Luka Doncic is ripping defenses apart in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, leading the postseason in almost every offensive stat category. Doncic is especially lethal in the pick-and-roll, with LeBron James trying to decode the best way to guard him on the latest episode of the ‘Mind The Game’ podcast.
James believes blitzing Doncic is the best course of action, first explaining why switching coverages doesn’t work.
“By the numbers, I would say blitz. The reason I say that is because I look at the other two. It’s not switching because they don’t run many small pick-and-rolls. They run a lot of 1-5 pick-and-rolls. The five is usually not as mobile or agile, so they try to bring the five up and they have those two lob threats which Luka loves, so I know switching is not it, we saw that at the end of Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.”
LeBron also broke down why he doesn’t think playing drop on a Doncic pick-and-roll is helpful either.
“In dropping pick-and-rolls, he’s just too big at his frame and size. You drop his pick-and-roll, he gets the hostage, puts you in jail, and now you’re asking the big to make the decision. ‘Should I help up? Should I give ground?’ As soon as you help up, lob to Gafford or Lively or corner kick-pass to the three-point.”
With the other two schemes not being effective, James believes blitzing is the only remaining logical choice.
“I would say blitz by process of elimination and place the onus on the five man in the short roll to make a play. I would say that. You live with those chances.”
Redick would reveal to James that his assertions were correct. According to Redick, Luka generates 110 points per 100 possessions when teams play drop coverage against him in the pick-and-roll.
That number jumps up if it’s a switch defense, with Doncic generating 112 points per 100 possessions in the Playoffs as compared to 115 points per 100 possessions in the regular season.
Blitzing is the most successful metric, as James assumed, with Doncic putting up 97 points per 100 possessions, which falls dramatically to 67 points per 100 possessions in the playoffs.
Joe Mazzulla Knows There’s No Stopping Luka Doncic And Kyrie Irving
The Celtics will host Game 1 against the Mavericks tonight, with fans around the world waiting in anticipation for the series to begin. The Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving backcourt tandem has been hard to stop in the Playoffs this year, with Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla also admitting that the Celtics’ defense cannot stop them from putting up big numbers.
“This series is going to be about stopping those two guys. There is no stopping them. There’s defending them at a high level and there’s playing a complete game because every part of the game is connected. And so they’ve played nine close games, we’ve played four. There’s going to be close games. We’re not here to stop those guys. We’re here to play a complete game of basketball and have an understanding of how each possession has an effect on everything else.”
Doncic is averaging 28.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 8.8 assists this postseason, continuing to build his reputation as one of the best playoff performers in the NBA.
Kyrie is averaging 22.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 5.2 assists. While his scoring has dipped from the regular season, Irving is doing all the right things off the ball and on defense to be the perfect backcourt partner for Luka, especially with his aggressive on-ball defense and second-half takeovers.
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