**Official Luka Doncic Thread**

[al3xmac10]

Looking for this card, in case anyone can help...

[blackvodka]

Originally Posted by Asian62150

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.

Harden will get a lot of flack for how awful he was tonight but once he clearly realized he wasn't a ball dominant offensive weapon anymore he did make attempts to improve other parts of his game.

At this point we really are going to have to sit back and see how this plays out. By the end of next season most of us will have a much clearer picture about where Luka and the Lakers are sitting. Let's see if there are at least small steps in the right direction.

We'll have a better picture of where the Lakers are as a team. We'll see if they flounder and make mistakes and lose faith in him or they put the right pieces in place they show the Lakers are in the right direction to be real contenders for 5-7 years.

Then there's Luka himself. Let's see if he at least attempts to make changes. He's not fully healthy right now. This season with the trade and everything that has happened since has been a noticeable drain on Luka. Then there's the conditioning that will have to improve. Then the mentality on defense needs to make at least a little progress. Let's see where Luka is at when next season rolls around.

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[boxbuster7]

looks like a immaculate rpa sold for $6,600 this weekend on my slabs

good barometer

[cms11]

I saw Luka in Game 2 and while he isn't "fat" he definitely needs to slim down to improve on defense. He's just not quick enough right now. Have to think LeBron will demand a lot from him in the offseason. Offensively, Luka is one of the most natural basketball players I've ever seen, the game just comes easy to me. However, the biggest problem for the Lakers is lack of an NBA-caliber center, especially a rim protector.

Originally Posted by blackvodka

Harden will get a lot of flack for how awful he was tonight but once he clearly realized he wasn't a ball dominant offensive weapon anymore he did make attempts to improve other parts of his game.

At this point we really are going to have to sit back and see how this plays out. By the end of next season most of us will have a much clearer picture about where Luka and the Lakers are sitting. Let's see if there are at least small steps in the right direction.

We'll have a better picture of where the Lakers are as a team. We'll see if they flounder and make mistakes and lose faith in him or they put the right pieces in place they show the Lakers are in the right direction to be real contenders for 5-7 years.

Then there's Luka himself. Let's see if he at least attempts to make changes. He's not fully healthy right now. This season with the trade and everything that has happened since has been a noticeable drain on Luka. Then there's the conditioning that will have to improve. Then the mentality on defense needs to make at least a little progress. Let's see where Luka is at when next season rolls around.

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[cms11]

Originally Posted by 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.

I was pushing for the Lakers to trade for Ayton at the deadline. He would have only cost a 1st way down the road and would have been far better than any center on the roster.

[Asian62150]

I thought Luka needed to get in shape, but I didn't think he was crazy out of shape. Maybe just cut a few lbs.

Then I saw this video from his early NBA days...

He was not only a slender, but he was pretty fast.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJK_C...cwNWZrNQ%3D%3D

[SandStoneSports]

Originally Posted by Asian62150

I thought Luka needed to get in shape, but I didn't think he was crazy out of shape. Maybe just cut a few lbs.

Then I saw this video from his early NBA days...

He was not only a slender, but he was pretty fast.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJK_C...cwNWZrNQ%3D%3D

He does need to slim down. But I see videos everywhere of him when he was 19 and 20 years old. Some guys even harkening back to the Euro days when he was 17. Its not a fair comparison. Outside of gaining bad weight he has also gotten a lot bigger through the shoulders and hips as a result of becoming an actual grown man.

[Duvalier]

Originally Posted by 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.

Nic Claxton would be a great fit

[Asian62150]

Originally Posted by SandStoneSports

He does need to slim down. But I see videos everywhere of him when he was 19 and 20 years old. Some guys even harkening back to the Euro days when he was 17. Its not a fair comparison. Outside of gaining bad weight he has also gotten a lot bigger through the shoulders and hips as a result of becoming an actual grown man.

Sure but I don't know many NBA guys who were dunking over ppl at 19 and 20 and then stopped doing it just a few years later.

[cms11]

Originally Posted by SandStoneSports

He does need to slim down. But I see videos everywhere of him when he was 19 and 20 years old. Some guys even harkening back to the Euro days when he was 17. Its not a fair comparison. Outside of gaining bad weight he has also gotten a lot bigger through the shoulders and hips as a result of becoming an actual grown man.

NBA players rarely lose their explosiveness after entering the NBA when it's not due to injury. We should accept that Luka slacked in his fitness because he didn't think he had to put the work in to be an elite player. I'm willing to bet that he realizes now that was a mistake and he has Bron breathing down his neck. There's nothing physically stopping him from regaining the explosiveness he had a few years ago.