Luka on Quintuple-Double watch after the first half with 24 PTS, 8 REB, 4 AST, 5 STL, 5 TO and 1 BLK on 7⁄12 FG, 6⁄7 3P
Obviously not a real quintuple-double but whatever
24 PTS, 8 REB, 4 AST, 5 STL, 5 TO and 1 BLK on 7⁄12 FG and a 12+/-
https://www.nba.com/game/tor-vs-lal-0022600157/box-score
You know turnovers don’t count right
Yeah I’m ripping a bit on him too
Luka has 75% winning percentage with Lakers when he has 4+ turnovers 😭
Also 2 charges drawn. So far, he’s forced 7 turnovers.
luka doncić is playing basketball at an insane level rn. defense, rebounding, playmaking, shotmaking, you name it
People who don’t watch will keep parroting the no defense narrative, but he’s legit playing the best defense he has in quite a while, and pretty consistently. He’s been getting steals and blocks like crazy the past couple games. He’s still not the best defender obviously, but he’s been much more willing as of late
Dropping some weight surely helped his defense
I think so. Seems like he just has more gas in the tank now
Yeah, I mean everyone had been saying that for years, even before Nico traded him. His first couple years in Dallas versus his last couple was night and day both visually and in terms of play. He wasn’t as explosive and basically stopped dunking altogether on offense, and on defense guys would keep blowing by him. Now that he’s noticeably slimmer, it’s not surprising that he’s finding it easier to stay in front of guys.
Hope he keeps the weight off indefinitely.
Luka seems like the type that doesn’t keep a strict diet (except maybe this past summer), so I worry the weight will creep back on him.
He lost 2 pounds.
Previously I’d say at best he was a neutral to slightly positive defender. Lately, he’s been an actively good team defender when engaged and at his best.
And the thing is, its not just social media or redditors, that’s literally like 30% of the voters lol. And that’s after the precedent was already set with Jokic being an even weaker defender winning multiple imo deserved MVPs over the likes of Embiid and Giannis
Call me when he carries Bill Murray and Bugs Bunny to beat Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and Larry Johnson
Until then he is worse than SGA, Brunson, and Haliburton
Don’t forget turnovers and foul baiting
Luka is nowhere near my favorite player, but this laser focus on negativity for everything pertaining to basketball these days is so fucking tiresome. Why has it become impossible to recognize and appreciate good performances from players on teams that you don’t like?
Yeah you get all the good and bad . He’s great
Eh it’s something you gotta live with it.
Look dude i’m a luka hater too but tonight you gotta just give it to him
Defense? Steals and defense aren’t necessarily inclusive.
You don’t watch games. You jabronis don’t realize how easy it is to spot you.
Eye test shows he’s ACTUALLY putting in effort AND performing decently. Old Luka would never get dropped by Steph because he wouldn’t even be defending.
I was so proud of him guarding Lillard hard in the Portland game. He actually did really well, too.
Getting dropped is like getting dunked on. Sure it looks funny but it does show the defender was putting it out there.
Make a wish ass player.
Did you not watch that half of ball?
How could you even type that out after watching his defense that half?
Wait someone on r/nba might not have been watching the game? Oh shiiii
Yea gotta call a spade a spade.
Luka’s defense has been above average, stop.
you people are so boring
Anyone who actually sat and watched the full half from him and doesn’t think that was a good defensive performance is lying to themselves. You guys literally don’t even watch just say shit
Stephen A Smith possess you like the venom and made you type those words 🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️
WATCH. THE. FUCKING. GAME.
A lot of the steals have been taking it out of the defenders hand. He’s also taken two charges.
Oh broooother
Yeah who cares about creating a turnover, that part of defense doesn’t count, only maybe being the reason why they missed does.
Only argument I have for this is a player who sells out his team to try and get blocks or steals all game. Birdman Anderson always used to do this. Instead of boxing his man out he’s charging over to try and get a block and uh oh it was a pump fake. Got Birdman again and pass it to his wide open man.
Yeah defense. Watch the games and stop relying on outdated narratives
The sheer rage this single comment caused is so funny.
I always remind people that Iverson, Curry and Harden have led the NBA steals.
But I will say Lukas has been trying to move his feet better this year. Getting crossed actually usually only happens when you are playing decent defense.
Is this the MVP year?
He is as of right now, but the season just started. However, if he somehow keeps up 39% from 3 and 87% from the line it will be hard to not give him the MVP. It be the best shooting splits of his career.
James Harden averaged 36 and didn’t win it. Do it’s definitely possible.
Tbf he lost to someone putting up 28/13/6 playing DPOY defense
No ones playing better so…
Yaxel
7 points vs Lakers, the last time Luka had under 10 points was 2019
Y’all are setting this man up. The way you hype him and his beef with luka and then he has a rookie game against the lakers. At some point this will lead to him getting hate
Controversial bc of record but Giannis
That Charlotte game happened
Well he needs to play another 60 games to be eligible for the award.
Depends how many games the Lakers win and if Luka stays healthy but he’s got a great chance.
It is if his health and Wemby don’t have something to say about it
Please anyone but Tatum
I say Wemby imo
I’d say Wemby because he’s more likely to be healthy since the team will load manage when necessary while Luka will go 100% and carry the whole load every game.
that logic doesn’t really make sense
It does. Luka has the 3rd highest usage in NBA history so far this season. He also has a history of soft tissue injuries. If the Lakers run him into the ground, this might end like in March when he pulled his hamstring in the OKC game
Yup the supporting cast is terrible and he’s not going to be able to sustain this for a whole season while Wemby has other guards he can lean on, Tyrese could also get the nod as the face of the 76ers stats wise
No, he is no longer fat. You reqlly think they will give mvp to some blonde whiteboy without booty?
I can see the headline;
“Lakers’ Doncic sets historical mark as the Lakers fall to the Raptors, 113-111”
Imma find you if this happens LMFAO
Closer than it should have been
We had to get our starters back in at the last minute cause our third stringers almost blew the lead lol
4 more blocks he can do it
I’m not tryna hate but this comment was mad funny to me if that was the intention, props
It’s not Laker basketball. It’s Luka basketball.
Lukar
the goat
His defense is being underrated, he’s genuinely a solid defender this year and arguably our second best behind Kessler
he’s been such a fiend on that end this game, so pesky and always in the right spots
Is this when the narrative finally stops 😭
He’s been very good on defense. He has two main deficiencies, one of which he could easily fix:
slow, flat-footed POA defender that’s constantly targeted to tire him out on the offensive end. Physical limitation.
complaining to the ref on the other end and not getting back, ceding a 5 on 4 possession.
damn Luke
watch the haters pick on him for having 5TO’s when like 2 of them were him getting fouled or hacked
Shead was out there doing karate, actual horseshit
i mean he’s averaging 5+ a game so it’s hard to ignore lol
He is driving the top offense in the league, his turnovers are inconsequential
the top offense while playing against some of the worst teams and still having bad turnovers and 2 losses because of turnovers and lack of defense… again, against some bad teams
Raptors are 2nd in defensive rating and Luka has 6 stocks and has taken 2 charges, keep trying
On the highest usage in the league and some of the highest assist numbers too. His on off numbers speak for themselves
you would take him on your team in a heartbeat.
How come all these posts every week for years are about the first parts of the game?
Because they play second part of the game in second half.
The joke was because Luka historically does so well in the first quarters/halves and then you don’t see highlights after because there aren’t many
Well, he shut ya’ll up real quick😂
You probably just have first quarter Luka burned into your brain from pure ptsd because…well…you remember? Lol. He’s had many many many great second halves as well, I assure you.
Attention spans are so fucked people need constant content to the point we post at the half stat lines instead of waiting a bit longer to see how they played the whole game
Or they are alerting us so we can tune in, in the case that history happens.
90% of them are negative rather than huge stat lines.
I understand, that’s why making history is so rare. Rare things are a treat to witness in real time. My buddy called me the day Kobe got 81, and I got to witness it in real time. I would’ve been so bummed if I missed that because I was watching an episode of the office! So happy I got to watch it happen, even if I didn’t tune in until the 3rd qtr…but i suppose people have such small attention spans, that they would rather find out the result then watch highlights after. 🤷♂️
I was gonna say this was a troll post but I see OP is a Lakers fan. Not really a quintuple double watch…
It definitely is, as much as any game has been at halftime for a while. Its only on people’s minds cause we were talking about Wemby maybe doing it though
He’s 9 blocks short of a quintuple double, this is not quintuple double watch. Quadruple, yes
Oh okay yeah you’re right. I think the op got the words mixed up and I got all mixed up too
He’s talking about turnovers as the 5th one lol.
The 5th stat would be TO’s in this case
Eh just needs 5 more turnovers /s
People who say he doesn’t play defense don’t watch basketball
5x5 at least
Ohh lord I miss him so much 😭
A quadruple double would be incredibly impressive. Good on Luka!
i need him to win MVP
One of a kind.
Contrary to popular opinion the last 48 hours, Luka is actually a really good basketball player
We choked one game and he got dropped by Curry and all of a sudden he’s Vander Blue
I think you mean quadruple turnovers don’t count what is going on in this stupid world
You are not a real person
lol