Luka Doncic Discussion: Lean Mean Slovenian Scoring Machine

re-aggravation of the same hamstring he injured earlier in the season is not good. he's not going to be anywhere near full health for the playoffs anyways, even if he manages to come back in a few weeks. and no chance they make it out of round one without him. season's a wrap

 

Both AR and Luka should have been shut down at the half .

Players have to be smart and check themselves out at some point

 

That's the HC's job. Both have played too many minutes frequently this season, even in games that we had well in hand.

 

redick is a moron. there was no need for the starters to be in down 30

 

I've been telling you guys that Luka is a good defender. Most of the issues this season have been JJ trying to figure out how to utilize these guys and get them playing together. Luka is not an all defense 1 on 1 defender. Most superstars aren't. But, he is going to be in the top 2-3 in +/- most nights on the team.

The media is the one who started it. They can't stand Luka because he is a white euro player. Jokic got the same from the media until he won a title. Dirk got the same as well until he won a title.

I had a feeling the game tonight could easily go this way. OKC has a chip on their shoulder for being a small market team. That's why they came out swinging in the first quarter harder than they play most nights. They were hyped up. The media won't mention tomorrow that those first quarter turnovers were unforced by the Lakers. Or that they were still missing Smart and have no bench.

The Lakers are still figuring everything out. We also don't have the personnel that an OKC or SA have. Then, on top of that OKC won't shoot as good as they did tonight on most nights. I don't expect the Lakers to win a title this year because of having no bench. One more offseason though and I think we can be a legit contender.

For now, I'm just hoping Luka isn't going to be out for too long.

 

He's just a young coach. That's the kind of stuff experience teaches you. He also knows the locker room better than us.

The game came down to the first quarter. OKC shot out of their mind. That won't happen again.

OKC came out in the first quarter and overwhelmed the Lakers with energy and hype. They weren't ready for that. Smart not being out there hurt them. He would have been able to calm things down. Also, he is exactly the kind of player that gives OKC problems. They can't handle it when players get chippy with them and out physical them. PJ Washington would always rattle OKC.

That's why OKC struggles with SA. We need a couple of more guys like Smart that will annoy and get up into the opposing team. LaRavia, Kennard, and Rui are the only ones I'm keen on keeping from the bench anyway. Sad to say that Bronny actually seems like one of the better bench shooters.

 

^^^^ The same game happened in November

 

no way he's at full strength in the playoffs, so we're cooked in round 1. i didn't think we'd get past round 2 anyway, but it's still a bummer not to get to see the team play at full strength at the end after things seemed to come together.

most annoying part will be the media narratives (which apparently will be shared by our fans).

 

JJ probably just wanted to see if they could get anything to work against OKC that they could build on for the next matchup/a potential playoff matchup.

 

Maybe i jinxed it with the "games played chart", i don't know guys. I had a bad feeling before these OKC games but in my worst nightmares i didn't see "that". Im beyoned bummed, no more Easter (or whole spring tbh) for me

 

What an illogical moronic take from the premiere a-hole in sports media out of so MANY of them. Yeah he took himself out deliberately …. that’s definitely what it looked like.

 

I'm sorry to be be "that guy" but AR was also holding his back for mulitple possessions in the first quarter
When you're getting f***ed over this hard why were either of these guys in?

I think JJ is a good coach but he's got a lot of Thibs in him with regards to minutes

 

JJ has been absolutely garbage with overplaying AR and Luka.

 

I’m sorry but “young coach” excuse doesn’t hold any water with me. It’s very easy to understand that you can’t overplay the guys who win you games. This is learned at the high school level.

 

JJ is nothing more than a more aesthetically pleasing version of Thibs. Both run their players in the ground with short rotations.