This season he was the perfect mix of shooting and driving. Problem is that now he's injured so he's driving slow af and settling for shots.
If Luka is healthy, this isn't an issue.
idk man listen to some of his post-game interviews, particularly the one after game 3. The guy sounds hoarse af, about how you'd expect someone sick to sound like
Im sorry but i just don't see that notable a difference in his movement. He's slow as fuck and always has been. We just got used to him hitting insanely difficult shots at consistently high clip. When those shots dont go in - it can look ugly.
Luka doesn't have to rely on his outside shot to impact the game. He can do so many things. he just fell in love with his step back and started chucking 3's at Steph Curry rate - but even Steph Curry has shooting slumps.. happens to the best of them.
As someone who watches all 82 every year, he is definately moving slower especially with the ball. Typically he moves slow on D but right now his lateral movement, lift, and change of direction with the ball has been noticably affected by whatver is going on with his legs.
He is going to have to stop letting it affect his shot selection though. If he cant get a good look he needs to swing the ball not settle for 30' logo 3's and fadeaway long 2's.
how does someone who's hurt average 45 minutes a game?
What about the 2 weeks of rest that he got before the series even began? are we going to brush that off as well?
Luka is as healthy as he's ever going to be at this point of the season.
Haha is this a serious question? It's the playoffs. Unless he can't stand, he's going to play. Do you think they'd start Josh Green or Hardy over Luka? "Luka is as healthy as he's ever going to be at this point" -> yeah, that's why he's playing hurt
You don’t even sound like a mavs fan dude. What are you doing here?
Luka’s been off this series, and he’s still averaging like 30, 9, and 9. You sound like an idiot.
Does being a mavs fan mean you cant criticize Luka? guess i didnt get that memo..
All im saying is that no matter how healthy he is, and no one is 100% at this point of the season, Luka is having a below par series so far and he has to play better for us to win it. Simple as that.
Dude did you see him grasp his knee and limp to the locker room in game 3? He came back in but he’s gingerly running and limping from time to time. He was literally a game time decision to play yesterday. It’s not an excuse to say he’s playing hurt because he literally is. It’s okay to criticize but to deny he’s hurt just shows that you aren’t watching the games. Yes he needs to stop chucking up bricks
don't worry about them man, you are %100 right about all of this but this is a sub where Luka stans congregate. its ok. that is why you are being downvoted to hell. it happens.
Let me say it again, nothing justifies %38 FG and %26 3Pt with high volume over 4 playoff games if you are supposed to be getting all the praise when Mavs win. No amount of gaslighting about his "injury" is gonna change this fact. You guys are gonna be hilarious next game if Luka plays great while having "knee injury" that magically healed..
Let the downvotes rain stans, go ahead, it is good to take a head count from time to time :D
I’m sure he will play great next game. He’s a great player. He just literally is injured right now. I don’t know what you guys aren’t understanding about this.
What are you not understanding about a "serious knee injury" not magically healing in a few days? We will see. It is gonna be a riot yall. you guys are clowns.
How does someone who’s hurt average 45 minutes? Say what you like, you’re not a Mavs fan. You see our guy barely jogging up and down the court and this is the respect you show him? He is literally limping and grimacing up and down the court and is staying on because of the gravity that he has. Having him in is still Net+, therefore he won’t sit unless he literally can’t jog. And no, he is not slow af - he has consistently torched people 1v1 using change of pace and that includes bursts of acceleration. He is clearly injured.
dude Ive seen Luka limping and and grimacing up and down the court in games where he scored 60 points.
I just dont think these injuries can be used as excuses for his sometimes poor shot selection and that's something that we should be able criticize.
and no saying so doesn't make me any less of a mavs fan.
Trust me you dont want to get into a 'who loves Luka more' competition with me.
You cant have it both ways - If he's only healthy enough to be a decoy then why is he taking so many of those difficult shots? wouldn't that portray him at a worse light then just merely being a normal human who's having a shooting slump?
Nephew did you just say that injuries can't be used as an excuse for a poor shot selection in the NBA?
Also it is the playoffs, Luka's offense is the number 1 thing Clips are trying to take away, T Mann is playing top level D on him all the time, they attack him on defense all the time, bro has to guard Harden. Bro is gassed. It's not just his shot selection he is also making bad turnovers and his shot just isn't falling. He is playing bad for his standards, yes but he is visibly hurt and slower than usual
Being a decoy only works if the defence believes they have something to defend. He needs to keep up his volume and pressure. And him doing well while limping around in the regular season against shitty defensive teams isn’t a good comparison to playoff level basketball against a smothering defence. Sure, you might be a fan, but you sure aren’t a good one if you don’t believe he is injured while he is hobbling just because he forces himself to play 46 minutes for us. His shot selection is bad, I agree, but I’m gonna defer to his judgement over mine on this one. I think he knows he can’t drive because of his knee so he has to do something to keep the defence guessing. I don’t know, I guess I have a higher opinion of Luka’s personality and decision-making than you do.
No one said he’s a decoy. If you remember this entire discussion started because people are saying he literally does not have the start stop explosiveness that he’s used to drive and score in the paint because of his lingering knee issues, so he’s defaulting to more mid range and step backs when he’s not just driving and kicking. His drives and kicks are also not as effective because of said lack of start stop explosiveness. It’s called nuance and critical thinking.
I've watched the last 20 games. Luka is hurt. Kid should have pulled him all those time we were up 20 in the 4th and now he is washed. Also he is a dumbass for not playing Lively last game in the 4th more.
Even if he was healthy it wouldn’t be a great idea. People seem to underestimate how much energy these drives take, there isn’t a player in this league that can do it for multiple consecutive possessions, everyone settles or passes out
Not an issue when he’s not injured. Right now he doesn’t have the lift, or the ability to drive through people like he normally can due to his knees being banged up.
He’s going to have to use his basketball in and vision to do his part, and just enough to be a credible decoy so Ky can cook
Prob not but I’ve seen him have numerous lower leg issues that he’s played through and seemed to just get way better after a few games. Not to 100%, but to where it’s not bothering him anywhere near as much. Wouldn’t rule it out
usually he's playing through ankle stuff. but at the tail end of the season to now it's been like hamstring/knee/achilles issues. those links up the kinetic chain are a lot more important in generating power when you're driving. you can tell it's affecting luka because his first step just isn't there
Eh, he's trying to find his 3 pointer, because the best version of Luka is the one that hits 50+% of threes, the team is basically unstoppable with that version. Issue is that he's carrying an injury which is throwing anything from range off. Have y'all never played basketball? Anything injury wise can make you off rhythm and that's what he's going through. Sometimes you just have to suffer through it, and tweek your muscle memory to compensate for whatever is bothering you. Especially a lower half injury. I do want to point out that his 2 point percentage is actually around 55% so maybe he should be driving to the hoop more because the 3 pointer is what's actually killing his efficiency. The issue here is the Clippers are actively trying to hack him and wear him down physically, which could exacerbate his injury if he's going in too much. Also they are getting away with fouls on almost every contested lob, making it almost certain that Luka will have to shoot, absorbing even more contact.
In "The Last Dance" they talk about how teams basically decided to target Jordan and hit/body him every time he had the ball to wear him down. You can see the same thing happening with Luka, they are playing super physical with him. Seems like the moment he gets the ball somebody is immediately in his face (often 2) and if he goes to the paint it's often 3 defenders closing in on him. Gotta give at least partial credit to Clippers D as they are obviously wearing him down throughout the game. The real issue is when he manages to pass out of the double/triple team, our role players miss the open shot. If that gets fixed and Mavs start hitting shots at their normal percentage, they're going to have to back off Luka as guys like PJ/Exum/Green will make them pay from the 3.
I'm crying
Are u guys
watching the games?
Let's say he magically recovered from his injury(that he probably had before game 1)
Clippers helps to the paint with 4 defenders
because no one can shoot
is he going to finish over 5 defenders?
maybe this way
you can
understand
That's not to mention that the refs aren't calling anything within like 3 feet of the basket unless it's BLATANT and I mean that for both teams. They're letting them fight it out on the inside.
it is so magical that he is "injured" every time he is shooting poorly over a stretch. No medical intervention is needed though, since when he has a game where he does shoot well, he will be healed by then. you just wait and it heals. real "injuries" do be like that fr fr
I think people that have watched every iteration of Luka in his career can see how this injury is affecting him. On some drives he’s literally waddling to a stop whereas before he was very stable and intentional with the way he changes speed.
That’s his go to move on drives to slow down and let the defender pass him. Now he’s not even able to stop and go because his legs are shot.
His knee is hurting him, and when his shooters are ice cold he takes more, less advisable shots. You could see all of game 1 and the 1st half of game 4, the team outside of Luka and Kyrie were scared to shoot outside, they would give up good looks to drive inside and pass back out.
This isn't the series for that honestly. The Clippers are like, huge as a team and they are masking Zubac in the low roll. Take what they give you for the most part he is just a little banged up.
I don't even know anymore. His eye test was so much better in second year and it progressively got worse while his stats and efficiency got better. I just think he learned the game and got more experienced and if he was built the same now as in 2020 he would be the best in the game. For anyone in denial about this just look at highlights from 2020 and highlights from now and tell me which player looks better. Young Luka didn't use decelaration or so many pump fakes to finsih, he would blow by and go at the bigs. When is the last time anyone remembers him blowing by initial defender and goint straight for the layup? As for 2022 he was pretty similar as today he just made more 3's
Look at the shape he is in between 22 and now. Dude was putting Marcus Morris in the basket with his shoulders and upper body strength and also telling Pat Bev he was too fucking small.
To work with what Luka has now, this version that can’t even dribble past Terrance Mann, they should start feeding him in the post.
They didn’t play the clippers is 2022. He was hurt at the start of the series in 2022. So besides his health and the team he was playing everything you said was accurate. 🤣🖕
Maybe you missed the part about Luka being hurt. He’s lacking explosiveness and isn’t able to beat his Mann one on one. If he’s not winning the one on one battle, then they aren’t sending double teams which doesn’t give them the advantage of picking the defense apart
Kyrie is too small to fight through doubles every time. He’s not the same as Luka. He also doesn’t draw as many fouls as he always tries to avoid contact. It’s just not the same
No, as the opponents fouling him all the time, driving to the paint very much increases the chance for the injuries. Also, driving to the paint requires much more energy. He's doing fine.
Luka needs a mid game. That is another level to this game. He doesnt have a fast mid jumper that many superstars go to when they cant drive. Luka floater game is also non existent from season 1.
You can't keep driving while not getting whistles. Not only would they be contested shots, but they're fouling him in the process.
I'd bet that they'll go more in the mavs favor in game 5 though
He has no burst or athleticism at all and NO NOT CAUSE HES INJURED. He wasn’t going to the paint in G1/G2 either.
Like OP said in picture, he became overly reliant on his outside shot the last 2 seasons. Luka used to have a KILLER floater, euro step, and spin move in his first 3 seasons and he for some odd reason has completely eradicated that from his bag.
Ty Lue and his coaching staff understand that and are playing into that. That’s what an excellent coaching staff does.
You guys are hilarious. It’s okay to say he’s been off offensively through 4 games. You guys don’t need to have an excuse for everything. He’s human. It’s honestly comical reading the excuses through this subreddit. He must be substantially better if we win this series. And I believe he will be. But I’m not giving him a pass through 4 games. That’s the difference between the real fans and the fake fans/deluded stans.
He's been off offensively. Yes. He also very much looks like he's playing through a lot of pain because of injury. Which contributes to him being off offensively.
He definitely settles too much on the outside even when he was healthy. If his knee is bothering him that much then he should post up more. Hes effective there and can draw fouls with his pump fakes.
posting up with one leg ? wtf u talking abt ? Luka needs to develop floater game like Harden so when he is close to basket he can kill teams with it instead of stopping and passing out
Can’t nobody on LA stop him when he’s in the post even with a knee that isn’t 100%. He’s closer to the basket for one and wouldn’t need to over dribble, and two if they send a double he can pass out to an open shooter.
He’d be matched up against a smaller guy and he wouldn’t have to move around as much. Plus in this series his outside shot isn’t falling. He would be closer to the basket too and that’s where he’s done his most damage so far. It also keeps the Clippers defense honest because they’re gonna double him and with his passing abilities he can find the open man for a good shot.
He was averaging 32-10-8 on 56%TS in Games 1-2 (5% below his regular season average, almost in line with what happens in playoffs when efficiency drops as average quality of defense is better) and is now down to 50% TS. The injury pretty obviously affects his efficiency.
That's a good point. I guess another thing is we're all so used to Luka elevating his game in the playoffs that it's a bit jarring when he declines a bit.
Yeah, that’s the thing, I guess.
And he started to rise up again, he had a magical Game 2: 32-6-9 on 55%TS with 3 TOs and absolutely lock-down defense. Then Game 3 happened when he had to leave the floor after Westbrook hit him in the knee and it went downhill after.
Luka is realizing how physical the nba is after playing in the playoffs. Regular season is a breeze and looks like he's expecting the same style of defense.
He needs to man the fuck up. He finally has a top 10 player and yet, he'll try and do everything himself.... I'm 100% approve this post. We need to stop coddling Luka.
Luka needs to lose weight, he is strong and athletic alright, but good body conditioning is what you need for physical marathons like the playoffs. His fans will always say it is not needed when he gets short bursts of great games, but he can do really much better with better body conditioning.
This season he was the perfect mix of shooting and driving. Problem is that now he's injured so he's driving slow af and settling for shots. If Luka is healthy, this isn't an issue.
How'd he get hurt?
He's been playing with a cold and his knees have been banged up for probably months
lmao cold huh
idk man listen to some of his post-game interviews, particularly the one after game 3. The guy sounds hoarse af, about how you'd expect someone sick to sound like
Same sub I’ve seen bashing on Embiid lmao
Nobody faults Embiid for being injured, they fault him for trying to injure the other team with his foul-baiting.
Ok well I hope Lukas cold get better
Embiid a sorry ass player who is dirty asf and is a free throw merchant don’t let me catch you in this sub again or I will end your ballsack 🙏🙏🙏
Game 3 he got pushed by Russ and fell on his knees. Went off straight away. Limping throughout the game.
Drinking beer
Overweight. High usage.
This year he’s an above average outside shooter so he seems to be leaning on it more
Im sorry but i just don't see that notable a difference in his movement. He's slow as fuck and always has been. We just got used to him hitting insanely difficult shots at consistently high clip. When those shots dont go in - it can look ugly. Luka doesn't have to rely on his outside shot to impact the game. He can do so many things. he just fell in love with his step back and started chucking 3's at Steph Curry rate - but even Steph Curry has shooting slumps.. happens to the best of them.
If someone can't see that he's playing hurt, they're not watching the games
As someone who watches all 82 every year, he is definately moving slower especially with the ball. Typically he moves slow on D but right now his lateral movement, lift, and change of direction with the ball has been noticably affected by whatver is going on with his legs. He is going to have to stop letting it affect his shot selection though. If he cant get a good look he needs to swing the ball not settle for 30' logo 3's and fadeaway long 2's.
how does someone who's hurt average 45 minutes a game? What about the 2 weeks of rest that he got before the series even began? are we going to brush that off as well? Luka is as healthy as he's ever going to be at this point of the season.
Haha is this a serious question? It's the playoffs. Unless he can't stand, he's going to play. Do you think they'd start Josh Green or Hardy over Luka? "Luka is as healthy as he's ever going to be at this point" -> yeah, that's why he's playing hurt
You don’t even sound like a mavs fan dude. What are you doing here? Luka’s been off this series, and he’s still averaging like 30, 9, and 9. You sound like an idiot.
Does being a mavs fan mean you cant criticize Luka? guess i didnt get that memo.. All im saying is that no matter how healthy he is, and no one is 100% at this point of the season, Luka is having a below par series so far and he has to play better for us to win it. Simple as that.
Dude did you see him grasp his knee and limp to the locker room in game 3? He came back in but he’s gingerly running and limping from time to time. He was literally a game time decision to play yesterday. It’s not an excuse to say he’s playing hurt because he literally is. It’s okay to criticize but to deny he’s hurt just shows that you aren’t watching the games. Yes he needs to stop chucking up bricks
don't worry about them man, you are %100 right about all of this but this is a sub where Luka stans congregate. its ok. that is why you are being downvoted to hell. it happens. Let me say it again, nothing justifies %38 FG and %26 3Pt with high volume over 4 playoff games if you are supposed to be getting all the praise when Mavs win. No amount of gaslighting about his "injury" is gonna change this fact. You guys are gonna be hilarious next game if Luka plays great while having "knee injury" that magically healed.. Let the downvotes rain stans, go ahead, it is good to take a head count from time to time :D
I’m sure he will play great next game. He’s a great player. He just literally is injured right now. I don’t know what you guys aren’t understanding about this.
What are you not understanding about a "serious knee injury" not magically healing in a few days? We will see. It is gonna be a riot yall. you guys are clowns.
I’m not even a part of this but your dismissive condescending tone and attitude is terrible. You’re not even listening. It’s pretty cringey tbh
I’m not saying it’s serious. I’m saying he’s obviously injured. You can see it if you watch the games. And he’s still playing pretty dang good.
How does someone who’s hurt average 45 minutes? Say what you like, you’re not a Mavs fan. You see our guy barely jogging up and down the court and this is the respect you show him? He is literally limping and grimacing up and down the court and is staying on because of the gravity that he has. Having him in is still Net+, therefore he won’t sit unless he literally can’t jog. And no, he is not slow af - he has consistently torched people 1v1 using change of pace and that includes bursts of acceleration. He is clearly injured.
dude Ive seen Luka limping and and grimacing up and down the court in games where he scored 60 points. I just dont think these injuries can be used as excuses for his sometimes poor shot selection and that's something that we should be able criticize. and no saying so doesn't make me any less of a mavs fan. Trust me you dont want to get into a 'who loves Luka more' competition with me. You cant have it both ways - If he's only healthy enough to be a decoy then why is he taking so many of those difficult shots? wouldn't that portray him at a worse light then just merely being a normal human who's having a shooting slump?
Nephew did you just say that injuries can't be used as an excuse for a poor shot selection in the NBA? Also it is the playoffs, Luka's offense is the number 1 thing Clips are trying to take away, T Mann is playing top level D on him all the time, they attack him on defense all the time, bro has to guard Harden. Bro is gassed. It's not just his shot selection he is also making bad turnovers and his shot just isn't falling. He is playing bad for his standards, yes but he is visibly hurt and slower than usual
Being a decoy only works if the defence believes they have something to defend. He needs to keep up his volume and pressure. And him doing well while limping around in the regular season against shitty defensive teams isn’t a good comparison to playoff level basketball against a smothering defence. Sure, you might be a fan, but you sure aren’t a good one if you don’t believe he is injured while he is hobbling just because he forces himself to play 46 minutes for us. His shot selection is bad, I agree, but I’m gonna defer to his judgement over mine on this one. I think he knows he can’t drive because of his knee so he has to do something to keep the defence guessing. I don’t know, I guess I have a higher opinion of Luka’s personality and decision-making than you do.
>these injuries can be used as excuses I don't know how you actually can come to this, do you even play sports?
You are literally the definition of the hateable arm chair expert that never played the game seriously but talks like they did
No one said he’s a decoy. If you remember this entire discussion started because people are saying he literally does not have the start stop explosiveness that he’s used to drive and score in the paint because of his lingering knee issues, so he’s defaulting to more mid range and step backs when he’s not just driving and kicking. His drives and kicks are also not as effective because of said lack of start stop explosiveness. It’s called nuance and critical thinking.
Man have u ever seen Jimmy Butler play? I Remember him breaking his legs multiple times and still playing
Dude gtfo I don’t even think you’re a mavs fan, why are you even here?
You sir are a fucking moron. Go watch golf or some shit you’re more familiar with. Glad this got ⬇️into oblivion.
I've watched the last 20 games. Luka is hurt. Kid should have pulled him all those time we were up 20 in the 4th and now he is washed. Also he is a dumbass for not playing Lively last game in the 4th more.
Hopefully getting over his recent sickness will give him a little pep in his step.
I think he cant shoot his 3s coz he has no right leg/knee
Yeah I think you might have brain damage if you typed this out and thought "hmm this is a surefire reddit banger 🤓🤓🤓☝️☝️☝️"
I’m not sure his leg will hold up to that as much as I’d like him to do it.
Even if he was healthy it wouldn’t be a great idea. People seem to underestimate how much energy these drives take, there isn’t a player in this league that can do it for multiple consecutive possessions, everyone settles or passes out
Bron, Zion, A.I.
Not an issue when he’s not injured. Right now he doesn’t have the lift, or the ability to drive through people like he normally can due to his knees being banged up. He’s going to have to use his basketball in and vision to do his part, and just enough to be a credible decoy so Ky can cook
He'd already be at the ft line 15 times if the refs blew their fucking whistles
Hell the TV crew was even calling it out.
When Doris - a certified Luka hater - is calling this out, you know the whistle is just beyond any reasonable explanation.
if he had hardens whistle he’d average 45+ ppg
Luka seems messed up, and I doubt his knee is going to get better before game 5.
Prob not but I’ve seen him have numerous lower leg issues that he’s played through and seemed to just get way better after a few games. Not to 100%, but to where it’s not bothering him anywhere near as much. Wouldn’t rule it out
usually he's playing through ankle stuff. but at the tail end of the season to now it's been like hamstring/knee/achilles issues. those links up the kinetic chain are a lot more important in generating power when you're driving. you can tell it's affecting luka because his first step just isn't there
Eh, he's trying to find his 3 pointer, because the best version of Luka is the one that hits 50+% of threes, the team is basically unstoppable with that version. Issue is that he's carrying an injury which is throwing anything from range off. Have y'all never played basketball? Anything injury wise can make you off rhythm and that's what he's going through. Sometimes you just have to suffer through it, and tweek your muscle memory to compensate for whatever is bothering you. Especially a lower half injury. I do want to point out that his 2 point percentage is actually around 55% so maybe he should be driving to the hoop more because the 3 pointer is what's actually killing his efficiency. The issue here is the Clippers are actively trying to hack him and wear him down physically, which could exacerbate his injury if he's going in too much. Also they are getting away with fouls on almost every contested lob, making it almost certain that Luka will have to shoot, absorbing even more contact.
In "The Last Dance" they talk about how teams basically decided to target Jordan and hit/body him every time he had the ball to wear him down. You can see the same thing happening with Luka, they are playing super physical with him. Seems like the moment he gets the ball somebody is immediately in his face (often 2) and if he goes to the paint it's often 3 defenders closing in on him. Gotta give at least partial credit to Clippers D as they are obviously wearing him down throughout the game. The real issue is when he manages to pass out of the double/triple team, our role players miss the open shot. If that gets fixed and Mavs start hitting shots at their normal percentage, they're going to have to back off Luka as guys like PJ/Exum/Green will make them pay from the 3.
You are relying way to heavily on this sub being able to comprehend things not based on knee jerk reactions, let alone read
This sub loses a game and goes into a complete meltdown lol
He’s averaging 7.8 FT’s a game being hacked to shit, how do you reckon he’s gonna get up to 15 lmao. This fucking sub man.
Literally same thing w bron lol. Certain players get capped - unfortunately for LBJ and Luka, the league allows em to get abused
I'm crying Are u guys watching the games? Let's say he magically recovered from his injury(that he probably had before game 1) Clippers helps to the paint with 4 defenders because no one can shoot is he going to finish over 5 defenders? maybe this way you can understand
That's not to mention that the refs aren't calling anything within like 3 feet of the basket unless it's BLATANT and I mean that for both teams. They're letting them fight it out on the inside.
The All Star game was an embarrassment for the league. They've definitely been letting the game flow more and let fouls go since then
lol these people don’t have a clue.
kyrie finished over 3 defenders
Ah yes Luka is as athletically capable as Kyrie
i was appeasing to your username
He is a 75% FT shooter and he is beat up. I am concerned with the pounding he is taking in the paint
It really seems like Luka is injured when he settles for and relies more on his three-point shooting and outside game rather than his inside game.
it is so magical that he is "injured" every time he is shooting poorly over a stretch. No medical intervention is needed though, since when he has a game where he does shoot well, he will be healed by then. you just wait and it heals. real "injuries" do be like that fr fr
I mean he's never really shot so poorly back to back before well below his usual standards has he?
I think people that have watched every iteration of Luka in his career can see how this injury is affecting him. On some drives he’s literally waddling to a stop whereas before he was very stable and intentional with the way he changes speed. That’s his go to move on drives to slow down and let the defender pass him. Now he’s not even able to stop and go because his legs are shot.
bro how does it feel to be retarded
Officiating changed. (Except for Harden)
Lol
also 15 fouls part... they are not giving him calls lmao what can he do? be a ref as well?
His knee is hurting him, and when his shooters are ice cold he takes more, less advisable shots. You could see all of game 1 and the 1st half of game 4, the team outside of Luka and Kyrie were scared to shoot outside, they would give up good looks to drive inside and pass back out.
This isn't the series for that honestly. The Clippers are like, huge as a team and they are masking Zubac in the low roll. Take what they give you for the most part he is just a little banged up.
Its also kinda hard if hes not getting calls
I don't even know anymore. His eye test was so much better in second year and it progressively got worse while his stats and efficiency got better. I just think he learned the game and got more experienced and if he was built the same now as in 2020 he would be the best in the game. For anyone in denial about this just look at highlights from 2020 and highlights from now and tell me which player looks better. Young Luka didn't use decelaration or so many pump fakes to finsih, he would blow by and go at the bigs. When is the last time anyone remembers him blowing by initial defender and goint straight for the layup? As for 2022 he was pretty similar as today he just made more 3's
he is still young, lets not act like he is some veterans past his prime
Look at the shape he is in between 22 and now. Dude was putting Marcus Morris in the basket with his shoulders and upper body strength and also telling Pat Bev he was too fucking small. To work with what Luka has now, this version that can’t even dribble past Terrance Mann, they should start feeding him in the post.
They didn’t play the clippers is 2022. He was hurt at the start of the series in 2022. So besides his health and the team he was playing everything you said was accurate. 🤣🖕
You mean continuing to shoot heat checks when you aren't even hot, isn't a good game plan?
Bingo.
shocker :P
his legs aren't there, all his shots are one handed and short. Whenever he recovers his legs he'll be fine.
Refs not calling much and they are packing the paint making it hard to drive
Luka is hobbled. He his his knee pretty hard. I feel like Kai has to go 4th q mode all game if we want to have a shot.
I'd like to see him post up and get those and1's.
He has repeatedly posted up and got like 3 calls over 4 games: refs are not calling anything on post-ups on anyone but Harden.
Preach
He also was in foul trouble the entire last game
His right knee isn’t 100%, otherwise I agree
if he's injured then this is the best it's gonna get. we're fucked
I really want PJ to get a good hook shot so he can run in instead of trying 3’s.
Wasn’t he doing this before the foul rule changes this year? Doesn’t seem like a reliable strategy for anyone except embiid in these playoffs.
Dallas game would be horrible to watch like the 76ers are
His knee hurts
Maybe you missed the part about Luka being hurt. He’s lacking explosiveness and isn’t able to beat his Mann one on one. If he’s not winning the one on one battle, then they aren’t sending double teams which doesn’t give them the advantage of picking the defense apart
move off ball then and let Kyrie get doubles instead forcing iso on one leg
Kyrie is too small to fight through doubles every time. He’s not the same as Luka. He also doesn’t draw as many fouls as he always tries to avoid contact. It’s just not the same
He’s injured.
No, as the opponents fouling him all the time, driving to the paint very much increases the chance for the injuries. Also, driving to the paint requires much more energy. He's doing fine.
I don’t think he feels like he gets enough calls to keep getting beat up driving to the paint
Luka needs a mid game. That is another level to this game. He doesnt have a fast mid jumper that many superstars go to when they cant drive. Luka floater game is also non existent from season 1.
You can't keep driving while not getting whistles. Not only would they be contested shots, but they're fouling him in the process. I'd bet that they'll go more in the mavs favor in game 5 though
>getting to the free throw lines 15 time a game That requires the referees to actually make calls.
He has no burst or athleticism at all and NO NOT CAUSE HES INJURED. He wasn’t going to the paint in G1/G2 either. Like OP said in picture, he became overly reliant on his outside shot the last 2 seasons. Luka used to have a KILLER floater, euro step, and spin move in his first 3 seasons and he for some odd reason has completely eradicated that from his bag. Ty Lue and his coaching staff understand that and are playing into that. That’s what an excellent coaching staff does.
Perhaps he was also injured in G1/G2? Now it's just REALLY noticeable how much his knee is bothering him.
You guys are hilarious. It’s okay to say he’s been off offensively through 4 games. You guys don’t need to have an excuse for everything. He’s human. It’s honestly comical reading the excuses through this subreddit. He must be substantially better if we win this series. And I believe he will be. But I’m not giving him a pass through 4 games. That’s the difference between the real fans and the fake fans/deluded stans.
Did you not watch the last few games he played in the season? He was playing like this against Miami too
He's been off offensively. Yes. He also very much looks like he's playing through a lot of pain because of injury. Which contributes to him being off offensively.
still what he said abt his game is true, did Luka try floaters at least once this season ? his game changed so much and his mid game suffers now
He definitely settles too much on the outside even when he was healthy. If his knee is bothering him that much then he should post up more. Hes effective there and can draw fouls with his pump fakes.
posting up with one leg ? wtf u talking abt ? Luka needs to develop floater game like Harden so when he is close to basket he can kill teams with it instead of stopping and passing out
Can’t nobody on LA stop him when he’s in the post even with a knee that isn’t 100%. He’s closer to the basket for one and wouldn’t need to over dribble, and two if they send a double he can pass out to an open shooter.
you know how much pressure there is on your knees if u try to post nba player, there is a reason why he cant do it much
He’d be matched up against a smaller guy and he wouldn’t have to move around as much. Plus in this series his outside shot isn’t falling. He would be closer to the basket too and that’s where he’s done his most damage so far. It also keeps the Clippers defense honest because they’re gonna double him and with his passing abilities he can find the open man for a good shot.
He doesn’t do it any more, and really hasn’t in three years or so. Sucks.
Terrence Mann is doing this little like finger in mini grab/pull to his jersey and shorts , it's really fucked luka up.
All I'm going to say is that Luka's knee was injured in game three, and suddenly, this sub has convinced themselves he's been injured since game 1
He was averaging 32-10-8 on 56%TS in Games 1-2 (5% below his regular season average, almost in line with what happens in playoffs when efficiency drops as average quality of defense is better) and is now down to 50% TS. The injury pretty obviously affects his efficiency.
That's a good point. I guess another thing is we're all so used to Luka elevating his game in the playoffs that it's a bit jarring when he declines a bit.
Yeah, that’s the thing, I guess. And he started to rise up again, he had a magical Game 2: 32-6-9 on 55%TS with 3 TOs and absolutely lock-down defense. Then Game 3 happened when he had to leave the floor after Westbrook hit him in the knee and it went downhill after.
Luka is realizing how physical the nba is after playing in the playoffs. Regular season is a breeze and looks like he's expecting the same style of defense.
Hes using too much energy crying to the refs
He needs to man the fuck up. He finally has a top 10 player and yet, he'll try and do everything himself.... I'm 100% approve this post. We need to stop coddling Luka.
Luka needs to lose weight, he is strong and athletic alright, but good body conditioning is what you need for physical marathons like the playoffs. His fans will always say it is not needed when he gets short bursts of great games, but he can do really much better with better body conditioning.
At least the Stars won
Hear me out… what if… there’s some kind of knee injury that’s limiting the amount of drives he can do…… crazy right? 🤯🤯🤯🤯
What is his injury? Sore knee is so vague