Ahead of Game 1 between the Dallas Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder, Luka Doncic was asked about his matchup against defensive specialist Lu Dort. Doncic spoke glowingly of Dort, hailing him as one of the three best perimeter defenders in the NBA.
“I just got to be aggressive,” Doncic said. “But as I said before, I think it was one year ago or something like that, I think he’s a top three defender in the league, guarding perimeter position. I think he’s very good defensively, he understands what he’s doing so he’s pretty smart on defense too, so it’s going to be a tough matchup.”
Doncic was then asked to name who else was in his top three, and he went with Jrue Holiday and Herb Jones.
“Jrue Holiday, for sure,” Doncic stated. “I would say Jones, Herb Jones. I think he’s a pretty good one too. I’ll go with those three.”
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon had mistakenly stated that Doncic named his teammate Derrick Jones Jr. in his top three. It is clear in this video, though, that the 25-year-old was referring to the New Orleans Pelicans forward.
The three that Doncic went with are certainly some of the best in the business. Holiday almost always tends to show up on such lists. He has been arguably the best defensive guard in the NBA for some time now and Andre Iguodala even said Holiday is one of the best defenders he has ever seen and that he is the best of his time.
The 33-year-old has made the NBA All-Defensive First Team three times and the Second Team twice. Holiday finished sixth in the voting for DPOY this year and should make one of the All-Defensive Teams yet again.
Interestingly, Jones finished a spot above Holiday at fifth. Somewhat surprisingly, he has never made an All-Defensive Team, but it’s only a matter of time before he does. Dort has also failed to make any of those two teams in his career but should eventually at some point.
As for some honorable mentions here, I would go with Jaden McDaniels, Derrick White, and Alex Caruso. McDaniels has shown the basketball world just how great of a defender he is in these playoffs, while Caruso and White have been regarded as two of the better defenders at that guard spot for a while now.
Lu Dort And The Thunder Slowed Down Luka Doncic In Game 1
Doncic has not quite been at his best in these playoffs as he has been dealing with a knee injury. Dort and the Thunder are exactly who you do not want to go up against when that’s the case and the Slovenian endured a rough night as a result.
Doncic recorded 19 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 steals in Game 1 while going 6-19 from the field and 1-8 from beyond the arc. With the five-time All-Star having been slowed down, the Mavericks were blown out 117-95.
You do worry for the Mavericks if the Thunder can somewhat keep Doncic in check moving forward. I am not going to overreact to one game, but you do have to be a bit concerned at this point, especially if that knee isn’t going to get much better in the coming week or so.
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