FA: Klay Thompson Comes to Dallas| 3yrs/50mil

[KillerLeft]

Lazy then? I’m pretty unimpressed with Legler’s take. I see no indication that Luka is unwilling to do what the coaches ask of him.

Nah, not lazy, either, though I'd say that's closer. 

I think what Legler is saying is that when someone is as good as Luka at being "the system" and have been for basically all of his life, it's probably a hard sell to convince him that he's best served by giving up the ball (as part of a change in philosophy, not in a ''selfish or unselfish" way) and trusting the system to put everyone in the best chance to succeed. 

Legler isn't AT ALL criticizing Luka, at least not in the way (I think) you mean. I don't think he meant any of that analysis as a criticism at all. I just think the Harden comparisons (which are apt, from that angle) are deflating, a little. That's my reaction to it, as someone who wants to see a better, more interesting offense, not his intent.

Weaponizing your skill without the ball is a next level skillset, and can be difficult for some of these superstars to learn or buy into. He's comparing Luka to Harden because they're the two best modern examples of players soooooo good at the heliocentric offensive style that it's hard to convince the fans or even the player, himself,  that it has a ceiling. It took Jordan a long, long time to figure this out, just as an example. These guys are ultra competitive, so to say they want the ball when times get tough, even to a fault, isn't necessarily the same as calling them "selfish," although sometimes that's the case. I agree with you that it's not Luka's problem.

Back to why I think "lazy" might be closer...I definitely don't think Luka is lazy at all. But, I think he does get tired before his opponents do pretty often. Mix THAT in, the whole conditioning argument we've been having for years, and basically, what Legler is saying makes sense. It's no good to try to run off-ball motion or any type of serious offense if, while Luka doesn't have the ball, he's going to use the time to rest. That has been what I've observed during the small percentage of time the Mavs have played that way, recently, and it's kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy. If Luka doesn't WANT to play off-ball because he thinks it's a lesser choice and then he doesn't go all out, then it IS a lesser choice. 

Omahen, Kevin O'Conner and others who followed Luka's European career have mentioned that Luka demonstrated great willingness and skill to play effectively off-ball when he was younger, and he had some nice off-ball moments during his rookie season, before Carlisle decided he was a PG.  That means it's not an understanding thing (maybe it is with Harden, not sure). I just hope Kidd, the Mavs and especially Luka are going to start adding some wrinkles to this really antiquated and predictable offense, and it's pretty undeniable that they have enough talent to do so now. If fact, if they don't, I'd argue that going away from defense, even just the little distance they did, might end up being a costly error. But, if Thompson, PJ, Marshall and Lively are all integrated into the offense in a way where people touch the ball, get into rhythm, and the ball MOVES, this team can get to another level, imo. But, Luka has to want that to happen and trust that it will work. 

This is a deep-dive, basketball nerd conversation Smitty and I are having, not a Luka-bashing conversation. Sorry if it came off that way.