MAVS 103, NUGGETS 89

[F Gump]

.... it's up to the franchise to complement Lukas greatness and let it turn into rings. 

I understand why you and many others think that the problem is never, and can never be, Luka himself. (The replies here make it clear that's the mindset of many, if not most.) But I think all of you who think that are way off base in thinking that.

Yes, other Mavs need to play (or be) better. In particular, THJ and Bullock need to at least replicate their norms (over their career) and stop sucking on making shots.

But Kamm is 100% right in noticing what's happening. While no one would deny Luka is a fun player to watch and very skilled, at the same time, he too has some very significant issues in his current game, and this team's ceiling is quite low when his play is at this level.

He shoots the most shots on the team, but he's not efficient in making shots. He handles the ball the most, but his FTs are very iffy. He's great in the open court, but his typical pace is a lifeless crawl. Then there's the issues on the defensive end.

None of this is new at all - it's the exact same questions he brought when he was drafted. Too slow? Mediocre shot? Too much one-man play? In prior years, those issues had been somewhat improved. This year, it's back to start.

Will he put in the work, or is he is satisfied playing "as is"? I want to assume he is driven to be the very best, rather than just play games for fun, but we won't know until it happens.