Luka is not a bad help defender at all. He gets beaten in 1 on 1 situations against superior athletes with quickness to burn him, but he's a pretty solid help defender and has good/quick hands (hence why he gets so many steals as well).

Yeah but you’re insinuating he’s better at defending than Tatum with your terrible stats, when in reality he’s not even close

I never said he's better, I'm simply pointing out facts here to show he's not nearly as bad defensively as you claim. I can go well beyond defensive rating too.

Opponent field goal % as the primary/closest defender (NBA.com)

25-29 Feet
Luka: 34.1%
Tatum: 33.6%

20-24 Feet
Luka: 38.9%
Tatum: 38.6%

15-19 Feet
Luka: 39.4%
Tatum: 45.5%

10-14 Feet
Luka: 43.2%
Tatum: 45.4%


Not only is Luka ahead in defensive rating and on par with opponent field goal % but he's also top 5 in the league in steals per game (Tatum isn't even top 50).

This post was edited by Sixers on Dec 8 2022 08:42pm

Like I said earlier, Tatum takes turns guarding the most potent offensive threats on the opposition team.

How often are you going to see Luka stuck on an island against someone like Curry, KD or Giannis? He was getting torched by Killian Hayes ffs. Stats flatter Luka, and that’s why he’s your favourite player because MUHHHH STATSSSSS

This post was edited by Nwotmik on Dec 8 2022 09:02pm

It's 2022, nobody in the NBA is "stuck on an island" bro. Everyone switches, nobody is "fighting through screens" like old man out of touch Shaq things they can still do. The league is different now, with everyone (almost) able to shoot defenses just switch like crazy and get any matchup they want. You can't really hide too well in today's league lol.

Luka Doncic talks about his defense this season:"People are not going to admit it, but I think this year I’ve really taken a big step, I don’t need people to believe; I believe in myself. I think I’ve been playing defense way better than the first four years and I think I’ve taken a huge step forward.”


He's playing better defense than his first four seasons, yes. His off ball instincts have sharpened and he’s not as easily beat on ball anymore. The issue is consistency, and with how much of the offensive load he carries for the Mavs he has trouble being able to sustain the energy to be at that level at all times. He still has lapses and lack of effort because of insane usage rate (#1 in the league), but he's at least not a negative defender anymore which is big for the Mavs.

His worst defensive game of the season came against the Celtics, but everyone on the Mavs were getting torched that game it wasn't just him.

This post was edited by Sixers on Dec 8 2022 09:42pm

He fuckin sucks mate

Why no options for mum

I'm disapprointed you didn't include Ben (Philly doesn't need LBJ because he's the next LBJ) Simmons.

Absolute no Brainer

Story of your life.