Luka Doncic’s defensive skills have come under the microscope due to the Playoff series with the Timberwolves. In only one of the five games did Doncic have a net positive plus-minus (+/-) in the series. First, it was ESPN’s Zach Lowe who called his defense “laughable” after Game 4. Then, after the Lakers exited the playoffs, ex-NBA veteran Kendrick Perkins also chimed in to criticize the Lakers’ star.
On ESPN’s latest episode of the ‘First Take’ show, Perkins hammered down on Doncic’s defensive skills. “Luka Doncic is the worst defensive star that we’ve seen in the modern era of basketball. Period,” he said.
Why Is Luka Doncic’s Defense Getting Criticized?
In the Timberwolves-Lakers series, the key deciding factor was Anthony Edwards‘ offense. Before the series began, Jarred Vanderbilt explained how the Lakers planned to stop Edwards. Unfortunately, on most occasions, Doncic ended up guarding Edwards, who would blow by him with ease. However, the game that tipped it over the edge for analysts was Game 3, where he allowed even Jaden McDaniels to drop 30 points in a game and couldn’t stop him either.
During his time with the Mavericks, Doncic had solid defenders like PJ Washington and Dereck Lively II to cover for his lapses on defense while his focus remained on offensive production. With the Lakers, the only solid defender on the team who is consistent has been Jarred Vanderbilt, who has the best defensive rating on the Lakers’ roster. However, JJ Redick did not play Vanderbilt for a lot of minutes, and subsequently, Luka’s defensive crumble ended up costing the Lakers their championship ambitions this season.
What Is Luka Doncic Looking Forward To Doing With The Lakers Next?
Luka Doncic, after game 5 of the series, said he’s looking forward to the coming offseason and subsequent preseason games so that he gets enough practice with this current roster to understand their games and build the chemistry. He recalled his time seeing Kyrie Irving adjust in the Mavericks. The Mavericks did not qualify for the playoffs in the same season when Kyrie joined the team. But, after spending a full season together, they were able to go to the NBA Finals in the 2023-24 season.
Doncic will aim to improve his chemistry and work on his defensive skills to improve his performance on both ends of the floor. What remains appalling is that after the Anthony Davis trade (who was the best defender on the Lakers roster this season), Luka Doncic is currently among the top three in terms of defensive ratings of Lakers players (only behind Armel Traore and Jarred Vanderbilt).
In my personal opinion, the pressure of defensive criticism comes packaged with the expectations of being an All-Time great player. People expected Doncic to be a generational talent and even compared him to LeBron at one time. Just like in LeBron’s prime, his only weakness (arguably) was free-throw shooting. Similarly, Doncic should be allowed to not be good at everything, he’s only human at the end of the day. However, it will not hurt if he improves on defense. I would go as far as to say his defensive effort may be the difference maker in a championship run, if he puts his mind to putting in the right amount of effort and works on it.
