Luka Doncic was ejected from Game 3 after he was fouled out in the fourth quarter with 4:12 left on the clock. And after that, the game was pretty much over for the Mavs. Luka’s carelessness has made several analysts question his intent on the court. On the recent episode of UNDISPUTED, Keyshawn Johnson took the conversation a little further and questioned his basketball IQ.
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According to Johnson, the most important player on the team is expected to be aware of his position in the game and the importance of staying on the court till the end. He asked Paul Pierce on the show, “Educate me, because I hear a lot of people in basketball say, ‘high IQ’. What does that mean?”
The Celtics legend had a fitting reply for it as he said, “That means if you’ve got five fouls, Keyshawn and you’ve Jaylen Brown coming at you, full steam, you let him go.”
.@keyshawn is disappointed in Luka's lack of basketball IQ while in foul trouble:
"You're the leader of the team, you're supposed to save the franchise." pic.twitter.com/OM5N03rZUM
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) June 13, 2024
The NFL star was puzzled by Luka’s game because, in his opinion, everything that he showed during the game was “dumb.” Johnson trashed the 25-year-old for not keeping his head in the game and picking up fouls that could have been easily avoided. He believed that his third foul picked while swiping at Derrick White out of sheer frustration sealed the game for the Celtics.
After that, it was curtains as far as the Mavs’ chances of a comeback were concerned. Unfortunately, Luka continued to make poor choices after that and failed to realize that he was the leader of the team. The 99-106 loss at home was the third consecutive one for the Mavs and the entire burden is now being put on the Slovenian’s head.
As harsh as this criticism was, the NFL legend went easy on Luka, in comparison to what Brian Windhorst had to say about him.
Brian Windhorst blasts Luka Doncic for unnecessary antics
Luka will be on the burner for a while. If the Mavs lose the series, which seems invincible after going into a 0-3 hole, he will be ridiculed for his Game 3 antics. Windhorst didn’t mince his words while talking about things he hated seeing from Luka on the court. He said,
“His performance in this game is unacceptable and the reason why the Mavericks are not gonna win… The fact that he came out of the game and blamed the officials showed me he’s nowhere close yet.”
Brian Windhorst BLASTS Luka Dončić on 'SportsCenter with SVP' after Game 3 of the NBA Finals. 🏀🔥🔥🔥
(Doris Burke also called out Luka's defensive effort on the ESPN on ABC broadcast: https://t.co/iAs1rZSpdI ) pic.twitter.com/rGlFwPYwNN
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 13, 2024
He also outlined that after committing five fouls by the fourth quarter, Luka still wasn’t ready to calm himself down. Windhorst stated that seeing him throw tantrums when there were only four minutes left on the clock, and his team was staring down the barrel of another loss, made him realize that the 25-year-old has a lot to work on.
He ended his statement on a hopeful note that someone, during the offseason, will make him understand how to play according to situations. For now, it seems like the series is more or less over for the Dallas side.
