07-06-2023, 03:37 AM
(07-06-2023, 01:30 AM)Dundalis Wrote: Luka defending will be both a conditioning thing, but also being surrounded by guys who can actually pick up their end of the defensive stick will help him immensely.
I'm also intrigued by potential small ball lineups next year with Williams at the 5 and Luka defending the 4.
I am not worried about Luka defense at all. When it matters! When he gives his maximum. It is a lot about motivation for him and he can't motivate himself for every regular season game, specially against the bottom feeders. I don't think any player actually can do that for 82 games of the season. They all have additional gears for the games that really matter. One of Mavs biggest issues last season was, there was literally no one to pick up when Luka didn't play in his highest gear. If he didn't give his maximum on defense, it just fell apart. If he didn't give his maximum on offense, it was really bad. Mavs basically only won games in which Luka went supernova.
I hope all the changes this season and Kyrie will help especially during regular season. I think we know we don't need to worry about Luka being supernova in playoffs.