SUMMARY
- Luka Doncic is one of the most skilled NBA players in the league.
- LeBron James and JJ Reddick claim that he's one of few athletes who can work past double teams.
As experienced as LeBron James and a lot of other veterans are in the league, some can’t seem to understand Luka Doncic’s mechanics. James is already one of the smartest players in the league with 21 years of experience under his belt. He’s fought against some of the pioneers of the game including athletes who may have inspired Doncic to play the sport. Even then, the Slovenian athlete always dominates against veterans like James.
The Dallas Mavericks are #1 in the entire NBA in clutch Win %. pic.twitter.com/tRPe7WllZh
— MavsMuse (@MavsMuse) March 20, 2024
Right now, the Dallas Mavericks look like proper playoff contenders. Even though they rank sixth in the Western Conference, the Mavericks look extremely dangerous. We’ve already witnessed the Mavericks push through a deep playoff run in 2022. During the Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors, they took it to Game 5 only to be beaten by experience. But now, the Mavericks have Kyrie Irving to fill up that void.
LeBron James breaks down the results of blitzing Luka Doncic
In a recent episode of Mind the Game, JJ Reddick addressed how double-teaming Luka Doncic doesn’t work at all. He claims that Doncic is one of the only individuals besides LeBron James to have the ability to work past a blitz. James responded saying, “I don’t understand it. Especially with the shooting they’ve surrounded him with too. It doesn’t make sense.”
Great clip on why defending Luka is such a riddle. It seems insane to blitz him because he’s such a great playmaker. But if you don’t blitz him (like Atlanta), he might score 73 points. pic.twitter.com/snHgfJUOWg
— Jason Gallagher (@jga41agher) March 28, 2024
He also added, “Because he’s going to make every read. And when Tim Hardaway is hitting six or seven 3s, you’re done. Kyrie is going to do what Kyrie does. Luka is going to do what he does.” James recalled a similar instance that took players during a previous Lakers vs Mavericks. He claimed blitzing Doncic only allowed Dante Exum to capitalize on open three-pointers. The Lakers were ultimately handed over a loss from the Mavericks.
LeBron James agrees that there’s no way of stopping Luka Doncic
Reddick continued to explain how great the most complex double teams cannot stop players like Luka Doncic. The veteran guard claimed if a team executes good spacing and keeps their shooters open, there’s absolutely no answer to stop a player like Doncic. “There’s not a good f**king answer. Atlanta blitzes the most in the NBA. They decided not to blitz Luka Doncic. Because they were worried about the consequences. And he had 73,” he said.
Reddick brought up the infamous 73-point game that Luka had against the Atlanta Hawks earlier this season. And LeBron James didn’t have much to say besides agreeing to what Reddick had in mind. Doncic has shown the potential of becoming an MVP soon. Considering the intense playoff experience the Mavericks now possess, it won’t be long before the Mavericks capture the throne.