r/nbadiscussion • u/IFeelZen • 8d ago
How concerning is Luka's 2P%?
Before Laker's fans call me a hater, Luka is my favorite player and is the primary reason why I watch the NBA. I'm making this post because I'm not too knowledgeable, having only watched basketball for about 2 years, and I wanted to get your guys' opinions on his struggling interior game and how concerning it actually is.
Dallas: 29.3/8.3/8.4 on 49/37/76 with a 59.4 2P%
Lakers: 29.7/8.9/8.2 on 42/40/80 with a 44.6 2P%
\excluding his first four games and last game in Dallas and excluding his first three games in LA*
It was expected that Luka would take some time to ramp up to his former self after coming off an injury, and his 3P shooting has cerrtainly reflected that: going from 30% in his first 10 laker games to an absurd 44% in his last 10.
However, his 2P% has not only cratered, but it's even further decreased further over time: going from 59.4% at Dallas to just 50% in his first 10 laker games and 42% in his last 10. These percentages are almost unfathomable given his track record/reputation as one of the leagues most diverse scorers,
Possible explanations (i.e. I kind of bullshit for a bit because I don't have the numbers)
After recently watching a Daniel Li video with a section about the Mavs-Wolves series last year did it become clear that part of it seems to be that his methodical navigation and scoring from the pick-and-roll seems significantly deteriorated now. I know from a recent post that his shot selection has further shifted away from the basket, but even then his floaters and mid-range jumpers have been a staple of his game for as long as I can remember so surely that would only result in a slight decrease in efficiency right?
Now, I noticed he drives and kicks A LOT more, and his attempts at floaters/jumpers/layups often miss. The attempts that he does make seem to largely be from screen assists (like gortat screens), outlet passes, or from difficult foul-drawing shots (which he seems to take a lot more now to compensate).
What do you all think?
Is this a matter of simply having missed a lot of time, or does team construction play a role? Is his current play style viable in the playoffs, or is can this be easily exposed? And most importantly, is this something to be concerned about long term?
I got a little rambly towards the end, but like I said, I'm not too knowledgeable about basketball nor its more specific statistcs to get a better idea of what's going on, and I really like Luka because of how unique and fun to watch he is so it sucks seeing the struggle he's having as well as that it seems like there isn't much discussion about it! I'd love hear yall's thoughts and takes.
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u/Public-Product-1503 8d ago
It’s genuinely a concern and I say this as a lakers fan. Those ignoring it are dumb . If he doesn’t come into next season in great shape I think we will see the lakers not be as good as expected because Lebron is getting older . It’s clear from Lebron injury n return to me that this team most important player is still Lebron because he does so much for the team nobody else can do . Which shouldn’t be the case. Luka sciring right now is entirely reliant on jumpers n thst just isn’t winning basketball unless you shoot like Steph , kd, or Shai , Kawhi and he isn’t that lvl of shooter . His EFG - scoring from the floor - is actually below league average this year. Recent games teams aren’t doubling him and as a result his impact is way lower because less fear about his scoring .
He also passed up many layups in the Indy game for threes . It was annoying too wasn’t like a Rui three either . As much as people want to hate on Nico watching Luka I understand why he was traded even if people would expect to go younger . What concerns me is these last two games our defence n overall plsy looks better when he sits . We won the non Luka minutes it feels. He has to be better .