Luka Doncic has become an unstoppable force in the NBA. He has already established himself as one of the most talented scorers in the league, going off on rivals every night, showing all his talents in front of the basket, using every trick in the book to get those points.
It’s been a nightmare guarding Luka and even when the Dallas Mavericks lose, Doncic makes life very hard for their rivals, who don’t seem to have the key to figure out his game and how to stop him. ESPN interviewed three of the best on-ball defenders in the NBA in the past two decades, trying to see how they would approach a player like the Slovenian and what they would do to keep him quiet.
Tony Allen, Bruce Bowen, and Metta World Peace talked with Tim MacMahon, sharing their thoughts on what it would take to stop the former Real Madrid player. Allen started saying he wouldn’t give him the step-back 3.
“I’m not giving that up. I’m not giving that up,” Allen says. “Everything you’re going to have to beat me with is going to have to be going to the right. I know this is your strong hand, but you can get nine points in three shots going to this left hand, so I think that’s more deadly.
“If you score on me, you’re going to have to score on me that hard every time. But one thing that I’m taking away is that left-hand dribble to step back into that shot. That rhythm, nah, I’m not never letting you get comfortable to go into that. I’m on you.”
“You can’t get discouraged with prolific players. They’re going to score, but your job is to contain it and cut it down. I can give you what you’re going to take, because you’re cold. That’s how good you is, because you’re Luka Doncic. But [if he gets comfortable with his step-back], it’s like, ‘Damn, who’s sticking him? Next!’ If I’m going to defend him, I’m going to put myself to the test and say, ‘You know what? I ain’t giving that step-back 3 up.'”
Bowen said he would use pressure to try to keep him worried about something else than scoring. The former San Antonio Spurs would chase the 21-year-old throughout the entire court to make him uncomfortable.
“Even though he’s not a player that’s rushed, I’m going to pick you up full court as much as possible and make you work — turn, turn, turn, turn — so that you’re not having a fresh mindset when it comes to attacking in the half court,” Bowen says.
“If I can be a little physical with him and make him work a little bit more, a lot like [defending] Steve Nash. Now when it comes time to finish plays, maybe he’s not as geared to finish the plays quite like he was in the beginning, because he’s being pressured a little bit. Now he has to worry about what I’m doing from the standpoint of making him work, work, work while he has the ball and bringing it up the floor.
“It’s not something comfortable. Yes, he can do it. But does he want to do it? Probably not.”
For Metta World Peace, now known as Metta Sandiford-Artest, he would try to take advantage of Doncic’s bad shape and probably let him go off in the first quarter but after three quarters, he wouldn’t play so fluidly.
“I’d definitely test his cardio,” Sandiford-Artest said.
“I think one of the interesting things would have been when he drives, he’s [usually] able to push off, which probably would have been more difficult,” Sandiford-Artest says. “I’m playing at 255, 260 [pounds], so that probably would have been difficult. But he’s really crafty.
“For the first three quarters, it would be really hard for you to get a jumper, unless you’re coming off a screen. That was just my thought process guarding guys. You’re going to have to drive. And I don’t mind a guy getting 15 or 20 in the first quarter. If you’re getting that against me in the first quarter, you’re probably done.”
Luka is a very crafty player, as Sandiford-Artest said, so it would be interesting how he would respond to all these strategies. He has faced good defenders like Ben Simmons, Rudy Gobert, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and even LeBron James. The Slovenian always finds a way to score so it would be good to see how he would fare against old-school defenders.
