Luka Doncic may be the NBA’s next big thing, but if you ask Skip Bayless, he isn’t watching the next reincarnation of Larry Bird.
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Luka has quickly shown that he can be a top five or even top three player in the league. His performance against the #1 seed Phoenix Suns showed that much at least.
Now, he faces his toughest postseason test in the Golden State Warriors who are looking to relaunch a dynasty. Curry is rejuvenated, Jordan Poole is looking like the third splash brother, and Klay Thompson is back after two years. It’s unfortunate timing, but that’s the hard life a player like Luka will have to get used to facing.
The Mavs are down 1-0 to Golden State, and they lost convincingly with Luka only putting up 20 points on 6 of 18 shooting. He’ll have to be much better in game two if the Mavs want to make a Finals run.
Skip Bayless harshly compares Luka Doncic to Larry Bird
The Warriors defensive game plan is, of course, focused on shutting Luka down, but even Steve Kerr knows that it’ll be hard to replicate a similar defensive performance again against someone of Luka’s caliber.
“He’s too good,” Kerr commented. “One game we did an excellent job defensively, but we are under no illusion that we’ve figured anything out. There’s a good chance those shots start going in next game, so we just have to stay committed and stay aggressive and play with force and see what happens.”
Luka took responsibility for his shortcomings in game one, even though there was little he could have done agaisnt Golden State’s stingy defense.
“I’ve got to be better. That’s on me,” Doncic said. “They did a great job. As a leader, I’ve got to be better for the whole group.” What exactly did the Warriors do to keep Doncic in check?
Firstly, Andrew Wiggins did a phenomenal job of applying pressure on Luka. He would stay physical with him, even picking him up in the backcourt or at halfcourt. They also kept Luka away from the basket by locking down the paint with Draymond, playing box-and-one defenses, and consistently going under screens.
While Luka is a good shooter, your best at stopping him is forcing him to settle for jumpshots instead of driving to the lane where he can kick out to a plethora of shooters. The Warriors will look to do the same again, but as Kerr mentioned it will be difficult.
After Luka’s game 1 performance, Skip Bayless was all over him. He said that he doesn’t see the fear factor in Luka that he used to see in comparable players like Larry Bird. Skip is known for having wild takes, but it’s sometimes interesting to entertain some of his thoughts.
