Why Luka Doncic Won't Stop Playing for Slovenia | 2024 Olympic Basketball | ONE MORE THING
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- Luka Doncic will not stop playing for Slovenia even if he's hurt or Dallas Mavericks fans want him to. Slovenia is playing in the Basketball Qualifiers and has a chance to play in the 2024 Paris Olympics, we'll tell you why he's always going to take that chance.
Nick Angstadt discusses Luka Dončić's commitment to playing for Slovenia in the Olympic qualifiers, despite the concerns of Mavericks fans. Nick delves into the significance of international play for Luka and the pressure he faces representing his country. He breaks down Slovenia's recent loss to Croatia, highlighting Luka's performance and the team's struggles. Nick also explains the tournament structure and Slovenia's chances of advancing. The episode wraps up with a look at the team's roster and their reliance on three-point shooting. Tune in for insights on Luka's international play and Slovenia's Olympic journey.
00:00 Luka's Commitment to Playing for Slovenia
07:07: Olympic Qualifiers Format and Slovenia's Path
09:39: Who Plays For Slovenia?
12:12: Slovenia's Struggles vs Croatia
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#LukaDoncic #KyrieIrving #DallasMavericks #Dallas #NBA #Mavericks #Mavs #DallasMavs #MFFL
How can anybody be upset with Luka. The guy is a flat out hoop junkie who loves his country so much and loves the game of basketball so much. Hoopers gonna hoop. Mavs fans should be so thankful to have a player like this. His country is so important to him.
Playing for Slovenia means more to Luka then almost anything. Either you let him play or he will leave and find a nba team that will. Its a tradeoff you make to have someone of his caliber.
Bruh. He’s not gonna walk out on the Mavs over a business decision that’s wild.
@invisobill2125 it's more wild to stop him from playing. He's gonna realize on his own that he needs rest and to recover. The more they press him about it, the more the relationship will sour
@@jjcometa9333 Andrew Wiggins was just restricted by his team from playing with Canada. But no one would dare tell Luka no, cause he’ll leave? The team could all vote on it like they did with Wiggins. Luka has to do what’s best for the team that’s about to pay him $350 mil. Nick’s example that he gave in this video was terrible and didn’t even make sense, it doesn’t compare to the level of commitment that’s expected when you’re about to be the highest paid player in history.
@@invisobill2125 no one gives a sht about Wiggins my guy. They're stopping him so he can take rest cause of his personal problems. And Luka is SO much better than Wiggins. He's the superstar. And face it, some superstars are just like that. Klaw, lebron, KD. Many more. They got problems within the organization? Boom they're gone. Can't even compare Wiggins to those guys.
@@invisobill2125it’s the shohei Ohtani deal and I believe if a nba team refuses Luka to play for Slovenia there is a chance of him having a bitter aftertaste and would probably leave
I just love watching Luka play basketball and will watch every game that guy plays
I don't care if he dies on the court in Slovenia 🇸🇮 let the man represent his home.
As a fan of the Mavs it is unreasonable to tell Luka what to do when he’s not getting paid by the Mavs. That being said I wish he would go back to being top 100 in overwatch!
Newsflash - he is being paid by the mavs
However it is totally reasonable for Mavs fans to root for Slovenia to lose so Luka gets to start recovering sooner.
its probably for obvious reason. the chances of him getting injured or worsenning his injuries.remember he is on the contract with mavs for years. meaning even if finals are done and theres a break he is getting paid by the mavs
It’s good for him. He needs to always be in shape. He will heal up properly. I have no doubt that the Mavs are on top of his injuries. I’m more concerned about him staying in shape.
players who dont have proper off seasons have their career cut short. He has been playing through multiple injures for a long time. He needs to rest and he will never heal if he doesnt rest.
@@Ay-sd1sj MIchael Jorda started back at work the day after the final finished.
@@edwinblack-rw5xkyeah sure…
When exactly was he in shape for more than 2 months in the last years?! Aside from his constant whining to refs, that drives me crazy the most. He is in his mid 20s now. And still doesn`t seem to care about his conditioning and nutrition.
@@scottipippen6554 How do you know? do you have some insight into what he eats and does everyday? I swear people like you who just assume he's lazy because it justifies this weird narrative you already have drive me crazy. You will never be satisfied until he post his weight and body fat percntages everyday on twitter.
Luka and the Mavs literally feeding families year round with all this content
A proper comp is in soccer, playing for club and country. It’s every soccer players dream to play for their national team. So as a basketball fan and a soccer fan I totally understand it.
Some say that his international play is what will shorten his career, that he won't play in his 30s. His goal is to win now, not to have a 20year career, stop trying to get Dirk 2.0. And where was that sentiment when he was playing 40 minutes games for 2 months, with back to backs and travels, averaging a triple double with a shit roster trying to make the playoffs? That jeopardize his career too. Last year the FO send him to war with Christian Wood and Dwight Powell and he still played as hard as he could even if they had no shot at all, he got injured trying too hard, that shortens his career too. Nobody on the Mavs was telling him to try less to preserve himself though.
I dunno why the concept of playing for your national team being like the highest honour is such a foreign concept to americans, you dont see this question being asked for the world cup and the euros
@@euthanized1830 because the nba is already a worldwide, the Olympics just add scrubs who can’t play in the nba.
Thats great, and how much is NBA paying him compared to his national team? Its not worth risking injury for
It's absolutely hilarious watching americans try to get their heads around such a simple idea tbh :D
Well it's not a foreign concept to us. We understand the importance of players playing for their country. We just care more about the NBA team we support and the off season is when players not only rest and heal their bodies, but train and get better in areas of weakness. So NBA fans tend to value the off-season for their favorite players on their favorite team. Why is that a hard concept for yall to understand?
Ask him if he had to choose getting paid 300 millions or play for his country in these events, what do you think he would choose in a situation like that? Nba America players say no to Olympics all the time especially if they have to rest their bodies. The money he makes in nba is way more useful for his country to him attempting to play in world tournaments
Keeping him in shape means he is on the court. If he stops e goes fat. Don't let him come to Spain cause then shit goes really south 😂
if the mavs stop him to play for slovenia.. im sure luka will ask for a trade asap...
Can you get a locked on pelicans collab to get his insight on naji Marshall
I remember Spurs fans back in the 2000s hated Ginobili playing for Argentina. They want Popovich to stop him from playing. Yet Manu still played. These player are going to play for their country. Jokic didn’t play for Serbia last year and that didn’t go well with basketball fans in Serbia.
Folks are now understanding what many European soccer fans say when it comes the international break. It’s great they rep their country. So long as it doesn’t hurt them for their club.
I don’t get why people have a problem with Luka playing for his country, it’s the off season and HIS decision
Because his body needs rest & his country has a better chance of winning a world war than getting Gold.
try watching the game, he looks like shit and hes hobbling up and down the court still playing a lot of minutes. Irreguardless to the nba it isnt healthy
@@circaen If that's true then they'll probably lose in the qualifiers and this won't be a problem.
It's called basic human biology. The human body is not made to play top level professional sports all year round with no rest. Simple as that.
Because it correlates to why his legs are in such bad shape at the most crucial part of the NBA season which is post All Star break. Why do you think his Knees were so badly hurt last season? It's because he didn't give himself enough rest in that prior off-season either.
I root for Luka on both teams
Luka winning a gold medal with this very mediocre Slovenia team would be harder than winning an NBA finals so I don’t blame him for trying to add that to his professional resume.
For such a small country, having two players at the level of Luka and Goran Dragic at the same time on the national team was their best shot. Unless new young talent come in they won't really win anything. But that's not the point, competitors will try even is the chance is 0,001%, because the alternative is not trying and that's unacceptable to them. Performing well and being proud of your effort is more important for those teams who now they can't win.
@@ouicertes9764 well Goran is retired now so that’s kind of the point I’m making. It looks like their window closed unless they get a really good player to apply for duel citizenship.
I thought I found a good Mavs podcast & instead I get this. Now these precious minutes have been lost forever. But I know it's my fault alone for clicking on the video. Wish you well sir, may your content improve so others needn't waste their dwindling life minutes.
Playing for your country should be mandatory regardless
If it has the potential to ruin your health even past retirement, not really. Dirk is dealing with all sorts of post retirement pain management issues. Playing professional sports all year round is terrible for a players long term health. It's also partially tournament organisers issues, because they are all very very greedy. They would love to put tournaments on all year to make money at the expense of the players (especially goes in football)
@@dundalis playing for your country should be mandatory end of. Don’t care about post career injuries they get enough money
@@Big_AL_Nowitzki no such thing as money making up for poor health. Health is worth more than any amount of money don’t care what your excuse is
@@dundalis you talking like you know anything lol all greats will play for their country in big competitions and it will never change
@@dundalis Dirk shouldn't have played 20 years, national team or not, but the Mavs wouldn't let go.
The problem isn't the Olympics, the problem is every 3 out of 4 years there's a summer international event
I think next year is free but then it starts again, World Cup, Euro Cup, Olympics, one year break, then starts all over again
THAT is the problem and I think it would be wise for Luka to understand that he needs to do a selection of some sorts and he can't attend ALL of them (like he has)
He's still young, but the sooner he realizes that problem in particular, the better
Nick don´t worry. Our NT (Slovenia) sucks and Luka won´t play in Olympics. Greece will qualify very easily and Luka will be on vacation next week already.
LUKA is a slovenia first.. before he became a mavs ..
Mavs pay for his lifestyle, not Slovenia. That's what matters because if he gets hurt playing for Slovenia they aren't going to pay the tab. They're going to say sorry and send heart filled messages hoping he recovers as he goes back to the Maverick facility to rehab the injury he got playing for them and he misses the games that actually matter.
So what? 😂 He have millions, in worst case he can pay for rehab 😂 and dont forget, internationals games are more imortant for Luka (and alot of eu players) then Nba, specially Olympics 😀@@manegrindshard
People talking about Luka need to play to get in shape, that’s not true. You cant outwork a bad diet.
That's not true. Edwards has a famously bad diet. Guy looks like a commercial for a gym membership. Luka just has that kind of body shape. He's not fat (well, he wasn't before the injury), he's just not trim. He was thinner when he came into the league (plus faster and could jump higher), but he uses his weight to push around defenders and get good shots. So it's hardly the crippling deficiency so many people want to pretend it is.
@@SDesWriter don’t confuse a commercial from reality 🤷♂️
@@SDesWriter You can't outwork a bad diet. It's simply. You take in more calories than you burn, and you put on weight. Luke takes in more calories than he burns, hence he's fat. He's fat by second-rate basketball league standards, let alone NBA standards where you are competing against some of the best athletes on the planet. He does use his weight to push around defenders, but his weight also prevents him from being a good player in transition, and makes him a terrible defender. He was embarrassed in the NBA finals. His offence was average and his defence was a disgrace. If he doesn't come back in shape for next season, we might as well get rid of him as he's wasting everyone's time.
@@sportfanatic5339 Reading is a skill (evidently one you don't possess). I said he LOOKS like a commercial for a gym membership....aka he's in elite level physical shape. He readily admits he lives on junk food.
Seriously man....WTF???
@@edwinblack-rw5xk BTW dipshit.....Anthony Edwards looks like a model for a gym membership and brags about eating nothing but junk food. Meanwhile, they were JUST TALKING about this on a recent NBA podcast where they said KG and Gary Payton were averaging 10,000 calories per day just so they didn't lose anymore weight. I'm sure it would be very beneficial to have those calories come from fish, chicken, steak, and vegetables, but if you believe they weren't eating whole pizzas you're out of your mind.
This is easier to stomach now but imagine Luka becoming washed by 32 and his body breaking down and we look back at zero rings because he’s out of shape every playoffs and wonder what the fuck was the point of it all? I know this is dramatic but it’s in the realm of possibility and I don’t think I can live in that timeline. Luka MUST win a championship! Win at least 1 ring and I’ll chill with the Slovenia hate but for now I want Slovenia to lose 🙏
Luka’s 3pt has went in a slump ever since he got injured and it sucks to see because he takes so many and those are most of his misses.
3pt shots are most of EVERYONE's misses. Curry is supposedly the best ever and only makes 42% (36% in the playoffs). Luka went through a 5 games where he literally couldn't hit a 3pt shot (16%) and still wound up at 32% for the playoffs. Not great, but without that 5 game slump where he was too hurt to push off on his jump shot, he was a respectable 37% (better than Curry's career average). That's why Klay is so crucial to the Mavs. He (and hopefully the addition of Grimes and Marshall) will take pressure off Luka so he can shoot when he's actually open instead of forcing shots that are very difficult for him. Put a healthy Doncic in 1 on 1 coverage for a series and he's going to DESTROY the other team offensively. Double team him constantly when he's already limping and of course he's going to struggle.
@@SDesWriter which is true if they are a true 3pt shooter and Luka is one. It’s just at his physical state currently it has been horrible and I’m hoping he gets healthy someday because he’s only tearing up his knee even more and ignoring it with injections. I love the Klay pick up but man to see Luka finally healthy would for sure be unstoppable because he was a great 3pt shooter for sure.
@@queque5606 A sprained knee isn't "torn". I'd like to see him get rest, but that's his business. As long as the doctors are keeping an eye on it and saying he's not hurting himself, then if he can play through the pain, I don't understand why anyone thinks they should be able to make his decisions for him.
@@queque5606 As I've pointed out to several other people, he shot 38% for the regular season (above the NBA average and his best number yet). His career playoff average is 35% or 1% lower than Steph Curry (still not bad). In the playoffs this year he had a 5 game stretch after the injury where he shot 16%, but if you ignore those 5 games his average (even playing hurt) was 37%, which is 1% ABOVE Steph Curry's career playoff average.
I mean if Steph was playing for Dallas would you be calling him "horrible" for his career numbers?
I'm scared of AKUMPO in Greece that's gone be tuff man im rooting for the DON
There is an amount of earned income ,where doing things that can hurt your chance of making said income, you don't do, because that 2nd and 3rd contract will be affected. If you get hurt, you won't make it to 2nd or 3rd contract.
IDGAF about MVP, All Star, all NBA. Only thing that matters is a ring.
We don't have the choice anyway.... I will just say, considering his physical "form" after a really painful season, that I fear the worst for 2024-2025.
My only consolation is that he will definitely eat less than usual.😄
I overstand.
As hard as it is for Slovenia, but the international compertition is harder then it was just 5 years ago... and sadly Slovenia just has Luka. Cancar COULD be a co star... if completely healthy. But he missed one complete year and just isnt there yet. I dont see Slovenia going to the Olympics. Croatia and Greece will battle it out. They have better and deeper teams.
And I think this wont be the exception going forward. Slovenia just does not have the depth of players needed to qualify for big tournaments anymore. So Euro Cup should still be reachable. But World Cup and Olympics? Dont think Luka will play a lot of those tournaments anymore in his career...
Playing for one's own country means everything to a large part of the world. Love of one's country is ingrained in the majority of people.
It's always kinda of jarring (and funny) how most americans don't relate
Why Luka played injured in the playoffs risking his health? He should've recover and get ready to play for his country at the Olympics
I’m early wow
I just hope the Mavs organization has a plan to slowly bring Luka back at the start of the new season. I'm cool with him missing like the first 10 games or so, since we now have Klay to supplement scoring. The long term health of Luka is the most important thing for this franchise, and you do whatever you have to do to keep him as healthy as possible for as long as possible.
Possibly the stupidest thing I've ever read - rest a 25 year old superstar because they can't get in shape.
@@edwinblack-rw5xk Dude not all players have the same body. No one accuses Jokic of being overweight. Also, factoring in that Luka played FIBA World Cup last year too, he’s played almost an entire year of basketball non-stop.
Players aren’t machines. Luka is still human at the end of the day. Sorry if I have a conscious for a human being constantly putting their body under intense physical strain.
I don't think it's a matter of taking games off, I just think they need to reduce the length of stretches he's on the court, and get his total minutes down. He should be playing 75 games or so, but just fewer minutes. Take games off when you're hurt, but forget that "Game management" bullshit. Just stop having him play 40-44 minutes in close games. His percentages will come up and he'll be less dinged when it comes to playoff time.
@@AnthonyWilliams840 Jokic isn't fat. He was fat, but realised he was wasting everyone's time so he got in shape. Unfortunately, the message hasn't sunk in with Luka yet
lol, rest Luka the first 10 games (worth like $6 million) so he can focus on garbage Slovenia. Give me a break. He should be focusing fully on recovery now from the knee injury that cost us any chance in the finals. This is kind of a slap in the face to Dallas fans, the team bankrolling his new lifestyle that he seems to enjoy so much. If he re-aggravated or worsened his injury playing Olympic ball, it would be unforgivable.
Fuck me with the money Luka will make in the nba, he can go back and run his fucken country for generations
Luka just needs to shoot 3’s and FT’s more consistently. If he can do that and have a 50 40 80 season we’ll win a chip.
Luka ain't ever shooting 40% on 3. He's not a pure shooter. He's streaky with an unusual shooting action. That's why his FT shooting is poor.
@@edwinblack-rw5xk His free throw shooting was down because of his injury (and was still 76% for the playoffs). It affected his shooting motion and caused him to shoot below his 79% average. People get WAY to over-excited about a single statistic (like that blow-by bullshit) instead of taking the time to check out the trends. Also, he shot 38% from 3 for the season. The ONLY reason he doesn't shoot over 40% is that he has to take bad shots due to a mediocre offensive team. Hopefully that's now been rectified. Steph Curry's career average in the playoffs is 36%. Luka's is 35%, and that's dragged down by this year's playoff shooting....where he was injured. Take away the 5 nightmare games after the knee injury (where he shot 16%) and he shot 38% for the playoffs. That's better (on high volume) than the "best 3pt shooter ever".
@@SDesWriter Here are some stats for you - for his career, Luka is a career .747 FT shooter. Last year, the NBA league average was .784. He is a below average FT shooter. Luka is a career .347 3 point shooter. Last year, the NBA league average was .366.
The short point is this - Luka is not a good jump shooter or FT shooter. He is pretty much at league average. What he is amazing at is getting to the ring and shooting on the move.
I promise you if Luka becames the perfect shooter and a perfect defender the Mavs still need their other players to perform well to win a chip. What he is right now can be improved, but it's enough to win provided his team is ready.
@@ouicertes9764nah it ain't, or anything like it. He was maybe the 5th best player in the finals? 😊
Luka will be paid millions playing for any team in the nba. He will play for his national team for free. That's the difference here. Take whatever you want from this but that's how much he loves both the game and his country.
I think it’s great he’s representing his country what I think is unfair all the pressure he has as one person representing a country for the entire world. It reminds me of the pressure Simone Biles had in Tokyo, too much focus on one person. Luka can play better I hope he doesn’t feel the pressure and just tries to enjoy it.
For people in Eu, Olympic are more important (then nba), its simple as that 😁
Nah it's not like that Slovenia would celebrate NBA title more than Olympic one
The fact that you have to tell Mavs fans this makes me disappointed in Mavs fans. What’s wrong with yall? Yall just want Luka to be your slave. It’s you too emotional people… YOU are not on the team, don’t say WE when talking about Mavs.
Just be happy for someone else for once in your lives and be grateful that he’s even on the Mavs
Nick I'm not risking acl tear when i attend family functions 😂 can someone just kidnap luka next time fiba basketball comes up.
We give luka more dollars than the amount of people in Slovenia.
@lockedonmavs technically Luka isn’t going to hangout with his family, he’s going to his other job that technically doesn’t pay him, so he volunteering for ne money, which hurts his body which hurts his job 🤷🤷
Lol nobody actually wonders "why," they just don't want him to abs that's the phrasing
Rest might be last thing Luka needs, you don't get better by resting
The sprained knee needs rest. They said that not only did the Mavs doctors approve him continuing to play, but the Slovenian doctors did as well. He is making sure that he's not damaging that knee. It's just sore and affects his shot and speed....but if he can play through the pain, that's his business. He can take a month off any time after the tournament to rest (they've already lost so it's looking very doubtful that they'll qualify for the Olympics). I'm more concerned that when he does rest he indulges his "diet" and puts on too much weight to lose before the season. I'd really like to see them come out of the gate playing hard in the Fall to use this lineup to get out to a lead in the West. Too many good teams to play around with losing streaks.
I have no problem with Luka representing Slovenia in the Olympics every 4 years, after all Dirk did the same thing & pride in your country isn't a bad thing. The problem I have is him playing for Slovenia in FIBA every off season. He needs to rest his injuries and recover in off-seasons in non-olympic years. He's paid way to much to risk his body for another team. It's unfair to the organization, his teammates & Mavericks fans.
If the Mavs keep going deep into the playoffs it will eventually be a problem for him. This year is special because of the Olympics, but since they lost today (by a lot), it's looking doubtful they'll make it out of the tournament and then he can rest. But when they're playing 90-100 games, it is a lot to ask anyone to play an additional tournament in the summer. Keeps the game sharp, but I hope he doesn't shorten his career by getting hurt too often.
Well, he mentioned a few times that after NBA he will buy a farm in Slovenia, so he does not want to resent to future neighbours.
It’s concerning that Luka’s still missing all his 3’s. He better figure that out next year/get healthy if that’s the cause.
Knee injury + not playing for a while = cold from 3
It’s not rocket science
we know what it is, he was shit from 3 in the playoffs until he got the cortisol shot in his knee, then went back to not hitting when it wore off. At this point it's pain managment for strains that can't heal fully because he keeps putting stress on it.
A LOCKED ON SLOVENIA CROSSOVER EPISODE WITH NICK PLUS A REAL SLOVENIAN WOULD TOTALLY SLAP
just sayin :)
Why I'm hoping for Slovenia to lose is because I don't care about Slovenia. I know that opinion mean squat to Luka or to his countrymen, but I'm just being honest with myself and I know you all feel the same. Trying to act decent, but secretly worried about his health. Try being honest for once.
Is Slovenia out of the Olympics now that they lost?
Luca tends to be quite dramatic on the court. In his first game, he was full of energy and moved as if he had no injury. However, as soon as Slovenia started losing badly, he began hobbling and making exaggerated faces, suggesting he was in pain. While it's clear that Luca has had and continues to deal with injuries, I believe he often overplays and exaggerates his condition, especially in games where his team is losing. There's definitely a mental aspect to this behavior. It seems like his physical performance and display of pain are closely tied to the game's outcome and his team's performance, suggesting that the pressure and frustration might amplify his reactions to his injuries.
Or that when he is truly locked in, and the adrenaline overrides the pain he plays completely different from when he just isn't feeling it.
The painkiller injections wear off, same thing happened with Charles Barkley in the finals
He sat out the last game. If his knee wasn't hurting, he would have played, even if it was just to stay sharp with the team. All injuries hurt less when your adrenaline is pumping. That said, he is playing limited minutes and sitting out when he can. It makes it obvious that the injury is still really bothering him.
BTW, despite "hobbling" and the faces he was making, he managed to put up a 26pt triple double. His limping was probably related to his 0-9 from 3pt range, but like in the playoffs, he managed to shoot over 50% from 2. If Croatia can blow them out, it's highly unlikely they're going to make it through the tournament so he'll be able to rest. But it's a little silly to imply that he's exaggerating his injury. If you've ever had a sprained knee or sprained ankle (I've had both), some days you feel pretty good, and other days you tweak it and it hurts so bad you wish you could have a wheelchair.
"display of pain" and "exaggerated faces"? my dude he's been on the Mavs 6 full years and you still don't understand that man is incapable of hiding his emotions and doesn't care how he "looks" on the court. Fans love it when he shows joy freely but hate it when he shows he's frustrated and complains, thats how it is. And yes he hates loosing and is a sore loser, that's why he's a psycho competitor.
Its cause he is putting too much pressure on his legs by NOT resting and not going through offseason workouts isolated. He plays year round which isn't a substitute for actual muscle building and training.
It's being fat and out of shape that's putting pressure on his legs. A fit 25 year old should have no issues.
Tell that to Kevin Durant....who's never lifted a weight or done any specialized training. Funny how people only complain about Luka....the 24 year-old who's already led the league in scoring and is averaging almost a 30pt triple double. Why don't you go bitch about his teammates who couldn't hit the ocean from a boat in the playoffs.....
@@edwinblack-rw5xk you do know that musles weighs more than fat no? Muscles put strain on your knees too dude. What you are saying is true is you are obese, not if you have an extra 2% body fat.
I wonder if Luka's 3 pointer will be hurt by playing injured for so long. Before the injury during the playoffs, he had 38.2% 3p %, and since then he has had pretty bad 3p shooting. I wouldn't want it to become a bad habit he needs to work on.
He's a streaky shooter. The mechanics of his shot aren't particularly good. And he's not fit. All of these things combined means he'll have shooting slumps.
That's really not true. He shot 37% for the playoffs (better than Steph Curry's career average) if you discount the 5 game stretch after the injury where he couldn't push off to hit his long shot. His percentage for the playoffs was low, but not game to game. The thing I want to see now that they have Klay is him doing more scoring from 20' on in when he's having an off night from distance. What kills him is shooting when he's 0-5 and the Mavs are having stretches of no scoring. Even at his worst in the playoffs he could hit the closer shots at a high efficiency. When he's off, if he sticks to the driving / post shots and let's Klay and PJ handle the 3pt shooting (and Kyrie), the Mavs will become a VASTLY more efficient team and you'll finally see his 3pt shooting over 40% to get him to elite level.
@@SDesWriter It's absolutely true, and the stats back it up. For his career, Luka is a below league average FT shooter and 3 point shooter. Let that sink in.
Also, your comment "what kills him is shooting when he's 0-5". He hits shots in bunches and misses shots in bunches. He's a streaky shooter and will remain a streaky shooter because his mechanics aren't good.
@@edwinblack-rw5xk He's been in the league 6 seasons. He came in shooting 43/33/71% (not bad for a 19 year-old). This year he was 49/38/79% (all over the league average). You are using stats from his teenage years to try to make a dumb-ass point. Gee, let's go look at Kobe's stats (or LeBron or even MJ) in their teens-early 20s and compare.....
GTFOH
1 more lose and there out and there team looks like shit this is 2023 mavs without kyrie bad so it might not even matter anymore
Yeah, Croatia has a pretty good team, but they're not the best Slovenia would have to beat and they got smoked (with Luka putting up a triple double). The team just isn't there. On days where he's feeling that knee injury, he needs to be able to lay off the 3pt shots (0-9 today), but when the rest of your team is mediocre, you feel like you have to try the homerun ball whenever you can.
Ayy they better respect the DON'S decision and that's that.
I'd rather Luka not play and I'm honestly hoping Slovenia loses in the qualifiers so he doesn't even have the opportunity to play. But I'm never going to hold that decision against him. If I was in his position I would be making the exact same decisions.
Let's go New Zealand
Luka will cut his future on the NBA. his 3 ball is really bad now. He needs to to hit the gym and dedicate himself to the game.
Isn’t he hurt though?
Luka stood around a lot in the game eruo ball is so much slower paced
Anything
Leave Luka alone he’s young and he will be alright plus this will help him stay in shape
People talking like if Luka doesn't play for his home country in the olympics, that he will rest and won't play basketball for a while. But that's not Luka. If he is not playing in the olympics, than he will be out playing in a pickup game somewhere or playing at Slovenia's equivelant of the Y. And it won't be structured, and he won't have team doctors around him where his health can be monitored.
Yes I do think he is going to rest and let his body heal when he is done with the Olympics.
Because he was faking injuries all year and will continue to do it. And he as usual put 200 shoots vs Croatia and missed most of them.
Sign Dennis Smith Jr.
Playing is fine, playing while you looked injured all playoffs is irresponsible to me.
He looked fat during the playoffs, not injured. Apparently fat is an injury now.
@@edwinblack-rw5xk you can be fat and injured my guy 🙄
@@DJCinthaBoy or you can be fat and say you are injured my guy
I will never criticize Luka's decision to play for Slovenia's NT, it's national pride after all
But since I'm not Slovenian I can root for Slovenia to lose so that Luka can have that much needed rest for his injuries, pretty easy too since except for Luka that Slovenia team roster is quite mediocre
I understand him wanting to play, but it is also just as easy to understand why Mavs fans don't give a crap about Slovenia and would root for him to lose.
🦝
I disagree and think they can and should stop him, Nico/Cuban should step in. Tbh it infuriates me that hes playing when hes clearly still injured, what if he reinjures himself even worse?
He just had an MVP level season, made it to the finals which I genuinely think they could have won if Kyrie showed up and Luka was healthy.
Dude needs to lock in. Rehab your body, get in better shape and prepare for next season which starts SOON.
He's fine. People need to relax. The doctors all say he won't injure the knee more seriously, it just swells when he pounds on it too much. All he needs to properly heal is 3-4 weeks of rest and rehab. Who cares if it's in July or August?
even if Kyrie showed up, DJJ and PJ still couldn't shoot 3s and Lively was useless on offense once the lob was taken out. Maybe Luka and Kyrie hero ball could have compensated that, but we will never know. Next season the Mavs should focus on NOT playing Luka 40min per game so he can be fresh and not start accumulating overuse injuries before the playoffs.
No one cares about the Olympics, we just want rings and a healthy knee.
Olympics gold for small country is bigger then a ring. Take the ring from USA is hero stuff in your country. It like to take gold from USSR in hocky. Miracle on Ice vs NHL champ 1980 what is bigger. 1% chans and he always going to take it.
@@janssonsamuel8005 still doesn’t matter. Winning a ring gives you worldwide and sponsorship clout.
@@janssonsamuel8005 Yea and how much money he gets from that ring, which they have almost no shot at anyways? He gets payed hundreds of millions in NBA, that should be his priority
@@RenoNV775 "worldwide clout" I promise you no one outside the USA knows who the NBA champions are unless you are a sport fanatics and follow american basketball. Most people know about Lebron, MJ, maybe Curry and that's it. Basketball is a very niche sport, and most follow their local leagues. It seems worldwide to you because the USA is very closed off to what happens outside of it.
So Luka was Faking an Injury in the Playoffs.
ask his doctor not to assume things you don't know
No re tard. He was getting his knee drained before and DURING games so he could play. That's why he was bleeding through his bandages. He's got a sprained knee which would cause most players to need time off, but he just got treatment and played through the pain. Instead of people admiring his dedication, you have inbred morons in the media and online using it as a reason to criticize him. It would be funny if it wasn't so childish and petty.
His job is not like your job. That’s stupid.
Is like you boss tell you that you can date thet girl she not good for you.
So if your work told you that you can't go out over the weekend because they want you to rest and be 100% on Monday, you're going to smile and say, "Yessir, Massir....."?
Im sorry but every Mavs fan should be rooting against Slovenia!
It’s not “why is he playing?” It’s he is too valuable and paid way too much to be 100% committed to being a Mav. He should come to camp in terrific shape, not possibly injured from playing elsewhere, and working on defense. That’s the issue.
They pay him to play for them in NBA not rule over his life. And look at the USA player that was good last summer in VM. They come back relly good. So it not bad training to play on the OS, But understand that injured can be a problem. But all the NBA team have there starts there.