Sir'Dom Pointer
Hall-of-Famer
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2016
- Messages
- 21,641
- Reaction score
- 31,691
- Points
- 148
To be fair, back-to-backs are rare in the Euro schedule and he was probably a little flat after carrying a big load yesterday. Disappointing game for him nonetheless.
I don't think I would be happy if we picked Doncic.
I don't care how he shot the ball, I don't care about the misses. He has issues that scare me on top of issues like being a 18 year old foreigner and coming to the NBA with endless expectations on a contender with Lebron James.
I don't think he is ready to be that guy. He gets frustrated too easily, he gets emotional, it's just too big for him right now.
Seriously, how many highly touted European players came into the league and were impactful in the 1st few years? less than a handful, then you add the fact that most of them were Bigs and some of them were pure scorers and not point guards and it gets a bit scary... also, the better your english is and how familiar you are with american culture, the easier and faster it is for european players to fit in. Luka's english is poor... how is he going to fit in with Lebron while having the expectations of a top 2 pick and being a future heir to Lebron?
Even so, talent prevails, but what i'm seeing even in that aspect is worrisome. A lot of the time when you put a big athletic guy on him he struggles. He forces things, he settles for 3's that he has no business taking, he has problems getting in to the heart of the defense , and when he does he settles for a lot of mid range jumpers and floaters, and for now he gets by much like Young with his free throws that are at times questionable.
His passing game has also regressed in my opinion. not necessarily his execution, but his passing opportunities are way down. Too often I see passing angles that were once there, no longer there, whether it's because of the team switching a big on him, whether it's because he can't take his man off the dribble or because he just looks to score in isolation way too much... and it's not high efficiency isolation, it's just over dribble step back jumpers that now just don't go in.
He is not very creative off the ball and his athleticism limits his ceiling as an off-ball player if his shot isn't great in the NBA. It's super important to be a great off-ball player playing with Lebron James. It doesn't seem like he has a great first step, so I worry that playing off-ball will be limited to mostly Spot ups.
Defensively, i'm having problems with him and seeing where he fits. I mean, obviously it would have been optimal if he could defend the ball handler because it would force teams to go big to match up with him, but if he doesn't, you have to put a decent PG defender or a traditional PG and that lowers the team's ceiling and his on both ends of the floor. When you try to make him guard 4's he just gets overpowered in the post, so having him guard the ball handler and just switch full time in the NBA isn't going to work, at least at first.
Is he going to be able to guard the the better SFs in the NBA?
There are a lot of question marks for Doncic and they are even more amplified on this team. I would rather have other teams pick him and try to enjoy his gifts elsewhere than worry about him. The risk/reward isn't worth it when you have such great prospects that don't have the same question marks and can be effective in more limited playing time/role. He just demands too much.
I love European prospects, as they are often much more fundamentally sound which makes for great role players, and there are times where you get a combination of fundamentals, size and skill and you get a Dirk, Kirilenko, Gasol, Porzingis type of prospect that is so unique in the NBA landscape... Is Doncic going to be this unique in the NBA other than being a very very advanced 18 year old 6'8 PG? Is he PG in the NBA even? How would he be rated if he were a considered a great passing SF?
Doncic reminds me of Lebron if he never had the athletic ability, inside finishing ability and the defensive versatility. Doesn't sound too too bad, but when I look at Doncic I picture him similar to how we see Lebron now that teams just switch a big defender on him to force an isolation... but the difference is that Doncic doesn't have the same 3pt shot, explosiveness(even at this stage) and finishing ability to make them pay(that unless he develops a very good 3pt shot).
I'm not saying that Doncic isn't going to be a great great player eventually, but I'm genuinely afraid for his fit on this team.
*I moved your quote from the Draft thread.
Last edited: