Luka Doncic thread

[NBASupes]

In what world is Luka this athletic 

 

 

[sturt]

Punched my ticket for the Doncic train, me.

He has a.... dare I say... Larry Bird quality to him, imo.

He lines up his shot like Bird, and has Bird-like range. Don't have to watch long to see he has a Bird-like court vision. He has similar if not better handles. He will mix it up under the boards. And though his foot speed isn't impressive, he seems to put himself in good position defensively and his hands seem very active on D--he has an instinct.

He's NOT Larry Bird. But Larry Bird wasn't yet Larry Bird at this age.

And where this roster is concerned, I think of what a weapon Kyle Korver was, and think this kid could be the suped-up version of Korver--same shot, essentially the same defense, but better creator, better dime maker, more active rebounder.

 

[DBac]

15 minutes ago, NBASupes said:

In what world is he this athletic: 

 

 

 

I'm not comparing him to Russell Westbrook here. Harden's game is based on his strength and craftiness more than athleticism (which was NOT seen as a strength of Harden's coming out), which Doncic has tons of already at age 18. These guards like Fultz and Russell have been getting compared to Harden, but I think Harden's size gets underrated. He's probably 230+ pounds right now and can check bigs/bigger forwards on defense. The way Doncic sets up his stepback 3, can't help but see Harden. His PnR mastery is also very Harden-like. He draws fouls and gets free throws at an elite rate.

 

On another note this is my favorite Doncic game I think. Not the most impressive boxscore but just fun to watch

 

[MaceCase]

It's going to be hard to find a comp for him stats wise because what he's doing is truly unprecedented.  Even big time Euro scorers such as Navarro, Ginobili, Andersen, and Jasikevicius weren't putting up the same stats when they were established vets as Doncic is as a teen but there are plenty of stylistic comparisons that you can make. 

I definitely see the Hedo comp, both tall ball handlers with good vision and a little flash.  I've seen a less athletic Gordan Hayward as his floor but my personal comp is Manu in his 30s when he was still agile and shifty despite the diminished athleticism.  He'd definitely have to project as a 2, similar to Kyle he'd get killed by same-sized more athletic players but his height and length closes the gap between smaller 2s where he can give a cushion to negate the drive while still being able to effectively contest shots.

[NBASupes]

5 hours ago, DBac said:

 

I'm not comparing him to Russell Westbrook here. Harden's game is based on his strength and craftiness more than athleticism (which was NOT seen as a strength of Harden's coming out), which Doncic has tons of already at age 18. These guards like Fultz and Russell have been getting compared to Harden, but I think Harden's size gets underrated. He's probably 230+ pounds right now and can check bigs/bigger forwards on defense. The way Doncic sets up his stepback 3, can't help but see Harden. His PnR mastery is also very Harden-like. He draws fouls and gets free throws at an elite rate.

 

On another note this is my favorite Doncic game I think. Not the most impressive boxscore but just fun to watch

 

I've said it before, the only player thats earn the Pistol Pete king of skills title from me. But he's not Russell athletically or Fultz. Truthfully, he's like Chandler Parsons athletically on both sides of the court. 

I see a clearly better functional athlete than Hedo but he's not all around athletic. He's straight drive athletic and arcobatic to a degree. But defensively, a mess.

Harden is more than skill, his physical prowess has always been there which earned him comparisons to Mitch Richmond. That's not Doncic game

[Jody23]

6 hours ago, DBac said:

 

I'm not comparing him to Russell Westbrook here. Harden's game is based on his strength and craftiness more than athleticism (which was NOT seen as a strength of Harden's coming out), which Doncic has tons of already at age 18. These guards like Fultz and Russell have been getting compared to Harden, but I think Harden's size gets underrated. He's probably 230+ pounds right now and can check bigs/bigger forwards on defense. The way Doncic sets up his stepback 3, can't help but see Harden. His PnR mastery is also very Harden-like. He draws fouls and gets free throws at an elite rate.

 

On another note this is my favorite Doncic game I think. Not the most impressive boxscore but just fun to watch

 

He's good, but honestly, his footwork and handle are not as good as James Harden's.

[KB21]

Doncic is not a mess defensively at all.  He shows a good understanding of team defense and a good understanding of the limitations of the player he is guarding.  This isn't Marco Belinelli defense we are talking about here.  

[KB21]

Harden is a great example here because he clearly is not an above average athlete, much less an elite athlete.  Harden is a great player because of his mind and skills, not his athleticism.  

[Jody23]

Harden's footwork and ball skills are elite, but as an athlete, he's no slouch and is definitely above average.

 

Edited December 7, 2017 by Jody23

[KB21]

Here's the floor and the upside of Luka Doncic.

His floor is Toni Kukoc, and while some may say that you don't take Toni with a top 3 pick, Toni Kukoc was a MUCH better player than the majority of the players who have gone in the top 3 over the past 6-7 drafts.  

His ceiling is a mixture of Kukoc's court vision and Milos Teodosic's passing ability with Drazen Petrovic's ability to make shots and movement ability.  

 

[hawkman]

1 hour ago, KB21 said:

Here's the floor and the upside of Luka Doncic.

His floor is Toni Kukoc, and while some may say that you don't take Toni with a top 3 pick, Toni Kukoc was a MUCH better player than the majority of the players who have gone in the top 3 over the past 6-7 drafts.  

His ceiling is a mixture of Kukoc's court vision and Milos Teodosic's passing ability with Drazen Petrovic's ability to make shots and movement ability.  

 

But does all of this in one package equal a superstar player? That's all I care about.

[KB21]

7 minutes ago, hawkman said:

But does all of this in one package equal a superstar player? That's all I care about.

Petrovic by himself was a superstar, and he would be more well known now if his career hadn't been cut short.

[hawkman]

14 minutes ago, KB21 said:

Petrovic by himself was a superstar, and he would be more well known now if his career hadn't been cut short.

Superstar? I'm not sure I agree with that. He was definitely a star player though.

[AHF]

48 minutes ago, hawkman said:

Superstar? I'm not sure I agree with that. He was definitely a star player though.

He clearly wasn't a superstar but was someone who would at least have been an All-Star.  Killer shooter (career 51% from the floor and 44% from 3pt range).  Doncic is way more accomplished than Petrovic at the same age.

[NBASupes]

6 hours ago, KB21 said:

Doncic is not a mess defensively at all.  He shows a good understanding of team defense and a good understanding of the limitations of the player he is guarding.  This isn't Marco Belinelli defense we are talking about here.  

He covers as much ground as Kyle Korver. No one is like that and is a superstar. We would need Al Horford or a Draymond Green like defender to protect him

 

There is a major gap in his defensive understanding and even prime Korver. He's not as a good at Kyle on D but this is going to be a superstar?

Edited December 7, 2017 by NBASupes

[NBASupes]

3 hours ago, KB21 said:

Here's the floor and the upside of Luka Doncic.

His floor is Toni Kukoc, and while some may say that you don't take Toni with a top 3 pick, Toni Kukoc was a MUCH better player than the majority of the players who have gone in the top 3 over the past 6-7 drafts.  

His ceiling is a mixture of Kukoc's court vision and Milos Teodosic's passing ability with Drazen Petrovic's ability to make shots and movement ability.  

 

Kukoc in his prime was pretty good, saying that's Doncic floor is quite extreme praise

[Jody23]

9 minutes ago, AHF said:

He clearly wasn't a superstar but was someone who would at least have been an All-Star.  Killer shooter (career 51% from the floor and 44% from 3pt range).  Doncic is way more accomplished than Petrovic at the same age.

But that doesn't necessarily mean he'll be a better player in the NBA.

[AHF]

46 minutes ago, Jody23 said:

But that doesn't necessarily mean he'll be a better player in the NBA.

It doesn't but it is a positive indicator.  There is very little that "necessarily means" someone will turn out any particular way - just positive indicators of future upside.

[DBac]

Look at Gordon Hayward, Marc Gasol, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Love, Kevin Durant, Kristaps Porzingis, etc. The way their body has changed since they entered the league.

So many are speaking like Doncic is gonna remain the same physical specimen that he is at 18 throughout his career, when he'll likely look very different by age 23 after he gets into the NBA's strength and conditioning program. And no one in this class is gonna be able to match his skill level in the meantime, which will improve because of his crazy work ethic.

Shit look at Embiid. Looks like he ate college Embiid at this point lol.

Edited December 7, 2017 by DBac

[Jody23]

37 minutes ago, DBac said:

Look at Gordon Hayward, Marc Gasol, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Love, Kevin Durant, Kristaps Porzingis, etc. The way their body has changed since they entered the league.

So many are speaking like Doncic is gonna remain the same physical specimen that he is at 18 throughout his career, when he'll likely look very different by age 23 after he gets into the NBA's strength and conditioning program. And no one in this class is gonna be able to match his skill level in the meantime, which will improve because of his crazy work ethic.

Shit look at Embiid. Looks like he ate college Embiid at this point lol.

No doubt he will get stronger in an NBA strength and conditioning program.  But that's not going to dramatically change his level of athleticism and quickness.  In large part, athleticism is not something you develop.  You pretty much have what you have.

Edited December 7, 2017 by Jody23