Luka Doncic checks out against the Thunder: 19/7/7 on 7⁄20 FG and 1⁄7 3PT, 4 turnovers, -31
https://www.nba.com/game/lal-vs-okc-0022500222/box-score
Rough outing for Luka and the Lakers against the top seeded Thunder
Can’t believe the thunder have the clippers pick still…
And Houston and Philly and Utah. And Mavs in 2028
Utah is 1-8 protected. Houston and us are going to be out of the lottery assuming nothing goes horribly wrong. But that Clippers pick is juicy.
“assuming nothing goes horribly wrong”
…how long have you been a sixers fan?
Paul George is coming back so that’s already something
That Westbrook trade thankfully turned out much less disastrous than I expected it to be, but would have been nice to have a pick in this draft class even if its a late one.
Russ played well for you guys too. But yeah you definitely gave up assets
I am so torn I hate the clippers but I catch myself hoping they win because okc has become thanos
So the clippers are dumbass Loki thinking they slick giving away the space stone to thanos
So the Clippers end up saving their brother (the Lakers?) who ends up killing Thanos?
And a variant of the Clippers becomes a dynasty?
No because unfortunately they are still the real life Clippers and will never put it together like the fictional Avengers.
If Clippers do the normal Clippers thing OKC will be a Galactus soon
Entire okc dynasty built because Paul George dumbass loves fishing in okc ( okc traded for him when it was a risk he’d leave to lakers ). Paul George is a bum
And mavs next season
Hornets have our pick next season y’all do in 2028.
We have another Clippers pick next season and the Mavs pick in 2028
Don’t yall have the Jazz pick as well. Tho it’s lottery protected and Presti probably thinks it’s a wash
Yeah. It’s top 8 protected this year and if it doesn’t convey it turns into cash or something. So no way Ainge lets it convey.
Yea Ainge will waive the white flag after Christmas and the Jazz add to their war chamber. Fuck man they have so many picks as well. It’s inevitable that they will hit on a few.
Bruh no way
Presti is fucking diabolical
You have our 2028, Hornets have our 2026 and depending on what we do next year and how Flagg develops it may or may not be a good pick.
I was listening to Bill Simmons and he was talking about the worst trades of all time and it blows my mind how rarely that trade is talked about.
Paul George for SGA, plus multiple firsts. Including multiple unprotected picks. The whole “oh they got Kawhi because of it” is such a cop out because they still had to use all of their free cap space on Kawhi.
The reality is Kawhi wanted a star to play with. And the Clippers really traded the farm for Paul George. And ultimately a top 5 player in the league and now MVP.
because at the time it made sense, in fact most people agreed the clippers won the trade. every other team would have done that trade if it ensured the reigning finals MVP kawhi was going to sign with their team.
compare that to the luka trade where not a single person on the planet thought it was a good trade and it has somehow gotten worse with time
Compare it to the AD trade from the pelicans and they were saying the Lakers got fleeced.
Yep and what makes that trade even worse is that we fleeced the Pistons for SGA, Tobias Harris and Drummond iirc by giving them Blake Griffin who was good but health wise was like PG in hindsight.
A fleece which then got fleeced. FLEECEPTION
Shai was drafted by charlotte
You got him by sending miles bridges there
Context matters here. Kawhi Leonard was fresh off a Finals MVP run and Paul George was still considered an elite two-way player. You think it’s bad now? That wasn’t the public’s opinion then. Many critics did point out that the price was steep, but the general consensus was that Kawhi and PG13 would turn the Clippers into an immediate contender. The franchise saw an opportunity to be relevant and they took it. Steve Ballmer had no interest in waiting for SGA to develop or for the other first-round picks to pan out.
I took a few spins on the ol’ Tankathon for fun.
Thunder bulldoze their way to GOAT team status then get the number 1 pick
29 fanbases would shut down their team subs if that happened
We’d have such a logjam for playing time it would honestly suck for whoever we pick, lol. Oh you’re a number one pick, are you first team all defense? To the bench!
OKC would just trade down to keep the warchest filled forever. All it takes is one down year for a future team and bam, new top 4 pick or another trade down. There’s not just the makings of a dynasty. That had the potential for a multiple timeline dynasty.
Nah Peterson, dybantsa and boozer are talents you dont trade down from, and Dybantsa and Boozer would get tknnea of playing time
The thing is what would they really be needed for? Say AJay’s breakout is real and sustained. Would he immediately go to the bench if you drafted Peterson top 5 versus AJay’s pick 38?? Would you use a top pick to play as a limited role player like Wallace? Peterson will be 19 when drafted, how many minutes can you spare for him to develop when everything is already clicking? Would you replace Dort with Dybantsa? Replace Chet with Boozer?
Now if they were Wemby tier prospects, filled a more immediate need like replacing a player who is expiring, that would be one thing. Or you trade down because someone will always be gunning for their franchise savior, you still pick up likely a lottery talent to develop, and get make the same calculation next year and the next and the next.
BPS > BPA. Best possible situation >>> best possible player
Warriors tried that a couple times. They got a kum bucket and a jameis wise man. Strike while the irons hot.
They have a freaking future Mavs pick lmao… So do the Spurs and Houston, another stain from Nico’s tenure
Clippers are the dumbest organization. I’ll say dumber than Nico Harrison imo. You idiots gave the Thunder an MVP and a treasure trove of picks. Fucking dumbasses.
Thanks for the scrimmage, fellas!
Everybody hit the showers and get a goodnight sleep
Win lose or draw, baby
OKC are a step above everyone else in the league
SGA is so fucking good. Early in the season yeah but they’re gonna waltz to another 1 seed lmfao
It’s not just sga though, obviously amazing player but god damn their whole roster is cracked
It’s as balanced as a roster as you can get but watching SGA waltz to 30 every game is crazy. JDub isn’t even back yet like what the fuck Ajay Mitchell stepped in like it was nothing
I feel like nobody on their team gets cold or goes through slumps it’s really fucking weird….
And how on earth does Presti find these 3 level scorers who can also guard AND have motor AND have athleticism like what
Their scouting in college can be mid but they come to the Thunder, all of a sudden offensive savants
They def have the Chiefs satantic witchcraft
We were shooting below 30% from three for the first few games. Not to mention all of the playoffs last year. Outside shooting gets us bad.
The difference is that the defense gives us such a high floor, that even if we have a bad shooting night we can still scrape out a win.
I think it’s moreso everyone can make a contested layup which is a rarer skill than you think lol
Yeah, adding Ajay to the team has really changed the dynamic. SGA, Ajay, and JDub (once healthy) can all score in the paint. Now we can pretty much always have at least one of them on the floor at all times.
You basically need a heavy zone to stop them from getting to their spots. Takes a ton of effort and planning that we usually don’t see in the regular seasons.
Our entire team went through a slump to start the year lol
You serious? Weve been pretty shit on offense until the last few games. Our defense is just so insane weve stayed in every game and when we shoot average we beat em handedly and when were shooting GOOD? You get yesterday and today.
I think they can definitely get cold shooting outside of SGA, it’s how they sometimes still lose. Thing is it rarely matters because their defence makes up for it.
harden 2.0
Shai stuck on the Hornets or some shit would do 82pts, 50reb, and 0ast
They were up 20 and Shai didn’t really do much
It’s a mixed bag honestly. Defensively yeah, they’re stacked, but especially with JDub out that offense is almost nothing but role players
Except the Blazers, of course.
Nico Harrison is screaming at a local bar right now: See everyone! I was right! I’m a genius!
Meanwhile AD still in street clothes. But I guess he can shit on Luka for 1 night.
Yeah but imagine if he had Ajay Mitchell on his team?
dont worry bro. they got Bronny instead
The hate is real when Ajay was drafted before Bronny.
Ajay is great. Terrific growth as a player.
He was absolutely horrible and stat padded in the 3rd to make it look more respectable
Reaves lucky that Luka deflecting all the slander away from him
Austin “All-Star” Reaves with 5 turnovers and 4 FGM
The entire team outside of Rui was ass cheeks tonight
Exactly like the playoffs last year. Rui shoots 40% from 3 while Reaves stinks it up, lakers fans memories are wiped and Reaves is anointed a hall of famer the next regular season
Yeah and his name is constantly thrown in for make believe trades. Anyway OKC will repeat
Felt like I was taking crazy pills seeing Lakers fans wanting to build around Luka/AR
Ironically they really need an AD
We should know by now Reaves is a regular season killer and a detriment in the playoffs
Hmmm there’s something in common with the r/nba darlings Luka, Reaves and Jokic. Don’t know what it is but there’s something there
They didn’t even let him shoot the 1st quarter. The whole game plan was weird. 0 adjustments
Bro I have seen you in every single thread about this game doing nothing but dunk on AR. Fair if you hate him whatever but like are you okay? Damn. Go find some joy somewhere.
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You say that but you’re literally judging him off 1 bad game lmao
So does he deserve a super max according to lakers fans or not anymore.
had to scroll halfway down the page to find the first comment that was talking about luka’s play lol. every other comment was about the thunder.
imagine any other player having a game this bad and the shit they’d get in the comments
“Best in the world” “MVP” talks on Monday because he cooked Pat Connaughton in Charlotte
“If Shai and Luka retired today Luka would be ahead”
People on this sub really disrespect Shai
Like the whole “Jokic is clearly the best player in the world” stuff never gets challenged, when we saw Shai go head to head in a series last year and definitely match him
Im not sure what it is. Everything about his statistical profile and eye test screams that this is a top 5 guard peak of all time
I don’t think it’s disrespectful to say he’s the 2-3-4 best player in the world lol. Yall are so dramatic.
It’s always like this, just like Reggie overreacting to Giannis being top 4 PF of all time. There’s NO CHANCE Shai is in the conversation and then some arbitrary amount of time passes with nothing changing and Shai is easily the best in the league now. People can never accept change until it’s undeniable.
Was this a recent quote because if so that’s crazy
I mean it was Gilbert Arenas who said it so crazy tracks.
Okay does that even count? It’s like debating an irrelevant Skip Bayless
Yeah
That man doesn’t deserve a mic because after last year Shai is unquestionably ahead of him all time and I personally like Luka more than Shai
Thats why its funny
Yea lol.
Gilbert has luka’s 2 1st team’s put him ahead of a MVP and finals mvp lol
Half of this sub is filled with European people who love Luka
euro mfs really don’t play about luka too lmao, i remember euro luka fans getting tilted at people in this sub and the mavs one when they said they’re still gonna watch the mavs bc they are from dfw and wanna follow their local team.
Don’t worry, league gonna be fucked once Luka loses weight
“terrible player” “cooked” because he had one bad game against the best team in the league
Lol this sub and its goldfish memory. Haters and stans both make normal conversations impossible
gonna deactivate my socials and become one with mother nature. thinking about reading books i have on my list since 2015 in a meadow of flowers. enjoying the autumn breeze. that sounds peaceful, that can’t hurt me. might contact some old friends again who are not interested in basketball. i never cared for this sport anyway.
Okc is the best team in the nba
Bold take alert
So far out on the limb that he’s still clinging to the trunk.
Granted if you look at this guy’s comment history that’s a pretty good descriptor of most of them
People knew they were the best team in the league to start the season but it is a little shocking just how much better they look than they did last year. And this has all been without J Dub.
Big if true
Magic Johnson analysis
Jerami Grant disagree
He played even worse than his stats, by a lot
Nico feeling extra smug tonight
Fatso’s double-chinsanity run is over.
double-chinsanity is fucking crazy work 😭
This is a credit to the Thunders defense. Smothering, physical, & smart. Respect.
Maybe they should trade this guy for a Switchable post defender who has offensive upside
fuck he played terrible but these comments are so stupid
When people put you over the reigning MVP, finals MVP, and champion, you better show up in the head to head, or all the accolades are just DEI 🤷♂️
Timing is a funny thing. Luka was as good as Shai in 23⁄24. Went to the finals with an inferior squad against a far superior opponent than the fucking pacers lmao. Weirdo.
Idk embiid used to get put under a microscope for every matchup against jokic. If luka can’t step up against shai, it should be talked about
Talking about 1v1 matchups like this in a team game is like 90% of the problem with NBA discourse.
NBA only promotes stars, so this is what we get. Sometimes you’d thing 2 players played 1on1 in certain game, reading the comments
No it isn’t. NBA discourse being more important than actual nba games is the problem. Superstar all time greats going head to head is one of the best parts of the nba
1⁄82 sample size is always enough to declare the most hyperbolic statements seriously.
Where was this energy when Lakers fans were demanding All star and All NBA for Reaves after 3 games lol
Jeannie Buss made a deal with Baphomet to influence the global population that 1 game on the Lakers is worth 25 games on any other team.
you’re gonna have to learn to live with it lol. Fans of other teams are going to keep talking crazy and then getting smacked down by OKC fans because even after last season it still hasn’t set in that OKC are 2-3 levels above every other team in the league. I guarantee tons of stars are going to have this level of bad game against them after the fans talk trash about Shai, who’s the only player legitimately challenging Jokic for BITW (if he hasn’t already surpassed him) and the threads will look exactly like this every time
I do not miss seeing the Luka slander every time he has a bad game. Now I just get to roll around in the pig shit that is the Mavs franchise
This is meaningless. If Luka had the privilege to play with Isaiah Joe and 50% of Chet the Lakers would be undefeated
yeah but which 50%
Trust me bro just one more highly contested step back will solve everything
dont watch lakers at all this season
STILL??!! JUST 10 GAMES IN??!! CANT GO DEEP IN THE PAINT AGAIN??!!
just pound the ball on and on, waste timeclock, and throw crafty pass late in shot clock so it’s expected the guys have to shoot it??
always asking switch on defense, not rotating, lose his man regularly?
just curious because i havent watch him at all this season. if that’s still luka, forgot defense, your roster construction cant be solved for now. only way you can win regularly is playing shootout and pray
Nah his scoring in the paint has been much better than last season after the trade for us so far.
Yeah Lakers still need massive help
Call me crazy but maybe they might actually need Lebron
Get this man out of the MVP discussions
Poor man’s Deni Avdija.
White Grayson Allen
Nico was lowkey a genius
if he gets antman or cade instead of street clothes :(
should pull the trigger in offseason not deadline :(
That’s the one thing I don’t get, trade Luka if you want but how do you get literally the worst return possible for it.
All these dudes better than SGA till it’s time to be better than SGA
Shai may win the ring but they win stronger hipothetical rings with shai roster!
The Thunder just dragged their nuts on Luka
This match will ruin Luka’s Mvp and Reaves’ All star campaign
That OKC team is deep. I do not see anyone bearing them.
Definitely the strongest team right now.
Wouldnt surprise me if 4 of their players are all defense this season (if the season keeps looking like this).
They need the GOAT back.
Hayes should be back next game
Dub will be back in a couple weeks. Don’t worry.
Dub may be back next game!
Mj in his sixties bro
OKC defense is unbelievable.
SGA is better than Luka
I was told Steph was washed because he had a bad game against these guys…
Luka is definitely better then SGA i got told. If you think he is sure but it’s just disrespectful to act like it’s not close.
Three ball not great rn
I think it is a perfect time to start the discussion
The comeback starts now with Bronny
Everyone’s better than SGA until they’re up against SGA
Maybe he shouldn’t have been practicing trick shots LOL
those trick shots ain’t gonna win games. lmao
Love him but always happy to see the Lakers lose, especially when they get blown out like this, get fucked
The overreactions here are crazy
so is luka washed now? (until next game when he drops 55)
Holy fuck the comments on this post are insane. Youd think hes been ass for 20 straight games or some shit with the way you people are talking.
Luka showed up to run cardio and do literally nothing else
Guy needs it
You will never convince me that Luka Doncic can win MVP if he plays with that level of effort on defense (and even offense when he doesn’t have the ball). It’s insane how easily he checks out of a possession. That first frustration foul he took would give me an aneurysm if he was on my team.
He needs to mature if he’s gonna take that next step lol.
I think he may have had a chance if he was still on the Mavericks since the team was bult around him.
I honestly don’t trust the Lakers to retool around Luka before his MVP window expires. The current competition is already tough with SGA/Jokic/Wemby/Giannis.
Getting the all time win record and the number one pick next season would be fucking hilarious to watch
THE WALLACE WARD
Ngl this shows the difference in the tiers of MVP race. Shai and Jokic give you the same thing every game. They aren’t inconsistent on offense; Shai is consistent on both sides of the ball.
Giannis to a lesser extent does as well.
Then there are the less consistent guys that are still MVP level/trajectory — that’s Luka, Wemby, Ant and perhaps Cade.
levels to this game. luka is nowhere near shai
He’s great but you can’t win MVP with stats like that. People are putting him in the same conversation with Gainnis and Jokic. He’s young though and when he figures it out he’ll be scary.
Imagine thinking this guy is better than SGA lmfao
FAT and lazy
Nico vindicated
OKC owns Chuka
There was an SGA drive to the rim where he blew by Reeves and was met at the rim by Knecht.
If only the Lakers had a 65 year old with sciatica as their 3rd option.
Well, Nico is done, can be fat again.
Nico Harrisson legacy game!
Nico tried to warm us
Nico assembled the only team to beat the thunder and blew it up less than a year later
He was awful. Shows the regular season is soft
I think truth is in the middle. Luka may go down as a unique talent who puts up good stats. But he is closer to westbrook than lebron in terms of impact on winning against tough opponents
lakers when they play a good defense
Luka is likely going off on some local buffet. Dude is about to start ballooning up to his peak 295lb playing weight again…
SGA was always better.
Luka gets treated like he’s the best in the league but has 0 MVP’s and 0 championships.
Win something I’m tired of the Luka AI generated hype. ESPN needs to chill.
Hypothetically better than anybody else man
Meet hipothetical man?
luka doesn’t belong in the mvp talks with jokic and sga idc
Missed the game tonight. Was it a bad shooting night, great defense, or a combo of the two?
Yes
Fire Nico
Does he wanna play some defense?
FINE we will take him
Nico’s revenge
I thought Austin Reaves was supposed to be unstoppable
Woof, Luka plus PJ equals OKC looses. Luka plus anyone else equals fuck nico
It’s in threads like this that we really see that r/nba is very unserious. GG OKC.
How come Luka can’t beat better teams?