**Official Luka Doncic Thread**

[Chris P]

Originally Posted by duwal

its funny if you go back to both this thread and the NBA Season thread of when Luka was traded and there was so much talk of the Lakers being easily the 2nd or 3rd best team and possibly contenders to now being down in the series and going 'well of course they weren't going to go far in the Playoffs'

I mean...realistically I don't care what others were saying..this team..this year wasn't going far in my book. I don't know why..with literally no playable bigs and a thin depth people thought they were gonna cakewalk the T-Wolves. I felt it was a toss up series..1 game separated them in the standings and to me Minnesota has a better overall roster than the Lakers..but I felt with Luka/Lebron they still had a shot.

[tjforce]

Originally Posted by Leggo

He is out of the top 3 for me now. Offensively he is insanely good but he is such a liability on defense. People get so obsessed at looking at offensive stats and think that is the sole determinant on how "good" you are as a basketball player. Luka is definitely a top 3 player on the offensive end but overall I think he is top 5.

Top 5
1. Jokic
2. SGA
3. Ant
4. Giannis - he continues to regress as opposing defenses can gameplan against him. Hasn't progressed at all with his jump shot or even his free throw %.
5. Luka

in 4 playoff games, Giannis is averaging:

33.8 Points (leads NBA)
14.3 Rebounds (leads NBA)
5.0 assists
62% shooting.

If that's regression, then the rest of the guys on the list should hope they regress to that level on day. None of them have ever shot over 60% in the playoffs (including Giannis before this season).

This place is clueless.

[drobfan8]

Originally Posted by duwal

its funny if you go back to both this thread and the NBA Season thread of when Luka was traded and there was so much talk of the Lakers being easily the 2nd or 3rd best team and possibly contenders to now being down in the series and going 'well of course they weren't going to go far in the Playoffs'

You must be one of those suckers that bought in to the media hype which also has a ton to do with sports gambling.

They did finish 3rd in the West, so I get why some got excited.

I bet the Wolves for the series -1.5

I couldn't care less what casuals said. I think all I said would be that Luka would have to go on an all time great run and the Lakers would need a helluva whistle.

I don't believe in LeBron at all. They could do so much more with that money. And they don't have a Center, and now Redick looks out of his depth.

They're also playing against a really good team. Minny have deserved this.

Give me Minny vs GS next series, hopefully.

[Leggo]

Originally Posted by tjforce

in 4 playoff games, Giannis is averaging:

33.8 Points (leads NBA)
14.3 Rebounds (leads NBA)
5.0 assists
62% shooting.

If that's regression, then the rest of the guys on the list should hope they regress to that level on day. None of them have ever shot over 60% in the playoffs (including Giannis before this season).

This place is clueless.

When was the last time Giannis made it out of the first round in a WEAK Eastern conference? 2022 and they got bounced in the conference semi finals.

Do you know where most of his shots are taken? At the rim, I would hope his shooting percentage is good. But you know what isn't good, his shooting past 5 Ft. So much that defenses get to sag off him to allow another rim protector and help on rotations.

So yes - He has regressed even though his individual stats look pretty. Being unable to get out of the first round for now three years in a row is regression and quite honestly a fair standard to have for a top 5 player who's front office has tried to make moves to make him happy.

Unfortunately you are the clueless one (fun fact: I still ranked him top 5)

[Akphillips86]

Originally Posted by tjforce

in 4 playoff games, Giannis is averaging:

33.8 Points (leads NBA)
14.3 Rebounds (leads NBA)
5.0 assists
62% shooting.

If that's regression, then the rest of the guys on the list should hope they regress to that level on day. None of them have ever shot over 60% in the playoffs (including Giannis before this season).

This place is clueless.

Seriously though. Giannis is a ridiculously efficient one man wrecking crew who is a monster on the glass AND plays defense. He’s a center piece without much surrounding him. Only knock on him is the FT percentage, but I’ll take whatever that trade off is for everything else he brings to the table in a heartbeat. His mid range game actually has improved and I don’t want him out there jacking up threes for the heck of it. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. The stats speak for themselves.

It’s difficult to compare him, Luka, Jokic, and SGA because they all bring different things to the table and in different degrees.

With the right complementary pieces around any of these guys they could win a championship, and Giannis already has without anything resembling a super team.


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[blackvodka]

It seems to me the Lakers trade AD for Luka, get the generational talent now, worry about rim protection and interior offense/defense later. They shift on from LeBron/AD era. They keep LeBron in 25-26. Use him to get Luka a foundation for overall conditioning and start getting him in the right direction. Move on from LeBron after 25-26. Start with Luka with Reaves as his main running mate. Sign/trade for a big man and role players. I think that was the Lakers front office mentality in this trade.

There's a risk though. What if they don't land a big man? Can they even get someone like Sabonis or JJ Jr. or Bam? Does Randle really use his player option and go back to LA? Does Turner or Reid really leave and sign with them? Do they roll the dice in someone like Capela or Moritz Wagner? Getting Luka a big man is something the Lakers front office could screw up. I'm not even sure they wanna keep DFS right now.

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[drobfan8]

On the plus side, if you do still collect luka, should be some good buys when they get dumped from the Playoffs

[BambinoShuffle]

Originally Posted by blackvodka

There's a risk though. What if they don't land a big man?

The Lakers have always gotten their big man.

Embiid.

[blackvodka]

Originally Posted by BambinoShuffle

The Lakers have always gotten their big man.



Embiid.

Luka and Joel has pr nightmare written all over it. That duo would be really difficult to trust right now.

The Lakers might be the only team that takes his 130M+ for his two final years. That's a move they make only if they're desperate.

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[drobfan8]

The Lakers don't even need an Embiid level player.

Luka just needs a lob threat that can hold his own defensively.

They'll still want to play a bit of small ball where they can switch everything.

Denver vs Clips is match of the day. What a battle.

[Delta5]

Yikes, looks like both Dallas and Lakers lost that trade

[drobfan8]

Glad I jumped off my prizm Silver 10 RC of Luka a few weeks ago as they were going up. Didn't make a lot on it, but better than the $200 - $300 L these will take over the Playoffs.

I think I'm not gonna buy Luka unless it's a really nice card that I just have to have. Too much whining from him.

Although I know he'll win at some point. I'll be shocked if he doesn't ever break through

[Asian62150]

Originally Posted by drobfan8

Glad I jumped off my prizm Silver 10 RC of Luka a few weeks ago as they were going up. Didn't make a lot on it, but better than the $200 - $300 L these will take over the Playoffs.

I think I'm not gonna buy Luka unless it's a really nice card that I just have to have. Too much whining from him.

Although I know he'll win at some point. I'll be shocked if he doesn't ever break through

Not picking on you, but a lot of ppl say this about various players, especially Luka. Winning a title in professional sports as the main guy is extremely difficult and it is far from guaranteed.

I'd say the odds of Luka winning a title while he's the #1 option are under 50% (I have no way of actually calculating this). But the following factors are at play:

But OKC is good (and young)
Rockets are good (and young)
Celtics are in their prime
Cavs are good (and young)
Denver still has a championship nucleus
Spurs are on the rise
Minny just beat the Lakers pretty soundly
Mavs are formidable if they can stay healthy
LeBron will be a year further from his prime

And of course Luka has not put in the work necessary to take his game to the next level and also take care of his body.

Most of us in this thread hope he changes, but he's going to be entering year 8 so until we see the change, it's a better bet that he's going to be who he's shown himself to be thus far.

I enjoy watching him play because he does some incredible things out there and I hope he wins a title as the guy. But imo the odds are against him as it stands right now.

[Chris P]

Originally Posted by Asian62150

Not picking on you, but a lot of ppl say this about various players, especially Luka. Winning a title in professional sports as the main guy is extremely difficult and it is far from guaranteed.

I'd say the odds of Luka winning a title while he's the #1 option are under 50% (I have no way of actually calculating this). But the following factors are at play:

But OKC is good (and young)
Rockets are good (and young)
Celtics are in their prime
Cavs are good (and young)
Denver still has a championship nucleus
Spurs are on the rise
Minny just beat the Lakers pretty soundly
Mavs are formidable if they can stay healthy
LeBron will be a year further from his prime

And of course Luka has not put in the work necessary to take his game to the next level and also take care of his body.

Most of us in this thread hope he changes, but he's going to be entering year 8 so until we see the change, it's a better bet that he's going to be who he's shown himself to be thus far.

I enjoy watching him play because he does some incredible things out there and I hope he wins a title as the guy. But imo the odds are against him as it stands right now.

The #1 reason I hated the trade was it basically is a reset, start from scratch for Luka now. I still believe in him..but it got that much harder.

[2010GBPackers]

Originally Posted by Chris P

The #1 reason I hated the trade was it basically is a reset, start from scratch for Luka now. I still believe in him..but it got that much harder.

Agreed. His best chance was staying on that Mavs squad with Kyrie and two above-average bigs. Now? He's back at square 1.

[SandStoneSports]

Originally Posted by 2010GBPackers

Agreed. His best chance was staying on that Mavs squad with Kyrie and two above-average bigs. Now? He's back at square 1.

The trade absolutely sucked the life out of Dallas and Luka. The Mavericks were setup perfectly to win with Luka. He is at his best when he can drive and bring the defense to him to open up either the lob or the corner three. The Lakers have none of that. They also have a bench player disguising himself as a #3 option and a point guard.

The Lakers are going to have to do a lot of work to get that roster taken care of. Lebron has a player option this offseason. I fully hope they figure out a way to move on from him and bring pieces in.

[drobfan8]

Originally Posted by Asian62150

Not picking on you, but a lot of ppl say this about various players, especially Luka. Winning a title in professional sports as the main guy is extremely difficult and it is far from guaranteed.

I'd say the odds of Luka winning a title while he's the #1 option are under 50% (I have no way of actually calculating this). But the following factors are at play:

But OKC is good (and young)
Rockets are good (and young)
Celtics are in their prime
Cavs are good (and young)
Denver still has a championship nucleus
Spurs are on the rise
Minny just beat the Lakers pretty soundly
Mavs are formidable if they can stay healthy
LeBron will be a year further from his prime

And of course Luka has not put in the work necessary to take his game to the next level and also take care of his body.

Most of us in this thread hope he changes, but he's going to be entering year 8 so until we see the change, it's a better bet that he's going to be who he's shown himself to be thus far.

I enjoy watching him play because he does some incredible things out there and I hope he wins a title as the guy. But imo the odds are against him as it stands right now.

It's just what I believe.

I've never seen one man rip apart a team on his own. Unfortunately he can't get in the zone all of the time.

Luka has done it multiple times when his team wasn't supposed to win.

At the end of the day, the Lakers lost to a really quality team. And the games were all close down the stretch. They'll be a lot better. Luka will be better.

I'm sick of his whining though

[drobfan8]

Let's say Luka will play another 10 seasons.

Are we really not confident he couldn't win 3 titles in that time? At the Lakers? Who will overspend to build a contender.

I wish it was all at Dallas but it aint

[2010GBPackers]

Originally Posted by drobfan8

Let's say Luka will play another 10 seasons.

Are we really not confident he couldn't win 3 titles in that time? At the Lakers? Who will overspend to build a contender.

I wish it was all at Dallas but it aint

#1 - I'm not seeing Luka being good at all at age 36. If he can't guard or keep his condition up at 26, what will he look like at 36?

#2 - Yes, I'm very confident he won't win 3 Finals rings in 10 years, because in my mind he has a 6 year window (age 26-32) before his body can't keep up with the league.

#3 - One huge advantage for him is that he's on the Lakers now. They have shown with both Shaq and Kobe that they can acquire a star in their prime and build championship rosters around them.

#4 - Your prediction presupposes that everything else stays static. It won't. There'll be 2-4 new NBA superstars rising during the stretch you cite. There are 5 NBA teams right now (MIN, OKC, HOU, CLE, and BOS) with rosters far superior to the Lakers, and three of them are very young.

3 rings in 10 years? I don't see it.

[Asian62150]

Originally Posted by 2010GBPackers

#1 - I'm not seeing Luka being good at all at age 36. If he can't guard or keep his condition up at 26, what will he look like at 36?

#2 - Yes, I'm very confident he won't win 3 Finals rings in 10 years, because in my mind he has a 6 year window (age 26-32) before his body can't keep up with the league.

#3 - One huge advantage for him is that he's on the Lakers now. They have shown with both Shaq and Kobe that they can acquire a star in their prime and build championship rosters around them.

#4 - Your prediction presupposes that everything else stays static. It won't. There'll be 2-4 new NBA superstars rising during the stretch you cite. There are 5 NBA teams right now (MIN, OKC, HOU, CLE, and BOS) with rosters far superior to the Lakers, and three of them are very young.

3 rings in 10 years? I don't see it.

Agree with all of this.

Could he possibly win 3 titles in 10 years? Sure. "ANYTHING IS POSSIBLEEEEEE!!!"

Will it happen? Doubtful.

Focus on getting that 1st ring (or even that 1st MVP) and then go from there. Again, hope Luka fulfills all our dreams and wishes from the Covid Boom projections, both in on-court achievements and card values.

[cardozo]

Originally Posted by drobfan8

Let's say Luka will play another 10 seasons.

Are we really not confident he couldn't win 3 titles in that time? At the Lakers? Who will overspend to build a contender.

I wish it was all at Dallas but it aint

I don’t think he will play that long so the answer is no.

[Chris P]

Originally Posted by cardozo

I don’t think he will play that long so the answer is no.

He's not gonna.play till age 36? I don't believe this at all..even if he's not a star, he'll be playing

[drobfan8]

Originally Posted by Chris P

He's not gonna.play till age 36? I don't believe this at all..even if he's not a star, he'll be playing

Man there are some moronic takes around huh.

This is where you can really tell who knows sports.

Luka may never win. People thought the same about LeBron for 8 seasons.

I think he will. I also think playing until 36 is a lock. Do they even know the list of 36 year olds that are still producing at that age.

[blackvodka]

Harden will be 36 in the off-season.

For me it's harder to feel what level he's going to be at. I still believe a lot of that is still up in the air.

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[Asian62150]

Originally Posted by blackvodka

Harden will be 36 in the off-season.

For me it's harder to feel what level he's going to be at. I still believe a lot of that is still up in the air.

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Harden's level started to drop when he was 31-32. And Harden was way more durable than Luka. Over six seasons (age 23-28), Harden missed a total of 29 games while being one of the league leaders in minutes played.

Luka missed more games than that this season alone.

It's wishful thinking to believe Luka is a lock to keep performing at a high level till he is 36 without changing his current habits. I hope he turns it around because he's such a fun and unique player to watch, but old habits die hard.