HALLELUKA: Luka Clinches All-NBA 1st team. 4th in 5 years

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/CallieCaplan/status/...9430139904

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/Mavs_FFL/status/1594530479956295680

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/nbastats/status/1595609905611825153

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/AmicoHoops/status/15...0548799492

[KillerLeft]

https://twitter.com/AmicoHoops/status/15...0548799492

I don’t have the life force to read the article right now, but if he really said that it’s a big mistake. Even if you want to stay, you want Cuban thinking he needs to earn your services after this contract.

[MFFL]

Interesting article at the DMN about how Luka is now entering the ranks of GOOD defenders

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/maveri...p-forward/

[Kammrath]

Interesting article at the DMN about how Luka is now entering the ranks of GOOD defenders

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/maveri...p-forward/

His on/off defensive numbers are -6.4. 

No way he is a "good" defender. He CAN be good in moments, but he is not evenly remotely consistently good.

[Kammrath]

Did you READ the article?

Yes. 

He has improved in steals and deflections but those numbers do NOT make a "good defender."

This statement is laughable:

"Doncic in his fifth season quietly has transformed into a well-above-average defensive player."

This is just not remotely true unless you are only including the 30% of the time he plays with full effort.

[ItsGoTime]

Yes. 

He has improved in steals and deflections but those numbers do NOT make a "good defender."

This statement is laughable:

"Doncic in his fifth season quietly has transformed into a well-above-average defensive player."

This is just not remotely true unless you are only including the 30% of the time he plays with full effort.

And don’t include the times he doesn’t get back for defense because he’s barking at the refs.

[dirkfansince1998]

Yes. 

He has improved in steals and deflections but those numbers do NOT make a "good defender."

This statement is laughable:

"Doncic in his fifth season quietly has transformed into a well-above-average defensive player."

This is just not remotely true unless you are only including the 30% of the time he plays with full effort.

On/Off numbers also tell us that he is the best among the non big starters. DFS, Bullock and SD are all worse. At least offers the question if Luka´s numbers aren´t impacted by the atrocious defense of his fellow starters. I used to think that it was the other way around. The way Bullock and DFS started the season I am not sure if that is still the case.

Personally I think he improved but I would also agree that he still coasts too much to make a positive impact. Especially when it comes to transition defense. Amount of time his teammates have to defend 4vs5 because Luka is slow to get back is infuriating.
But for one possession when he is fully engaged I would have him in the best defensive lineup of the team.

[Kammrath]

But for one possession when he is fully engaged I would have him in the best defensive lineup of the team.

Absolutely no argument there. 

I am 100% bagging on Luka for effort. His ability and knowledge are there. His effort is wildly inconsistent. And effort and showing up every play is what makes a player good or great.

[Razzmatazz_Hopskidillydoo]

I am not very critical of Luka's defense for these reasons:

• He has limits, not quick enough against most guards.
  
• He shoulders a lot in offense, asking him to play top level defense will burn him out before half time.
  

What needs improvement:

• Arguing with the refs -- it's already bad enough Luka jogs on transition D, arguing with the refs adds to the problem and this needs to be addressed.
  

What the MBT should do:

• Obviously someone has to share the load in offense, if you want Doncic to have more energy for D, his load in offense should be less. Feature Wood more in offense not only in Luka lineups but specialy on non-Luka lineups. If SD can't be as good as partner for Wood in the pick and roll, find someone who can. And of course this leads to the lacking  playmaker/bahhandler.
  

Ideally the Mavs get a playmaker who can score some, can play off ball with Luka, can play the pick and roll with Wood, isn't totally inept on D. Once the Mavs get that player, I would think Luka's defense will also improve due to less load on the other end.

[MFFL]

Yes. 

He has improved in steals and deflections but those numbers do NOT make a "good defender."

This statement is laughable:

"Doncic in his fifth season quietly has transformed into a well-above-average defensive player."

This is just not remotely true unless you are only including the 30% of the time he plays with full effort.

I guess the metric for defensive win-shares ignores the rest of the game? It MUST only include the 30% of the time he plays with full effort.

They estimate Luka has a defensive win-shares of 1.0 which ties him for fourth-best in the league. So I guess he must play REALLY hard that 30% of the time. Like All World Defender hard.

And the reason that I deleted the comment (within a couple of minutes of posting - great catch LOL) is that I didn't want to contribute to the general negativity of this board. I literally can only read a few threads that aren't destroyed by the negative vibe of this board.

[dirkfansince1998]

I guess the metric for defensive win-shares ignores the rest of the game? It MUST only include the 30% of the time he plays with full effort.

They estimate Luka has a defensive win-shares of 1.0 which ties him for fourth-best in the league. So I guess he must play REALLY hard that 30% of the time. Like All World Defender hard.

And the reason that I deleted the comment (within a couple of minutes of posting - great catch LOL) is that I didn't want to contribute to the general negativity of this board. I literally can only read a few threads that aren't destroyed by the negative vibe of this board.

Win shares are boxscore based. Meaning that high DREB, STL and BLK numbers translate to high DWS. But as stated by others. Boxscore numbers aren´t the best way to evaluate defense. Otherwise Andre Drummond would be regarded as one of the best defenders of all time. His DWS and DBM numbers are among the greatest of all time.

[burekemde]

One is not a dominant defender, unless one can take away the ball from opponent and create momentum. This is done through rebounding, steals, and blocks. Some of the best ever defenders are the best because they excelled in rebounding, blocks and steals. Luka is an outstanding defender in all three categories, especially when you normalize this against the position he plays and compare him to other PGs of the game, and against the offensive load he takes which naturally makes it hard to come back as fast on posessions as players that just stand behind the 3 point line. Closing down the lanes and contending shots is equally imnortant, but not the entire part of being a great defender. If you look closely, Luka has been very good and improved at the later part as well. Its laughable that people called him bad defender previously. Just taking one or two plays from a game where he didnt do well, out of context, and concluding from that, is not the proper way to analyse a defending contribution, its rater the combined effect of a player on the defense.

[dirkfansince1998]

One is not a dominant defender, unless one can take away the ball from opponent and create momentum. This is done through rebounding, steals, and blocks. Some of the best ever defenders are the best because they excelled in rebounding, blocks and steals. Luka is an outstanding defender in all three categories, especially when you normalize this against the position he plays and compare him to other PGs of the game, and against the offensive load he takes which naturally makes it hard to come back as fast on posessions as players that just stand behind the 3 point line. Closing down the lanes and contending shots is equally imnortant, but not the entire part of being a great defender. If you look closely, Luka has been very good and improved at the later part as well. Its laughable that people called him bad defender previously. Just taking one or two plays from a game where he didnt do well, out of context, and concluding from that, is not the proper way to analyse a defending contribution, its rater the combined effect of a player on the defense.

Isn´t it the opposite. If you just focus on steals, blocks and rebounds. You look at a couple of plays per game. But what about all the other possessions that will never show up in the boxscore.
Some of the worst defenders have lead the league in steals or rebounds. Even blocks. Mavs should know because they continue to sign bigmen that fit into this category (DAJ, McGee).

[burekemde]

Isn´t it the opposite. If you just focus on steals, blocks and rebounds. You look at a couple of plays per game. But what about all the other possessions that will never show up in the boxscore.
Some of the worst defenders have lead the league in steals or rebounds. Even blocks. Mavs should know because they continue to sign bigmen that fit into this category (DAJ, McGee).

My point was that everything counts. The posessions that dont show up, and the ones that do show up. Take an example of a defender that moves well and locks down and challenges well every shot. That is good in its own and important, but it's not being the complete defender. Complete defenders do that and in addition take the basketball away from opponents in various ways. Luka has the making of a complete defender IMO. Rebounding, blocking and stealing the ball, you are not a complete defender without contributing well in this.

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/espn_macmahon/status...9918889984

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/SynergySST/status/15...9882529793

[Kammrath]

https://twitter.com/MavsPR/status/1597801570745421825

https://twitter.com/CallieCaplan/status/...5605258244