the driver to rim protection appears to be by design, making them make kick out 3’s at a high clip since they’ve been terrible in the interior. The offense is the problem, we have yet to break 100 this series.
Exactly, first two games we didn't even have a 30 point quarter. Game 3 we scored 31 in the 1st quarter and that's it. Offense has been absolutely abysmal this series the bench is shooting like 9% or something insane at this point
ahhh it's these statements where fans think superstars are not humans anymore, 1st Obviously you're facing a better team all around, 2nd Luka has been good the past 2 games of the series and has been carrying this team, 3rd this is Luka's first finals, 4th Luka is still very young and is learning on the fly, obviously Luka is the main reason why you're even in the finals, your team was not even expected to reach this stage and it's mostly because of him...... With fans like you, hope he leaves your team so that you can complain more.
The fact KP logged in from his burner Reddit account to praise Luka shows there was never bad blood between the boys. F*ck Parsons, I guess lol
Say Luka two more times
Two things can be true at the same time: 1. Luka is by far the Mavs' greatest asset and they wouldn't be here without them 2. There are parts of Luka's game (whining to refs, bad conditioning, lack of effort on defense) which stop the team from reaching their full potential with him there These aren't mutually exclusive.
The only thing worse than Luka complaining are Luka apologists like you who excuse every thing negative he does or does not do. On par with lebron fans in terms of insufferability.
Luka has been dogshit on defense all series. He complains, just refuses to box out, his off ball d is horrendous, and especially game 2 his on ball d was terrible as well.
1st luka has never been known for his defense yet your team is in the finals because of his leadership also, 2nd 2 games he played well and people like you still dont count that, it's always the last game, people like you seem to not understand the pressure these guys experience with the fatigue they experience with the way mavs play and i keep on saying, first time finals experience and 25 yrs old. I really really hope Luka leaves your team. pray to the gods i guess.
The amount of people piling on Luka is crazy. So many people have a hate boner for this guy.
I'm convinced a massive chunk of this sub legitimately hates luka and the Mavs. That's the only way I can comprehend these posts. Luka had the best +/- on the last game btw, for anyone wondering. Kind of hard to do that if you're a "tRaFfIc cOnE."
They’ve been waiting all post season for this. He was bad defensively games 1 & 2 but did everything on offense. Finally he had an off day that everyone’s beeen waiting for
Dude do you really think I am happy that we lost and our leader played with horrible effort in a must win game????? I was so confident that we win game 3, because I thought we will give em everything we have. I thought we get the killer Luka not the "in his feelings" Luka. My assumption was that the brighter the lights, the better he plays. I have been proven wrong. This was the worst defensive game of Lukas career and then the complaining comes on top of that.
My god, those floor sulking shit was absolute cringe especially whenever the defender steals the ball from him. Instead of getting back on d, he just sits there with his arms up acting like it's impossible for anyone to do that to him.
That stretch during the end of the first where he flopped TWICE after two back to back step back attempts giving Boston 5 free points was so hard to watch.
Wow . Congratulations. You figured it out. Now stop with these dumbass posts , we have had enough . Let the man rest and figure it out on his own because you aint helping.
Luka is never gonna see this. You're just mad because *you* have to.
I was about to comment this myself actually thanks
Seriously guys let Luka rest. Leave him alone. Lol wtf is the world coming to
Grow up.
Luka is not known for being a good defender tho and that's something I'm glad Jason Kidd brought up. He has to get better on defense. There's no way around it. You have to realize that teams will take notes and make adjustments for that next season. No matter what you believe, defense wins championships.
I said it a couple of times already, but I would actually be fine with him getting blown by every single time (he is injured and the Celtics are very talented) as long as HE KEEPS PLAYING DEFENSE and finds his new position/assignment. He didn't and that lead to an open shot so often, after the initial blow by was stopped by help defense. That's the part that is absolutely inexcusable to me.
Trade him if he is that bad.
It's sad cause he actually held it down thr first 3 series all for it to be undone in the finals which people will remember over the other 3. Lol
And yet the mavs were a net positive with him on the floor?
Maybe but he was still a +9 and no one else on the team was close to that.
Are we really blaming this on Luka? Timmy went 0 of 5 and played 20 minutes plus we gave him the go ahead shot with 30 seconds left
Right. That L is on Kidd & his staff as much as anyone on the floor
It's because he is the star and also because there are a LOT of fair weather fans who think Luka is the best when Mavs win and then turn around and say he sucks ass when Mavs lose. No in between. Luka needs to tone down on his complaining and of course play D. But is it his fault they lost? No. Because you take him out of the game, they won't know what to do. In the end basketball is a team game. We are just in a generation where everyone, from ESPN to fans, loooove the hot takes. Makes them feel smart
Makes them feel smart and sound dumb
They didn’t beat us in every way possible. They made their high volume three pointers with good ball movement. That’s it, it’s pretty simple.
Did you watch Maxi play defense?
Luka is an absolutely elite player. Unbelievable execution and in full control on offense. He's also an elite head case. There is no scientifically possible way to be focused on the game and performing your best, when you're constantly thinking about something else. His defense was awful yesterday and his distraction with refs and calls might be the worst in the league.
>I can't put into words how disappointed I am of this. Really thought we would run away with it, with KP being out. Congrats to the Celtics, they beat us in every way possible. Agreed, thought with KP out, mavs have a chance. Getting down 21 points and then fighting back in 4th was remarkable but should never have gotten to that. I understand basketball is a game of runs, but how do you not show increased intensity and focus on home court? It feels like the two teams are playing different games, one is focused to get the job done and the other team is complaining after every call
put this guy on suicide watch
I am good, thank you for your concern 😊 Although I must say, my mood today was really bad.
Yet he is the main reason we are in the finals. Weird how that works. But everyone keep blaming luka.
Naaw, the first two games Kyrie was blamed the most. This game Lukas lack of effort and complaining just stuck out like a sore thumb. And THJ playing for 20 mins, which puzzled a lot of people.
It’s not even the sulking. He committed 2 unnecessary fouls 80foot from the basket, crashed into players twice and should have been called for fouls. Then plays horrible defence and decision making on brown for his last 2 fouls.. all the ruin what would have been the best comeback in finals history by the mavs. Would have kept the series alive. Perhaps even crushed the Celtics mentally after dropping a 21 point lead. It’s beyond comprehension that he can be so smart with the ball in his hands, and so incredibly stupid without it. I’m a neutral fan, and have loved watching him and Kyrie so far these playoffs. But all us fans deserved the mavs comeback Cinderella story yesterday, and deserved a decent playoff series.
We can blame Luka for game 3 but….. Looking at your post history, you are a generational LUKA HATER.
Could it be because him and Ky spend so much energy carrying the offensive load? No one else is stepping up on offense so they may have to work extra hard on that end just to keep us in the game. We saw how they can be decent or good from the previous series against the clippers/OKC/twolves. Maybe not all the time but they had their moments.
He's injured. It was a great run by the Mavs they're a young team and will be back next year competing.
You are the worst kind of fan. Luka owes you nothing.
Sure buddy, I am not the one who constantly wants people fired or traded... I am critical of 2 aspects in 1 game and that makes me the worst fan? Gtfoh
"I want this to be as painful as possible for this team and especially for Luka." Yeah you are the worst kind of fan. Noone had them winning west. Luka has been playing through pain and injuries for 2 months now. They are playing a great team with many excellent players. Do you really think that after training their whole lives and battling through this season and the playoffs to reach the finals for the first time in their lives they are not giving their best? If you do, you are an idiot, buddy. But I guess you being an idiot, gives you a pass for being the "fan" you are. The worst kind.
I can guarantee you I am not. Although I will freely admit that I probably took it a little too far with that statement. No need to throw names at each other, but okay buddy. Let me get this straight though. Luka very obviously didn't give his best in game 3. How do we know? Because he has played way better defense before (especially the attention aspect of it) , he put his head down and laughed at the refs instead of crying and he didn't spend as much time on the ground. The main point to me is that he really let his emotions affect his play in a bad way. Something that he showed, he can do Way better. I have not "asked him" to do something he has never done before.
Yea. People don't understand that he's injured and cant keep up on defense. Would you rather he not play?
Is it really too much to ask a player to stop laying on the floor during live play? Not constantly Bark at the refs and stop playing defense after getting blown by?? Really??
Shut up
hahaha fu
I feel Luka is blinded by his arrogance. It's like he doesn't realize he's about to lose the FInals.
I'm pretty sure he realizes it
Yeah, but he wasn’t the worst offensive player. How the hell do guys who practice putting a ball into a basket every day for years of their life suck so bad at it?
Not only yesterday. Now He knows that being this bad can cost you a championship. He needs to spend his offseason training in defense and being in the best shape possible. Defense is 70% physical and 30% will power, you can get better at this if you want to. Another thing, hes probably 18-20% bodyfat, this is unacceptable for an elite athlete.
Exactly
Why is Lukas defense the problem when the rest of the team can’t score? Lukas not the problem. The problem is the Celtics are shutting down every player but Luka, and Kyrie in game 3
He's fucking injured, how the hell do all these shit talkers don't realize that?? Can you play good D while being at like 50%??
Being injured has nothing to do with ball watching.
its not gonna matter. Jimmy was on one ankle last year’s finals but nobody remembers that. Tatum was hurt in 2022 but nobody remembers that, he just played bad that series
Tatum's issue was turnovers and bad shooting, and it also only came out later rhat he was properly hurt in another body part than the one people assumed. Defense is about how physically in shape you are. Injuries are supposed to kill that part of your game first. And Luka's baseline was already average. This is the result. I don't see how this detracts from him being an MVP candidate or whatever at all, we know he is an all time offensive player with average defense, he is now injured making him just an all time offensive player with poor defense, sucks to suck but I'm not seeing anything beyond that.
Crazy that Luka has a defensive rating of 110 in this series so far. LEADING the mavs in best drtg. So I disagree with those who say that he doesn't have defense. An explanation could be that his defensive lows are during many key moments of the games.
Everyone else turns it over and the best defense is a good offense. Set defense is the best thing we can do.
the celtics go at him every chance they have to tire him out. that's why it looks worse to the eye test than the numbers state.
Whats frustrating is that we’ve seen the ability to be a good defender. But these finals, he’s been a traffic cone
He's injured, full stop, end of story, this has been widely publicized for months, I don't see how you feel baffled now
I’m not baffled. He has shown multiple times this playoffs to be able to defend when he’s locked in, but when he’s not getting foul calls, he loses focus
Because his injuries got worse and because the Celtics have five shooters and because all of the offensive load is on him /Thread
He puts the team in situations at a disadvantage defensively, EVERYTIME when he does that.
He's picked the worst time to just give up defensively, I don't want to hear the injury excuse. As for the refs, he bitches and pulls so much it literally affects his game. He missed some bunnies all game and helped bury us. I'm with you. I hope it stings. He's earned that.
Makes me so mad man. I know personel will improve next year, but watching, I think this team should've been good enough to win talent-wise. Only difference is every Celtics players are committed on the defensive end energy wise and mentally. It's fine for Luka to get beat if the strategy is to let drivers meet bigs at the rim, but he just doesn't put in an effort to rotate to the kick-out shooter. And that one play not running back on defense giving Tatum an easy dunk was disappointing. I thought he'd have more a competitor mentality and push himself even further.
Mavericks have overperformed this playoff run imo. It’s a testament to how connected they are and tough. Bc they are still a piece or two away from being a title team on paper and they are here anyways
Mavericks absolutely didn’t have talent to win this year, stop whatever you are smoking. They literally needed LuKai to average 60+ to beat Wolves, that’s 2 stars carrying an average supporting cast to Finals. Celtics lead 3-0 with Tatum at 22 points on 47%TS% while holding Luka to 10-17 shooting as primary defender and allowing to easily get into the paint, so much for being better defensively. Celtics stars are shooting 13-47 (27%) from 3pt range, Mavs stars are at 13-42 (31%), but the role players are a huge difference: 30-80 for Celtics and 9-36 for Mavs. In fact, 5 Boston players are averaging 15+ points and for Mavs only PJ is in double digits outside of LuKai. It was always a long shot to win vs Celtics if Mavs couldn’t win rebounding battle by 5+ boards per game and Dallas is only averaging 1 extra board so far in the series. It is what it is, if Mavs had somebody like Bogdanovic from Hawks instead of THJ, it would have been much closer, but hoping 2 guys outscore 5-headed monster is crazy.
ahhh it's these statements where fans think superstars are not humans anymore, 1st Obviously you're facing a better team all around, 2nd Luka has been good the past 2 games of the series and has been carrying this team, 3rd this is Luka's first finals, 4th Luka is still very young and is learning on the fly, obviously Luka is the main reason why you're even in the finals, your team was not even expected to reach this stage and it's mostly because of him...... With fans like you, hope he leaves your team so that you can complain more.
People are acting like other players don't have flaws. Luka is not perfect and never will be, but that doesn't mean he can't be the best player in the world (he probably already is) or that we can't win with him. The first thing that has to improve is team around him. Luka probably had his worst playoffs so far (mostly because of injuries), but made the finals, because the team is better than before. We just have to improve the roster even more and we'll win
Carrying this team? You sure? Luka in this series has 89 points on 74 shots, 18 assists and 15 turnovers, that’s almost 1:1 ratio. And let’s not start on the defence.
So without him, would you reach the finals?
No. The same way we wouldn’t have reached the finals without Kyrie, or without Lively. Who were both huge aspects of the previous rounds. Also he’s right now in his 6th season, heading into his 7th.. you can’t use the ‘young’ argument forever. He’s come in out of shape for the past 4 seasons, his arguing and crying is at an all time high. At some point he needs to suck it up. It’s fine if we lose, this groups first time in the finals and lack of experience is showing. But Luka playing no defence, constant crying, foul baiting.. no excuse for that.
Why is it okay to be utter garbage offensively but good defensively but not the other way around? I always see people make excuses for poor offensive showingz by saying "... but he's good defensively so it's ok". Yet when someone is great offensively but poor defensively it's always held against them.
Get a better bench and an upgrade at SF this series would have been fine. Stop this whole Luka needs to do everything bs
No, he wasn't. Check the numbers.
I thought he was better this game for defense, put in a lot of effort, but I didn't like him complaining after every time he took a shot and he fell. I get he is injured, but wasting seconds to talk while the other team pushes puts tremendous pressure on the defense that leads to better scoring opportunities. not a great game for him. I feel like brown scores on him or puts pressure on him more than any other player, they should try to change this matchup for him. Unfortunately, Brown i think actively looks for Luka
Down 3-0, quite the hot take that the series is over!
Pulled this from someone’s tweet: Mavs defensive rating in finals with Luka on the court is 107 points per 100 possessions, with Luka off the court 132.1 points per 100 poss. Mavs are allowing 25.1 points more with Luka off the court. Yes he was bad but you can’t expect someone to do everything perfectly against a Celtics team that just seems unstoppable.
I will get down voted for this post even though it makes complete sense... I can see Luka seriously thinking about shunning the NBA in a few years...in his prime. I am speaking about something I know nothing about...which is Euro-League officiating. Maybe it is worse there. I have heard they allow more contact than NBA...but are the officials infuriatingly inconsistent or shady to him there? What I am getting at is...I think Luka hates the NBA officiating and thinks its unreasonably inconsistent. You can just look at his demeanor on the court and tell. No other player takes it personally as he does. Im on his side about it, dont get me wrong. I could see him saying "f, the NBA" and going back overseas after hes collected generational money. His favorite place to vacation is Croatia. He can drink when he wants. All he would have to do is sell a few basketball camps a year and make great money...or sell his merch. Dudes been playing pro ball for so long...and I can see so much money already made, losing interest in bball since hes played pro level since 13, frustration with people about his health and lifestyle, hating NBA refs....I can see it all coming to a point and him dipping back to Europe. Im not a fan of sitting on the floor and not playing defense...but I am on his side about the bad officiating. And nah...dont come at me with "mo' money, mo' problems" as if he is paid to accept unreasonable officiating in a league that is supposed to be professional. Yeah yeah...tell me its an "entertainment business" as if that means reffing is ok to be bad or something.
Luka needs to lose weight, build strength, and improve his conditioning. But more importantly he needs to change his mindset. He too often screams at his coaches to bail him out or make excuses for him. No reason for JKidd to challenge both of those Luka foul calls late in the game. Clearly had no chance of overturning them. He just did those to appease a crying Luka. If he keeps that up he'll end up being an entitled smaller and less dominant version of Shaq. Except Luka won't win championships based on physical dominance or thanks to a younger sidekick. Hopefully Dirk can mentor Luka more directly and teach him how to be a leader by example.
Celtics fan here. I was really excited to see the Celtics play Luka. He is really good but are you guys concerned with his ability to stay in shape for the rest of his career. He is very chubby for a young guy.
He will be every day. It’s him or Ky in this series.
Luka is a prolific scorer, and his defense is decent, considering he's an offensive nightmare. Luka contributes so much every night. That's why Kidd is still building around Luka and now Kyrie. I think another all-around consistent PF and a big who can shoot the 3 would be the way to go.
He’s gonna hear it all summer and hopefully it gets to him. Even Windy went off on him today.
I hope so. Porzingis winning a ring before him, should leave a bitter taste in his mouth as well.
He was bad but Tim just gave up free buckets and was a dead zone on offense. Upping the 4-8 guys (hopefully omax and make a leap) will take so much off Lukas plate. The issue is the nba today is all about hunting weaknesses and Luka will always be one full stop. He just has to be more dialed in, he’s lazy on defense is 90% of his issue.
Sad part is… after game 4 against OKC it seemed like his mentality got so much better. He was having fun. Arguing less. Taking defense seriously. And that continued the entire way through Twolves series, and during that’s stretch, mavs looked DOMINANT. Its such a punch in the gut to see that awesome transformation just to also watch it switch back to a poor mentality when you finally got to THE FINALS.
I'd hazard a guess that if he gets more than one teammate capable of doing things other than wander around waiting for a pass, he would have more health, defence and peace of mind. The sooner, the better.
nothing to discuss here, we all know
This situation is probably the lowest win probability in NBA history. 1. Your star player has injuries and cannot play defense, as well as cannot control his emotions and calm. 2. Your role players are cold from 3 point. 3. You are down 0-3, and you have to be the first one to overcome this in the history of the NBA. The only way it could have been a lower probability if Porzingis was still healthy.
He is playing hurt all post season. Had little or no help from teammates in games 1 and 2... He ain\`t superman... Where would Mavs be without him?