How quickly the narratives shift during the NBA playoffs! From lingering on the borders of the ‘Best Player in the World’ conversation to now facing intense criticism, Luka Doncic‘s Odyssey reinforces the ‘Winner takes it all’ nature of the postseason. In that wake, Rachel Nichols offered some constructive criticism to the Slovenian superstar, touching upon three aspects where he can improve in the future.
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Nichols recently sat down with Colin Cowherd on The Herd and dissected the Mavs centerpiece’s disastrous setback in the Finals. The FS1 analyst pointed out that Doncic has dodged blame throughout his career because of his elite status as a generational talent.
She declared that she believes that the 2024 Western Conference Finals MVP has been getting away with most of his mistakes without taking accountability because of how good he is. The 50-year-old then listed out three swift solutions to the problem.
Nichols believes that Luka needs to stop chirping at the refs, be a better defender, and also shed some weight to improve his conditioning.
As per the former ESPN host, the NBA Finals has exposed these flaws and this is the first time that he is facing such intense scrutiny. While recognizing his talent level, the veteran analyst argued that some minor tweaks could pave the way for much better results at the highest stage.
“It’s a wake-up call and if it’s not, then he really has a big problem. Because there is couple of easy areas for him to just elevate his already incredibly elite game. Obviously, the talking to the officials…That in turn hand in hand, get back on defense…Get in the kind of shape where he can be in the best shape of his life at the end of a very long season,” Nichols told Colin Cowherd.
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Nichols argued that Doncic has looked out of breath during the NBA Finals and it is clear that his conditioning is not up to the mark for the highest stage of basketball. She urged him to take inspiration from Nikola Jokic who improved his conditioning and landed the 2023 championship.
To sum it up, Nichols wasn’t downplaying Doncic as an elite athlete and recognized his status as a superstar-level player. However, after witnessing his Finals performance, she noticed that his habits of constantly complaining to the referees and being a liability on defense are hurting his team.
Nichols believes that a great team like the Boston Celtics really is a mirror, which has exposed Doncic’s flaws, which had not been exposed thus far due to his greatness.
While the Mavericks’ campaign looks done and dusted at this point, this was a great learning curve for the perennial superstar. At any rate, Luka Doncic is just 25 years old and he still has a big window to unearth a championship-caliber campaign.
