(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Just a few weeks ago, people were talking about Luka Doncic as an MVP contender and one of the best players in the league.
But on Thursday morning, everyone was speaking about how lacking his defensive skills are.
Doncic left a lot to be desired in Game 3 of the NBA Finals and his defense has been getting particularly negative criticism.
According to Courtside Buzz (via Get Up), Doncic’s defense has been a big problem during the playoffs.
When looking at the highest blow-by percentages allowed on drives in a single playoff series over the last ten years, multiple media outlets have pointed out that Doncic hasn’t done well.
His percentage sat at 59% against the Oklahoma City Thunder, 65.2% against the Los Angeles Clippers, and now 67.7% against the Boston Celtics.
That means that if an opposing team attempts to drive past Doncic and score on him, they probably will.
Highest blow-by percentage allowed on drives in a single playoff series over the last 10 years:
2024 – Luka Doncic – 67.7% vs. Celtics
2024 – Luka Doncic – 65.2% vs. Clippers
2024 – Luka Doncic – 59.0% vs. Thunder
Does this mean Luka is officially an all-time bad defender?… pic.twitter.com/ITBT72aMxp
— Courtside Buzz (@CourtsideBuzzX) June 13, 2024
These are not great numbers for Doncic and they highlight the fact that his defensive game needs a lot of help.
That was very clear on Wednesday night, as Doncic repeatedly made some amateur mistakes when attempting to lock down his competitors.
He earned a bunch of inexcusable fouls, was late to cover his opponents, and often moved without enough speed or presence.
He may be one of the best shooters in the league and a future MVP, but Doncic is not known as a great defender.
The good news for him is that he’s still young and can improve this part of his game.
If the Mavericks end up losing the Finals, they will be able to look back at what went wrong and how the Celtics outplayed them.
One of the biggest areas that needs to be worked on in the summer is defense, especially Doncic’s.
He isn’t the first player in NBA history to lack defensive skills and Doncic still has time to get better, if he wants to.
The post Stats Show A Worrisome Trend About Luka Doncic’s Defense appeared first on The Cold Wire.