Lakers face one contender and suddenly its time to trade Luka for AD or something

The issue with the lakers is they have 3 players that give minimal effort on the defensive end.

You can survive having Luka be your one bad defensive guy on the court in the playoffs, can’t live with three of them

This right here is the full Doncic experience, dear Lakers Nation.

Idk why people look at the Lakers bench roster and go “yeah this is all Luka’s/Lebron’s fault”

First time watching Luka?

He’s not telling any lies 

Really thought after he lost weight he would at least try on defense 

Luka is obviously better than 99% of “normal” players anyway but he’s also an example of why you can’t auto rank superstars relative to each other by how good their points/rebound/assist statlines look

If you just go by his PPG/RPG/APG averages you’d think he’s on a GOAT trajectory and has been since his second year but while still on track for a great career he’s clearly not the greatest player ever

There’s an amount of nits to pick (shooting efficiency is decent but notably a level below his superstar peers in this offensively-juiced era, off ball game has never really developed, constantly takes plays off on defense which this clip mentions) that you just don’t really have with any tier 1 all-time players

Probably the highest all-time players who aren’t plus defenders would be Curry 1st and then Jokic 2nd and both of them have outlier shooting relative to other greats to make up for that Luka is more in the Kobe/Hakeem range of 2-3% above league average efficiency and he’s not that kind of defender at all

Time is a flat circle, I miss a lot of things about Luka, but I do not miss this lol

he got fat again too

Cries to the refs constantly while averaging the most FTA in the league all season. Absolutely shameless behavior

I hate the vulture culture the current sporting world has become (not just NBA).

Whenever a team is doing well or bad, people like these repeat age old observations (regardless if it’s true or not) that can be echoed by an average redditor for views and interaction.

Pioneer rage baiters like Bill Simmons and Stephen A Smith definitely existed before but with the amount of podcasts and different ways to consume media, it’s way worse, especially since NBA is becoming a highlight league.

So does LeBron. Any serious team will cook these clowns in the playoffs.

Luka needs to learn its not fucking EURO FUTBOL out there

Not running back to argue with the refs is an awful habit. Jokic did it at some points, but pretty sure I’ve barely noticed it if at all this year. Hopefully Luka learns the same lesson. If you wanna jaw at the ref wait for a stoppage instead of fucking over your team on the other end.

luka slander so hot right now

I mean you could find a 100 clips of LeBron doing the same thing. The problem isn’t that current LeBron or Luka are low effort defenders the issue is you can’t have two guys like that and try to win games. Luka is never going to consistently be good on defense but he is the future and Lakers need to get rid of LeBron.

I feel like it’s too deep into luka’s career to try to peer pressure him into giving effort on defense. Hes already too great of a player with many options to give a fuck

He’s not wrong

As a fan who once thought we’d have a statue of Luka outside the AAC, one thing I came to terms with was that if he wasn’t going to get into shape (which clearly affects chances of injury and stamina) after we lost in the WCF, then had the bad year we got Lively, then got humiliated by the Celtics, then what would give him that fire and determination to be better? We were so close to a championship, not that we were ever going to beat that Celtics team, but what else is there to get hyped up about?

I love Luka, he was the chosen one for us, but his conditioning (lack of it) while also playing damn near 40 minutes a game catches up to him through injuries and being gassed on defense.

I don’t want to sound bitter, but the whole idea of him getting into shape and stuff after he got traded to prove Nico wrong really rubbed me the wrong way. Is getting traded what really motivated him before the season? What about almost getting to the summit of Mt Everest and showing up next season to run it back in the best shape of his life and attitude? I take no joy in Luka struggling, but then again, who likes the Lakers but Lakers fans and would rather be teamless than buy a Luka Lakers jersey.

We are all flawed humans

He complains on every single shot attempt. It’s so exhausting to watch.

Very true and real.

I agree more with Rachel here. We know what Luka is now, you can’t change him. He will also go back to being ‘fat’ which he already seems like he’s doing.

He will be a maestro on offence, probably top 5 all time on the offensive end. But the other side of the ball he’s below average even when he tries. So he’ll never be in the top 10 overall discussion.

You can still win with him if you build around him. Can’t have three zero defence players starting. Possible with two, but have to get two elite defenders to make up for it.

This is a transition year and any Laker that thinks otherwise was smoking too much weed.

Stopped being a fan of his because of this routine pathetic behavior

I’ve been saying this for years. Not as a hater but i realized a long time ago that the only thing that possibly can make Luka grow up is being humiliated for his behaviour.

But year after year he got praised and exaggerated for his strengths while his massive weaknesses were ignored.

FINALLY THE MEDIA IS PROPERLY CALLING HIM OUT. If this doesnt get Luka to stop being a little bitch on the court ALL GAME LONG. Then he genuinely might have a fetish for being a little bitch.

Fuck all the Luka stans that deluded themselves into thinking his bitch ass behaviour wasnt a huge issue. If yall had called him out with me years ago.. We would have gotten to this point sooner and Luka wouldnt have wasted most of his prime on being a little bitch.

He about to be 27 soon. With his body type… Prime Time is gonna run out much quicker. Luka at 33 is not gonna be a good experience. I can tell y’all that.

Are we getting to the “Luka Oncic (because he’s got no D)” phase of the discourse? Because I’m fucking ready…

I can understand trading Luka. The trade never bothered me

I can’t understand the haul given AD is always fucking hurt.

The Lakers just are a worse spot for him to have a team be built around Luka though.

How many teams wouldn’t easily trade their star player for Luka right now warts and all?

You get the superstar who can win in the playoffs and you complement him.

And he’s a blockbuster $ draw?

LeBron gets to do that, Luka hasn’t done shit

It’s like they never watched a Mavs game in the last 3 seasons…

Vanderbilt, Knecht, Gabe Vincent, LaRavia, Kleber, Thiero, Hayes. This is the reason the Lakers suck.

We can complain about Luka’s defense all you want but the Lakers rotation is extremely bad compared to the best teams in the league. So no, it’s not his fault that the Lakers are doing poorly recently.

Water is wet 

Is this the first time they’ve seen Luka play? They just described his MO for his entire mav’s playoff career

On the season, they have the #26 defense in the league. Over the last 15 games, the Lakers have the second worst defense in the league.

Luka is a contributor to the problem on that end, but even if he was Scottie Pippen on defense, they still wouldn’t be good enough defensively to be a true contender.

Almost the whole rotation is guys who either can’t play D, or choose not to. Of course that doesn’t make for a serious contender.

Hey I’ll be happy to undo that trade any time the Lakers want if they are getting tired of Luka’s antics.

Sean mannix is always last to a warm take but makes it sound like he’s saying something awesome

He can be a generational offensive powerhouse and still be a negative on defense. Love Luka though

A Nico redemption arc now loading? 👀

Been saying this for years, but if the refs just T’d up Luka quickly for complaining he’d immediately improve.

Breaking news:Luka still doesn’t play defense, more at 6

What i dont get is, what is complaining going to do? Like it won’t change how they call future fouls, it cant change the past calls, what good comes from complaining about that shit? Leave it to your coach if anything, play the game you are paid 60 million a year to play and stop leaving your teamates hanging, its just always selfish

He is still out of shape, full stop. Still not taking care of himself.

It’s not just no defensive effort or complaining to refs - he doesn’t move off the ball either.

Lakers just suck at building around Luka or Rob pelinka sucks at his job that being said Luka needs to try more on defense still doesn’t negate the fact Nico is an idiot for trading him

What a horrible example Luka has been. Did you see how his influence made LeBron miss an entire possession complaining to the ref? Fucking Luka, am I right?

Yeah this has been a constant conversation since Dallas.. I think he’s even acknowledged a few times

This just in, humans breathe oxygen. More at 11.

I mean Luka did it in the NBA finals 2 years ago on the biggest stage when he had a chance to win a ring, so I don’t know what one needs to do to get it drilled into his head that his complaining is detrimental to his team lol.

I wouldn’t say he’s the sole cause of the Lakers issues though when their other 2 stars aren’t exactly defensive stoppers/high energy guys on the defensive side.

LeBron is old and probably not even able to sustain high level defense for a full season at his age, but having Reeves and Luka in the same line-up compounds that problem.

Thank you! Let’s see if JJ says something

From Dallas Fans, that has always been the problem! Hard to win a championship when the best player has habits like that. We were close but The Finals exposed him more than ever

This is a larger nba problem. 

Players are not playing to score, they are playing to draw the foul because getting a starting player in foul trouble is more important then scoring.

Players “FEEL” that they made the necessary move in order to draw that foul call and when that does not happen they get mad.

The rule book is the issue not the players..

The players are “playing” to manipulate the rules.

Ant > Luka, let’s start it now 

They need to stop posting this so Luka keeps doing this bad habit during the playoffs.

The reason why people harp on these issues - his woeful defense, standing around on offense without the ball - is because when he has the ball in his hands, Luka has a legit path to be considered a Top 10-15 all-time player.

When he has the ball in his hands…

He’s wasting a once in 30-40 year shot to go down in history and fans don’t like to see talent wasted.

Basketball in December doesn’t matter.

The only thing that matters is if Doncic can play defense in the playoffs.

The funny thing about the Luka trade is that it was the right idea but horrendously executed. Like every other player in NBA history who’s primary skill is scoring and is a negative on defense, Luka is incredibly overrated. The Luka we’re getting here is motivated/skinny Luka too, not fat Luka that Dallas was getting. The problem is that the return was obviously horrible; compare this to the PG trade that set up the OKC dynasty. Basically the same thing except in theory Luka should have fetched more not less just based on rep.

“Who are you, Mannix?“

Oh my god who cares

He’s gaining weight again

Have people not seen him play basketball the last 6 years? This isn’t new at all lol

Luka is third in mvp voting 🗳️ relax everyone

Soft as Pillsbury dough

doncic has never been nor will he ever be a great defensive player.

He is an all time great offensive player,he has gotten the mavs to the finals before and he is an all time great playoff performer.

For a luka lead team to work you need young athletic two way players that can shoot and in general players that can make up for his lack of defence.

Lakers arent even doing bad rn,considering the roster so no idea why people hate on luka.

If the lakers wanna win get the right pieces around luka and you good to go.

They said the same about Melo, he’s not a defensive player, but you need to encourage him to get his ass back on defense.

Has this guy seen the Lakers depth chart?

#NicoWasRight

/s

I don’t understand why the nba puts up with the stuff that some of these players get away with towards the refs

Its crazy i’m not a big fan of luka but wtf is with people acting like luka is the only one not defending in his team?

With how its going for jokic and luka right now i swear its the meme flirting vs harassment.

Both are poor in defense but one has players doing the job while the other is left alone.

I’ll give you AD and a 1st for him back

At some point, you’ve got to ask JJ Redick to get on Luka’s ass. Nothing is helping so far. JJ’s gotta do his job even if he risks getting fired.

Not only are Luka and Harden very similar players, their fans are equally delusional. You just hope it’s a bunch of 14 year olds and bots and not grown men.

You’re just not going anywhere when your 3 best players and leaders are just unwilling or unable to commit to playing the other 50% of the game. I’ve also stopped watching Laker games because it’s just frustrating and not entertaining watching a team drop almost 40 points in a quarter against you.

Lakers need to look at the team from first principles centered around luka. Why did Luka and mavs gel so well in 2024?

Simple.

1. Get a lob threat centre (lively and gafford were those guys)

2. 3 and d players (PJ washington, Derick jones jr, naji marshal)

3. second ball handler (kyrie, they got austin which works)

4. Dont have roster spots for players that dont produce anything (dalton, gabe, vando, maxi, too many players without meaningful production).

It’s going to be a 3 yr play, get lebrons contract off the books, wait to sign free agent impact players.

Luka is your offense. You KNEW he wasn’t a defensive juggernaut when you traded for him. You trotting out James at 40 & he ain’t being playing consistent De for quite some time now.

They scapegoating.

he’s been doing it his whole career. but most fucking stars do it too. and you know what happens after? the next possession, luka or the “star” goes into paint, runs into a defender, act all insane and gets FTs. that’s exploitation. that ain’t basketball. this happens like 20 times a game. the product is fucking broken. nba is so bad now.

Damn, he’s just like Zach Lavine, except actually good

Sounds like they need to trade for AD

Luka has always been a cone on defense. Teams have routinely targeted him in the past for this exact reason. This isn’t new.

Damn, I remember when this show was Andrew Sharp and Ben Golliver. Much better product then.

Man I thought he was getting better about that, what happened

Everytime I see Luka complain to refs, I always imagine this is what it would sound like if he was mic’d up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1jS9ByBXv0

The lakers organization is the problem. The Mavs figured it out fairly quickly and it should have been obvious to the lakers what they had to get and they didn’t

Luka subjective eye test slander thread goes up

Mods: I sleep

Lu Dort video evidence compilation of trying to injure other players

Mods: REAL SHIT

Tons of players do this and it’s one of the most annoying things in the league. You can at least complain to the ref while getting back on defense

Man all these whiney dudes are becoming really annoying.

Give back yall

This is like saying Rembrant leaves too much paint on the edge of the canvas.

Truuuuue

the truth is that fit matters, and the mavs were better built to make up for luka’s shortcomings than the lakers are