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Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers has plenty of critics, whether it is because of his defensive shortcomings, his ball-dominant ways on offense or because he tends to argue with referees. But what is indisputable about him is that he is a huge nightmare for opposing defenses.
He does as much overall damage offensively overall as any player in the NBA today, other than perhaps Nikola Jokic. He's coming off a season in which he averaged 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists a game while shooting 47.6% from the field and 36.6% from 3-point range. An argument could be made that no one hits tough shots or bad shots better than he does, and he led the league in free throw attempts while making a decent 78% of his free throw attempts last season.
Patrick Beverley, a former Lakers guard who was one of the best backcourt defenders in recent NBA history, said during a recent episode of the "Unguarded" podcast that Doncic is the only player he felt he couldn't handle.
For all the talk about the Lakers' defensive shortcomings on the perimeter as a team, perhaps there hasn't been enough talk about how hard it will be for opposing teams to corral the Lakers defensively. Doncic seems unguardable at times, and Austin Reaves is an All-Star-level player who averaged 23.3 points a game last season and could increase his scoring average yet again this coming season.
Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton should also be complementary players who will cause issues for opposing defenses. If enough goes well for Los Angeles, it could be an elite offensive team, and Doncic would be a huge driving force.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Former Lakers guard on how hard it is to cover Luka Doncic
Continue reading...
He does as much overall damage offensively overall as any player in the NBA today, other than perhaps Nikola Jokic. He's coming off a season in which he averaged 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists a game while shooting 47.6% from the field and 36.6% from 3-point range. An argument could be made that no one hits tough shots or bad shots better than he does, and he led the league in free throw attempts while making a decent 78% of his free throw attempts last season.
Patrick Beverley, a former Lakers guard who was one of the best backcourt defenders in recent NBA history, said during a recent episode of the "Unguarded" podcast that Doncic is the only player he felt he couldn't handle.
For all the talk about the Lakers' defensive shortcomings on the perimeter as a team, perhaps there hasn't been enough talk about how hard it will be for opposing teams to corral the Lakers defensively. Doncic seems unguardable at times, and Austin Reaves is an All-Star-level player who averaged 23.3 points a game last season and could increase his scoring average yet again this coming season.
Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton should also be complementary players who will cause issues for opposing defenses. If enough goes well for Los Angeles, it could be an elite offensive team, and Doncic would be a huge driving force.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Former Lakers guard on how hard it is to cover Luka Doncic
Continue reading...
