Luka Dealt to Lakers: Nico Harrison is a Basketball Terrorist

[audiosway]

Yeah, I think he was pretty bad in the playoffs. He had a few really good games, and the game winner against Gobert was awesome. The stuff of legend. But efficiency wise? Yuck.

And was he the only person doing anything, or was he the only one allowed to touch the ball? The heliocentric thing really, really sucks when the guy with the ball is not efficient.

That was sort of a conundrum with him. His usage rate was among the highest the NBA has ever seen. He had no inclination to learn to play off the ball. I love his Moxi and the fact that he wants to take those late game shots. However, if the game is on the line I want Kyrie taking the shot. 

I've been concerned that he seems to be getting slower and more injured as time goes on. All you need to truly know is when a source with the Mavs was quoted as saying "Who gains weight during the season playing 40 minutes per night?"

I loved that he played through injury during the playoffs. But, why was he injured in the first place? He's not fast, he doesn't really jump, and he was 24/25. I was very concerned with that. He isn't lanky like Dirk was at that age. And Dirk was much more athletic than him at that age. How does a guy like that get hurt with soft tissue leg injuries? Lack of conditioning and poor diet.

So, he gets embarrassed in the finals and it doesn't drive him to do anything about it. Then again, in prior years they could have advanced in the playoffs but didn't due to poor free throw shooting. Yet he didn't improve his free throw shooting. If the franchise guy doesn't why would the rest of the squad?

Love Luka but don't love where he has been headed. I seriously hope that he can have LeBron rub off on him with that. But, I have a feeling he and LeBron are going to have issues. I don't think Luka will change. It's sad. With proper diet and conditioning he could be in the top 2-3 to ever play the game. With proper diet and conditioning he would have the energy to play on D. He's not bad on D. He just doesn't have the energy to do it. Anyone who has every played competitive basketball knows that Defense is 90% effort. Yes Skill will make you a great defender. But, just putting in the effort will get you a long way.

It's one thing to have attitude and be a dog on the court. But, you have to be a dog off the court too for it to work.