Luka Doncic and his lackluster defense throughout this year’s Playoffs has been a topic of major discussion. Aside from constantly being blown past when on an island, one particular play towards the end of the first quarter in Game 3 of the Finals led to a bit of discourse. This involved JJ Redick and now, Richard Jefferson, who seems to be defending JJ and Luka.
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The play in question is Luka’s stepback and subsequent fall to the ground after the miss. Him falling to the ground led to a transition bucket for Jayson Tatum. This ‘lazy’ defense resulted in ‘BBALLBREAKDOWN’ on Twitter/X to call him out on it.
Richard Jefferson came to Luka’s rescue but prior to doing so, stood up for his fellow ‘Three Four Two’ member, JJ Redick. RJ would defend JJ’s comments on the ABC broadcast which clearly stated that getting back on defense was PJ Washington and Dante Exum’s job, not Luka.
The former Nets star claimed it’s incredibly difficult to shoot and land and also get back on a trailing offensive player with a full head of steam. “JJ says the opposite because he played 15 years and that is how we were all taught.”
Luka could have gotten up quicker but responsibilities to cover for the shooter are for PJ and Dante. JJ says the opposite because he played 15 years and that is how we were all taught. It’s impossible for a player to shoot, land, turn around and catch a player that is taking off… https://t.co/hStn6Vcjis
— Richard Jefferson (@Rjeff24) June 16, 2024
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Richard Jefferson rant if there wasn’t a bit of his signature snarkiness and sarcastic demeanor mixed into the fold. He ended his take with, “That being said Luka gotta get his a** up.”
Jefferson’s main point here is to defend JJ Redick and Luka Doncic and rightfully so. In this particular play, Jayson Tatum, doesn’t give Doncic all too much landing space and to prevent any entanglement of their feet which could lead to injury, Luka falling down does help in that sense.
Luka Doncic was better defensively in Game 4
Doncic must’ve heard the noise surrounding his defensive struggles leading up to Game 4 as in Game 4, he would prove himself to be a solid isolation defender. He would constantly find himself being hunted and held the Celtics to 18.2% on isos when he was the primary man on defense.
Given that Luka is the offensive engine for the Mavericks, expecting him to also be elite on defense is an arduous task. However, across history, true championship level superstars stepped up on both ends of the floor such as Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, and more.
The defense he displayed in Game 4 was reminiscent in ways to these aforementioned legends of the game who stepped up on D when it mattered the most. NBA Twitter was quick to compile clips of all of his impressive stops from the game.
