2021 USA Basketball @ Tokyo Olympics

[Apprentice]

Prior to him playing D'antoni ball Harden was taking mid range jumpers and postups often actually.

And no one said identical, we said similar. And no one gives a fukk about FTs in this conversation, that has nothing to do with game. If 2 guys played exactly the same but one was horrible from the FT line, they still play the same.

People make the Kobe and MJ comparison all the time, are there differences in their games? Yes. There's differences in everyone's game. But they are similar. Undeniable.

I mean prior to D’antoni he wasn’t seen as a top 3 iso scorer in the league either

If u tryna say that Luka play like Harden I guess he play like LeBron and Paul Pierce when he off ball too

Luka/Harden comp is a lazy comp imo, not even close to the Kobe/MJ shyt cuz all around their game was similar

Harden way more explosive, is mostly a downhill attacker and is iso/treys/ attacking rim, much more nuance to Luka game compared to Harden in 2021

 

[FAH1223]

 

[Chrishaune]

The audacity of NBC for not airing this game on live TV



They're really trying to force this stupid Peacock app

I've been watching it without extra charge through YouTubeTV.

 

[CarltonJunior]

Maybe he does so much because he has to do so much? Or do you not think that's valid?

Durant had Russ, Curry, and now Kyrie/Harden
Bron had to wait, but eventually got ISO-Wade and then Kyrie.
Curry had Klay and Livingston.
Harden had CP3 and then Westbrook. Now Kyrie.
Damian has CJ.
Booker has CP3
Mitchell has Conley.
Tatum had Kyrie and then Kemba.

Luka has who? Brunson? THJ?

Now this I disagree with. Porzingis was a legit player on NY and he faded in Dallas, and he's complained that Luka dominates the ball too much which is why he can't get going.

Luka could play more team ball but he's wired for Luka Ball, to your credit, he probably shouldn't let guys like Brunson take more shots, but if he continues to play this way then the blame will always fall solely on him.

 

[The War Report]

I haven’t seen one basketball game because of that stupid pay wall.

 

[Codeine Bryant]

Now this I disagree with. Porzingis was a legit player on NY and he faded in Dallas, and he's complained that Luka dominates the ball too much which is why he can't get going.

Luka could play more team ball but he's wired for Luka Ball, to your credit, he probably shouldn't let guys like Brunson take more shots, but if he continues to play this way then the blame will always fall solely on him.

If you watched Mavs games, Porzingis is so wiry thing with a bad base, he gets pushed off his spots by shooting guards.
He will legit take off-balance fadeaways with a 6'5 guy guarding him. This is not a joke.

Porzingis can be a solid 20-10 guy, I think. But my post was mainly centered about being paired with other creators.

It's important. Luka doesn't have the luxury, pro or international team. There are no guys on his team that allow him to take a breather, stand in the corner, or even get 4 mins rest in a playoff/tournament game.

My post was about how important it is for Stars to play with another creator or playmaker. So they don't have to do everything. That's why Luka does everything to the point of exhaustion. He doesn't have that guy next to him.

 

[Codeine Bryant]

This Slovenia game and the Mavericks-Clippers series are the entire reason why the Mavs chased Kemba 2 off-seasons ago. And why they wanted Kyle Lowry so badly this offseason.

 

[xXMASHERXx]

So all that panicking was for nothing. Where's everyone at who was saying that the world caught up and that the US has seen it's last days at the top? This was probably our D team and we are still going to be playing for the gold.

 

[CarltonJunior]

If you watched Mavs games, Porzingis is so wiry thing with a bad base, he gets pushed off his spots by shooting guards.
He will legit take off-balance fadeaways with a 6'5 guy guarding him. This is not a joke.

Porzingis can be a solid 20-10 guy, I think. But my post was mainly centered about being paired with other creators.

It's important. Luka doesn't have the luxury, pro or international team. There are no guys on his team that allow him to take a breather, stand in the corner, or even get 4 mins rest in a playoff/tournament game.

I fully agree, but I felt it was disrespectful to mention Brunson and THJ over Porzingis knowing that Porzingis has been a legit #1 guy on a NBA team before and you throwing dirt on his name in comparison to guys like CJ, Livingston, etc when Porzingis has even said out of his mouth that Luka is limiting his game.

In reality Steph doesn't play with any real creators either but he's still the ultimate team player. We only know Dray as a creator because Steph allows him to, Dray would be out of the league if he had to play with this current Mavs team.

 

[EndGame]

So all that panicking was for nothing. Where's everyone at who was saying that the world caught up and that the US has seen it's last days at the top? This was probably our D team and we are still going to be playing for the gold.

D team?

 

[xXMASHERXx]

D team?

Half the guys on the team would not be there if all our top players played

 

[Codeine Bryant]

I fully agree, but I felt it was disrespectful to mention Brunson and THJ over Porzingis knowing that Porzingis has been a legit #1 guy on a NBA team before and you throwing dirt on his name in comparison to guys like CJ, Livingston, etc when Porzingis has even said out of his mouth that Luka is limiting his game.

In reality Steph doesn't play with any real creators either but he's still the ultimate team player. We only know Dray as a creator because Steph allows him to, Dray would be out of the league if he had to play with this current Mavs team.

I hear you. I didn't mention Bosh or AD for Bron, either. I think it's important to have creators and ballhandlers so your star can sit.

That's why I mentioned Livingston. He was crucial to those title runs and allowed Curry to sit and get a breather. Curry could be fresh in the 2nd half of later round games. Livingston was a huge part of that.
Even if the guy isn't a star, he needs to be dependable and playable for 6-8 minute stretches to at least spell your star. As we saw with Slovenia, it was the same thing as the Mavericks.

 

[CarltonJunior]

I hear you. I didn't mention Bosh or AD for Bron, either. I think it's important to have creators and ballhandlers so your star can sit.

That's why I mentioned Livingston. He was crucial to those title runs and allowed Curry to sit and get a breather. Curry could be fresh in the 2nd half of later round games. Livingston was a huge part of that.
Even if the guy isn't a star, he needs to be dependable and playable for 6-8 minute stretches to at least spell your star. As we saw with Slovenia, it was the same thing as the Mavericks.

I get that, but the point was if Luka had game similar to Steph, allow his teammates to have less margin of error, maybe that would have worked better. Steph doesn't have a Livingston these days but he still played at a MVP level and was one deep LeBron 3 away from making the playoffs.

Since Luka plays Luka Ball, he's going to habe all the praise and all the criticism, that's just how it goes.

 

[Codeine Bryant]

I get that, but the point was if Luka had game similar to Steph, allow his teammates to have less margin of error, maybe that would have worked better. Steph doesn't have a Livingston these days but he still played at a MVP level and was one deep LeBron 3 away from making the playoffs.

Since Luka plays Luka Ball, he's going to habe all the praise and all the criticism, that's just how it goes.

Luka was a higher seed than Steph and actually played a series? Higher seed and got farther than Damian as well.

I totally get that Luka-ball isn't ideal and it's not as aesthetically pleasing or even flat out efficient as a ball movement offense. But you need the personnel to run a ball movement offense. You can't just bring in a coach and spit some plays with a couple weeks of training and come out looking like the 00s Spurs or 10s Warriors.

I think Luka-ball exists because he literally has to do everything just to keep his team in the game. He was having to drop 25+ in the first half and exhaust himself against the Clippers just to keep us in games.

Game 7 Luka and DFS shot 9/18 from 3.
Rest of the Mavs? 1/18 from 3.

Luka going to get the blame, I get it. But it's poor roster construction more than anything else.
The way the Mavs deploy and lean on Luka and the way Slovenia did this tournament is not healthy. I don't think that's the fault of the player. I'm sure he'd like to sit, rest, and drink some gatorade if he was able to lol


As for being like Curry and running around screens and having a Curry/Miller/Hamilton type of off-ball game, it's just not going to happen. Luka is not in that mold. He's in a LeBron and Harden type of mold, and plays accordingly. Plus, he doesn't even have enough stamina and endurance to play his current game for a full 48 at times. He'd collapse on the court if he was playing like Curry off ball lol

 

[No1]

I mean prior to D’antoni he wasn’t seen as a top 3 iso scorer in the league either

If u tryna say that Luka play like Harden I guess he play like LeBron and Paul Pierce when he off ball too

Luka/Harden comp is a lazy comp imo, not even close to the Kobe/MJ shyt cuz all around their game was similar

Harden way more explosive, is mostly a downhill attacker and is iso/treys/ attacking rim, much more nuance to Luka game compared to Harden in 2021

Elaborate on how Luka has more nuance in his game.