The Los Angeles Lakers have lost three games in a row and five of their last seven, and the criticism is starting to build. All of a sudden, a fair amount of it is being directed at Luka Doncic, despite the outstanding production he has had this season.
As was the case last season following the trade that sent him from the Dallas Mavericks to the Lakers, fans and pundits are fixating on the flaws in his game. It’s getting to the point where a few people even seem to think that Doncic may be overrated.
Advertisement
Max Kellerman of The Ringer said on The Bill Simmons Podcast that Doncic’s tendency to control the ball a lot has hurt his teammates and even his own game, while also criticizing the superstar’s subpar defense (h/t Fadeaway World).
“Luka Doncic, because he can get a high percentage shot whenever he wants, it has stunted his development as a player in a lot of respects, right?” Kellerman said. “Because why wouldn’t you do that? You want to score on this possession. But as a result, guys are standing around, they’re not playing with energy, they’re not moving without the ball, they’re not touching the ball, they’re not in rhythm, they can’t get hot from outside.
“And then top of that, he complains on every call and doesn’t play defense hardly ever,” Kellerman added. “Maybe one of the worst defenders in the game, even though he has the size to play some defense at least.”
Doncic leads the NBA in usage rate at 37.7%. That means that his flaws, as well as his poor shooting games, will get magnified due to how often he controls the ball and the destiny of the Lakers’ offense.
He’s averaging 4.1 turnovers per game, but at the same time, he’s also putting up 32.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.6 assists and 1.4 steals a game while leading everyone in scoring average, 3-point attempts, 3-point makes, free throw attempts and made free throws per game.
It’s all part of the Doncic experience, and overall, one should value him since his strengths greatly outweigh his weaknesses. But until he leads the Lakers to an NBA championship, he will continue to be scrutinized at a high level.
Advertisement
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Analyst: Luka Doncic controls the ball too much, doesn’t play defense