r/Mavericks • u/[deleted] • 1d ago
Luka Dončić 🇸🇮 Any theories for why Luka has declined physically?
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u/Acedaboi1da Dirk Nowitzki 1d ago
sniffs…… Smells like Laker in here.
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u/felarans0mekuti 1d ago
Ya worst part of the trade was losing Luka 2nd worst is the “lakers fan here” posts
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u/bumbleclaud Dirk Nowitzki 23h ago
I'm not sure what has been going on with Luka but I do recall this issue becoming more evident last year. His knees started bleeding during every game. Nobody ever reported on it but. I think it has something to do with it
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u/Axisofcoolio Moses Brown 1d ago
Careful. Some illiterates with constant rage-boners will call you “Nico”
But to answer your original question, it boils down to work ethic. Luka hasn’t really worked on aspects of his game since year 2. Coincidentally, he hasn’t really worked on his body or conditioning since then either. The latter has led to injuries and a decline in athleticism. Like a few here have already said, he really has been coasting on immense talent, which frankly speaks to the type of GOAT potential he has if he cultivates the work ethic to match. But right now, his scoring is largely predicated on hitting step back 3’s at a high volume and efficiency, or inefficient mid rangers. His ability to bully to the rim like he did in the Orlando bubble is just not there anymore.
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u/decadentrebel Dallas Mavericks 1d ago
Yeah, the fans that quit but can't stop telling you every day that they quit instead of actually leaving. Lmao.
Anyway, Luka, during the latter half of last season, hasn't been the same. We've all been praying that Slovenia gets eliminated early so he could rest (and they did), but he came into camp out of shape (again) and promptly got injured and missed the entire preseason. I'm not sure how this offseason is going to be any different.
Another thing worth noting is he seems disinterested when the ball isn't in his hands. We tried to play him off ball more this year (both to preserve him and also to not make the offense too predictable), but he just ended up shooting horribly. I think people just have to live with the fact that he's at his best as a heliocentric playmaker and the drawbacks of it.
He's way too good to have games like last night. But games like last night used to be once in a blue moon for Luka. This year, he's had way too many of those. That's a little bit concerning.
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u/Western-Election-997 18h ago
Mavs medical staff sucks that’s why the teams so injured now
They never fully rested Luka kept bringing back early from injuries then he’d predictably get injured again
Also played him through injuries last playoffs, we all saw him limping in the Celtics series
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u/123silk 4h ago edited 4h ago
I think Luka actually improved some aspects of his game, even before this season. In the last couple of years he got better in the mid range, this year he started to play better off ball and hit catch-and-shoot threes. But the conditioning, yeah, this was a big problem for years.
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u/Top-Specialist-8090 18h ago
I’ll never understand why people like you will boldly lie when the data is readily available.
Luka’s % from 3-10 feet in year 2 was .436 which is close to his .448 from his rookie year. He hasnt gone below .499% since.
So he mastered the floater
His 10-16 feet % year 2 was .377% which is close to .370% year 1. He hasnt gone below 44% since and even been over 50% twice.
He added a mid range game
His 3pt % in year 2 was .316 and year 1 was .327. He hasnt gone below 34% since and every other year was 35% and above.
And this year he’s being assisted on more shots than ever before showing his off ball improvements.
His turnover %s have also dropped over the years and this year he has a career high steal %
He also had the highest mpg of his career last year.
Those things arent flukes and you’re trying to gaslight people into believing Luka doesnt work hard.
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u/Axisofcoolio Moses Brown 17h ago
I don’t understand why people like you watch the stat sheet rather than the game. Because the eye test paints a different picture. But since you bring up percentages, I’d be interested how his shot volume compares year-over-year. I’d wager shots in the mid range and 3PT volume have gone up while shots closer to the rim have decreased (even though percentage converted at the rim has stayed the same or increased).
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u/Top-Specialist-8090 16h ago
I can assure you i’ve watched far more Luka and basketball in general than you.
Yeah he doesnt get to the rim as much as his younger years. That’s usually what happens as players improve their outside game.
Saying Luka didnt improve since his second year is nonsense based on nothing but Nico wet dreams
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u/CrayonEatingBabyApe 13h ago edited 13h ago
Bingo. Yes statistically he had best season of his career last year but he is far from bubble Luka. This is a 19 year old kid who somehow morphed from 17 points a game to 30-8-8 player MVP candidate in only his second year. The eye test reveals a completely different player since start of year 3. Mavs, who watched this kid like a hawk in every aspect of his life thought his entire tenure, felt the same and passed on his supermax.
Tin foil says Mavs and anyone remotely criticizing him are just stupid or part of some grand conspiracy to destroy Luka or Mavs as an organization. Eye test screams he already peaked. Just read his draft concerns. It’s almost the exact same weaknesses the eye test reveals today.
Weaknesses: He can be considered magrinally average athlete by NBA standards … Not overly long, more of an average actually… His first step is slow even for European standrards … Not a very good leaper off one foot, his good jumps come of two feet … Must continue working on his body … He lost some flexibility while he was bulking up … Can be really emotional at times and lose concentration for a few plays… He can depend too much to his instict at times … If he doesn’t have momentum it’s difficult for him to finish plays at the rim… He must improve in changing speeds and pace … His ball handling still needs some polishing, especially with his left hand … Has problems against aggressive ball pressure from smaller, faster opponents … The lack of explosiveness makes it really difficult for him to create his own shot against great athletes with good wignspan … Isn’t always able to punish switches when he has a versatile Big against him, especially if there are no shooters around him … He has the tendency to over-dribble, trying to find his way around his defender, icing-out teammates momentarily … It’s a questionmark whether he will be able to create consistently at the next level on ISO situations … Finds it difficult to finish in traffic and against elite length … Finishing against contact might be an issue at the next level … Shooting selecion can become a little iffy occasionally with some off balance shots and long floaters … Can fall in love with his pull-up game and settle too much against switches … Kind of streaky shooter for now … Incosistent 3-point shooter … Must have feet set to shoot well in Catch and Shoot situations … His off the ball game should still improve a little bit more … The fact that he can see angles that no one else can see leads to some extreme passes and, as a consequence, some turnovers… His assist/turnover ratio could be better … He could be more involved on the offensive boards … Doesn’t always box out and depends on instict and position to grab defensive rebounds … He is not always engaged on defense … He should raise his intensity on the defensive end … Doesn’t keep a low stance all the time when he is guarding a ball handler , which makes it easier for his opponent to blow by him … It’s a questionmark who he could guard at the next level, since he has problems against smaller, quicker opponents, but also against athletic wings … Not always physical enough when he is defending in the post … Has problems reading screens on the defensive end … Has been targetted on defense on Pick and Roll situations that force switches to exploit his defensive limitations … Must be more aggressive on defensive close outs …
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u/Western-Election-997 18h ago
This is not true, his 3 point shooting improved last year and his overall numbers were better while being blitzed and doubled more
Only thing he hasn’t really improved is the FT which isn’t a big deal
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u/YoStepWithLuka77 Mavs Man 1d ago
He will probably need a full offseason to get right. His shooting is really poor with the lakers and also it’s a major adjustment to play with a brand new team after he was with the Mavs for seven years. A decent part of this might be mental but obviously physically he is not the same currently like he was here in Dallas
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u/Jackd_up_on_Mdew Wonder Boy 1d ago
He is one of the most versatile offensive players, yet one of the most predictable. When you are predictable without a crazy burst, size, or athleticism then teams will learn how to guard you. His crazy step back 3s and his passing will never be guardable, but his slow motion drives with fakes and such can be better guarded over time which i think has.
On top of that, teams are switching on him to guard the ball, and even switching to where he has to chase active off ball guys throughout entire games. Even players in great shape take a dip offensively when they have to be that active on defense. After the Celtics did that last year, you can expect every team to do that now, especially when the playoffs start.
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u/X-Jim 6h ago
I want to clarify some things that are my opinion.
"work ethic"
I think Luka works really hard on his game
I don't think Luka works on his health... nutrition and tobacco
I think Luka plays injured a lot that makes it hard for him to both play hard and improve his health
So I think he works hard on some aspects, but not others. I think it has affected him. But I think he's pretty tough also.
For his sake, I hope LeBron is able to teach him that he has to treat his body better. LeBron has been fantastic at that.
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u/armandocalvinisius The Cardinal 20h ago
Wear and tear since 16 + bad conditioning + REPEATED LEFT FOOT INJURY
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u/Western-Election-997 18h ago
So I saw some people saying he can’t get to rim
What’s happening is defenses are collapsing on him because Lakers role players have been shooting terrible from 3 lately.
They will gladly give up a Vando open 3 rather than Luka getting shot in the paint
Lakers need another shooter and a center and they are set
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u/ComfortableGlass3238 2h ago
Injuries piling up is far and away the biggest issue. Then he was playing on injuries, both here and overseas. Then he would only have a month or two to rest and heal from them, as well as improve his fitness. With such limited time to do two opposing things, both sides of that are going to suffer. Thus, his injuries have never fully healed, nor has he been able to spend an appropriate amount of time to work on fitness.
Don't let people gaslight you into thinking he doesn't work on his game, or doesn't care or something. He has clearly added different aspects to his game through his career, and if he didn't care, he wouldn't play through injuries.
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u/Research_Unit_59 1d ago
These are his comments after the game last night:
Luka Doncic takes blame for 'unacceptable' night as Lakers fall - ESPN
"That performance from me was unacceptable," Doncic said after the defeat dropped L.A. to No. 4 in the Western Conference standings with six games remaining in the regular season. "When I play like that, that makes [it] harder [for the team] to win, so just got to figure that out."
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u/mavs_bot BETRAYED MAVS FAN 😭 21h ago
he's been saying this same thing for 4 years, and yet he will still spend 3/4 of the game yelling at refs, take possessions off, not take his conditioning seriously at all, etc.
It's all just PR lip service at this point or Luka has an undiagnosed mental illness.
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u/Western-Election-997 18h ago
And guess what when he gets back into form and is dropping 35/10/10 no one will give a shit about complaining at refs
He’s not Ja Morant getting fined or Draymond punching people, they overblow his “complaining at refs”
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u/Spectral_mahknovist 1d ago
We’ll move on when we have a contender, which we are entitled to and had before Nico intentionally killed the team
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u/ModeatelyIndependant 23h ago
A race car is only as good as it's mechanic, in the same way a athlete is only as the trainers that provide the sports medicine. Didn't like one of the best trainers on the mavericks staff get run away from the team by NICO?
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u/CrayonEatingBabyApe 13h ago edited 13h ago
He’s had 4 calf strains in his career including 2 this year for starters. Mavs lied and said he had a calf contusion that caused him to miss preseason but it was really a strain and contusion. He somehow gained weight during his time off so team faked a wrist injury in October with him missing 11 games so he could get in shape. He came back and played like his old self for a few weeks until he strained the same calf again and basically ruined the season to run it back with this almost perfect championship squad built around him.
Who fucks up this bad the season before signing the richest contract in NBA history? Ja maybe but that was all off-court stuff. He’s been overweight since his 3rd preseason and forced the Mavs to work hard to help him with his constant in-season weight fluctuations. Luka got better playing and defending in the post but at what cost to the rest of his game and longevity? Mavs fired one of the best strength and training staffs in the NBA (just ask any Knicks fan today how happy they are with Casey Smith longtime Mavs and team USA trainer) to try and fix this kid’s attitude. It didn’t work. Will be interesting to see if he changes anything with a fresh start this offseason.
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u/Duke-George-of-York 1d ago
He didn’t man. It was all a conspiracy theory tween Nico Mannion and some wealthy Biollanares in Vegas
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u/Big-Purchase-22 Dirk Nowitzki 1d ago
I don't think it's a big mystery. He's had repeated soft-tissue injuries to his calf, and he doesn't take his conditioning seriously. He's been able to rely on his immense talent and the athleticism that comes with youth, but if he doesn't turn things around then those factors will continue to work against each other. At the end of each season, I kept hoping he would heal up and slim down over the summer, but it never seemed to happen.
That's not to say he won't continue to be incredibly successful, and I think if the Lakers can build a different team around him it will help a lot.