Luka Doncic is only 26 years old and is already considered one of the NBA’s all-time greats. In his eight seasons in the league, the 6’6″ guard has already amassed numerous individual awards, established plenty of records, and even been to the NBA Finals last year. It’s safe to say the man has a complete offensive game with few weaknesses.
However, his most glaring weakness is his defense. Luka has never been known to be a defensive stalwart, and time and time again, this lack of effort on the defensive end has come under scrutiny by many analysts, including Zach Lowe.
On his podcast, Lowe expressed his confusion as to why Doncic doesn’t put more effort into his defense when he’s shown glimpses of being capable of it. Zach even went as far as calling the Los Angeles Lakers superstar “helpless” defensively at times.
Many players who are considered legends in the sport didn’t necessarily play lockdown defense. However, they weren’t turnstiles on that end either, which is what Doncic has been for most of his career.
Lowe, though, noted that there were a few occasions when he saw glimpses of what the Slovenian native could be when he competes on that end. These were the 2022 Western Conference Semis against Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns, where they came from a 2-0 deficit to win, and the 2023 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.
“Here’s what I’m tired of, and it happened in the Phoenix series that they ended up winning, in the second round. It happened in the Celtics series, the Finals that they ended up losing. And it’s happening again now,” Lowe pointed out. “My only gripe is: why do you have to get humiliated at the beginning of every single playoff series before you show the world, ‘Yeah, I can actually put in a little bit more of an effort on defense?'”
“Because if you go back and watch Game 1 and 2 of that Phoenix series, he is so bad defensively that it’s laughable. And then, all of a sudden, he becomes passable. Celtics series? Same thing. This is why Brian Windhorst screamed on television, which Brian never does, about like, ‘Hey, you have shown us you can actually do this when you care,'” Lowe continued. “And yet again, here we are, four games into this series, and he’s just helpless defensively. Off the ball, too. Like his little lunges, gambling, not even gambling, just sort of lurching around aimlessly out of the play.”
As always, Luka has been balling against the Wolves, averaging 30.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, against a Wolves team that has a superstar like Anthony Edwards, who can carve up any defender, Doncic’s lack of effort on the defensive end has been glaring.
Lowe sounded like he was at the end of his rope in frustration with Doncic’s defensive apathy. While showing passivity on that end in the regular season was one thing, the playoffs are another beast entirely. Every possession matters, and every point given up can be crucial. With the Los Angeles Lakers trailing 3-1, how the Slovenian does on defense from this point moving forward is something worth looking into.
“I’m just tired of the, ‘I’m going to be embarrassed until our backs are against the wall, and then I’m going to show you that, yeah, I can put up a little bit of a fight.’ How about you put up a f*****g fight in like, Game 1 of the second round? And now you’re down 3–1, and you’re probably going home,” Lowe stressed.
Lowe’s guest on the show, Rob Mahoney, chimed in and said that “Luka Magic” is undoubtedly an elite competitor who has showcased his entire repertoire when his back is against the wall. The question is why he can’t do it consistently.
“It’s tough because Luka is a high-order competitor. Like, that dude is a motherf****r. And we’ve seen it in enough competitive circumstances to know that. But if you are a motherf****r, can you not take this seriously on both sides?”Mahoney said.
Luka has been in the position the Lakers are in before. So, can he summon the same mentality he had with the Dallas Mavericks? Or will his lackadaisical approach to defense doom the Purple & Gold this season?
