Luka Doncic is genuinely a one-of-a-kind player. How anyone making decisions in Dallas could watch him work in the playoffs and say:
"We don't want this guy leading the charge for our ball club; it is beyond me."
Creating Micro Advantages:
Luka uses neutral-to-attack moments to instill fear in defenders better than almost anyone.
He consistently creates moments where he is in rhythm and on balance while his defender is not. These neutral → attack moments are at the epicenter of his greatness, and he uses them to create the small advantages that turn into game-changing plays!
During a neutral → attack moment, the offensive player has five options for his next step. There is no place in basketball where the individual with the ball is ever at a more significant advantage against the defender.
The five options:
Go.
Exchange.
Pass in the “Go” direction.
Pass in the “Exchange” direction.
Shoot.
Primary PnR Coverages:
What makes Luka so unique in the PnR action is his "if-than" thought process.
Every defense has a solution. You can’t take away everything; more often than not, Luka will find the solution and pick your coverage apart.
Luka systematically shredded the Minnesota PnR defense in the Western Conference Finals by working through his process:
1. Reading coverages.
2. Setting up the best angles of attack.
3. Finding solutions for himself and his teammates.
Minnesota primarily played three different coverages against Dallas in the Western Conference Finals.
1. Over + Level'ish to Drop:
This was Minnesota's standard PnR coverage against Luka. They thought they could bother him with length at the POA and then use Rudy to prevent easy finishes at the rim.
2. BLITZ:
Once Luka started to shred the base coverage Minnesota tried, they would revert to just getting the ball out of his hands. Luka, a great passer, was willing to take what the defense was giving him and dump pocket passes to his bigs to play 4v3 advantage basketball.
3. Over + Deeper Drop:
When all else failed, Minnesota would try to mix in a deeper drop and see if Luka could make the drop defender "break" his coverage. Luka made them pay almost every single time he saw this coverage.
Edit Timeline:
This edit dives into 17 (yes… I was somehow able to cut it down to 17) two-man actions.
00:55 -1:30 - (1i) Over + Leve'ish to Drop into give-and-go.
1:31 - 2:50 - (55) Over + Level into Low Man Help manipulation read.
2:51 - 3:56 - (1i) BLITZ into Lively Pocket Pass
3:57 - 5:21 - (1i) Level + Deeper Drop into a Gortat screen and then "breaking" Rudy to finish with a Lob. WOW!
5:22 - 6:35 - (1i) Under, bad decision! Luka makes a wonderful Neutral to Attack play here. FIVE OPTIONS!
6:37 - 7:33 (1i) Over + Leve'ish to Drop into Step Back Three.
7:34 - 8:44 (55) Switch? There was terrible communication, and Luka again manipulated LMH to get a dunk for Gafford.
8:45 - 9:36 (55) BLITZ.
9:37 - 10:37 (55) Deep Drop Lob over Rudy. Luka makes him "break" from playing two to just Luka.
10:38 - 11:52 (1i) BLITZ into a WIDE OPEN corner three.
11:53 - 12:10 (1i) BLITZ into another WIDE OPEN corner three.
12:11 - 13:20 (1i) Over + Level'ish Drop into Luka "breaking" Towns and getting another lob finish for Gafford.
13:21 - 14:02 (2i) BLITZ into Luka getting the ball to an advantage and PJ Washington a WIDE OPEN corner three.
14:15 - 15:20 (2i) UNDER... Logo three against a Minnesota under.
15:21 - End (OC and 2i) BLITZ. Minnesota had decided they were done; the fight was over, and they wanted to get the ball out of Luka's hands.
Marzie feels sorry for all the Dallas fans who lost such a PAWSOM player like Luka!
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