The NBA’s Biggest Challenge: Defending Luka Doncic in the Pick and Roll

Luka Doncic has faced the Minnesota Timberwolves twice this season. On both occasions he has done very well.

In two games against the number 1 defense in the NBADoncic averages 36.5 points, 10.5 assists and 6 rebounds with 50.9% shooting from the field. While Minnesota overcame a big night in the first game, Doncic led Dallas to victory in the second with a performance of 34 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.

Doncic has reached a point where flirting with a 30-point triple-double is a normal night for him, which speaks to the heights he continues to reach.

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This Luka Doncic pick and roll shows how he is smarter than the best defenses in the NBA

???? The play

✏️ Analysis

Dwight Powell dribbles toward Doncic on the right side to give him the ball.

Doncic doesn’t turn to Powell immediately. Instead, he establishes a screen down for Derrick Jones Jr. in the corner before venturing back toward the 3-point line. Then Luka does something important: he gives the impression that he is going to throw when he receives the ball from Powell, which encourages his defender, Anthony Edwards, a little more to go for the closing.

Doncic takes advantage of the fact that Edwards leaves him little or no space and does it run towards the Powell screen.

With Edwards trapped on Powell’s screen, Rudy Gobert extends toward the 3-point line to prevent Doncic from attacking from the side.

Doncic deliberately attracts Gobert by keeping his dribble alive and getting closer to the sideline.

The Timberwolves are now in a bit of a complicated situation.

Minnesota doesn’t want Gobert is left defending Doncic, so Edwards is in recovery mode. That, however, means that there are two defenders in the vicinity of Doncic. Jaden McDaniels doesn’t want to leave Kyrie Irving just a pass away on the left wing, so the Mavericks have a situation of 3 contra 2 budding.

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Doncic has three options depending on how the last line of Minnesota’s defense, consisting of Kyle Anderson and Karl-Anthony Towns, rotates:

Option 1: Pass to Tim Hardaway Jr. in the left corner if Anderson stays in the paint to cover Powell’s drop.
Option 2: A long pass to Jones in the right corner if Towns stays in the paint to cover Powell’s fall.
Option 3: Assist Powell’s fall to the rim if Anderson and Towns are too slow to react or anticipate passes to the corners.

As clever as he is, Doncic looks at Jones like he’s going for option 2.

But with Anderson going with Hardaway and Towns staying, he opts for option 3: pass the ball to Powell.

be so tall as it is helps Doncic recognize the terrain and make a pass that most would not even think of trying.

More | Three transfers for the Dallas Mavericks to maximize Doncic’s MVP level before the trade deadline

???? Why is it important?

Doncic may be the most difficult player to defend in the pick and roll currently.

Statistically only Trae Young scores more points per game than Doncic as a ball driver in pick and rolls. Doncic is more efficient than Young and than almost every other player in the league, ranking in the 89th percentile with 1.06 points per possession.

Doncic doesn’t have as quick a 3-point shot as Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard, but he does almost everything else at a league-best level.

The only player who has made more shots at a better rate than Doncic from range float es Nikola Jokic, who has the best floater in the game despite being a center. Doncic has also been amazing near the basketconnecting the 77.3% of those shots. That’s what you’d expect to see from players who always finish above the rim or from Giannis Antetokounmpo, not from Doncic, who rarely jumps above the rim.

As we have already said before, Luka plays at his own paceuse your body to protect itself from defenders and has the footwork needed to do things like dodge defenders with the eurostep. It also has a amazing touch. Not being able to finish over rival defenders could be his only limit when it comes to finishing.

Doncic’s ability to go downhill and take everything the defense gives him is the reason you saw Gobert stretch as much as he did. The reason you didn’t see Gobert change on Luka is because Doncic probably would have cooked him.

That’s not a criticism of Gobert’s defense. Doncic may be the best one-on-one scorer in the NBA.

Doncic currently leads the league in clearance scoring while ranking in the 76th percentile in efficiency. His size makes him difficult for guards and he is too skilled for big guys to stay ahead of him. When his step-back shot is as effective as it has been for most of this season, There’s not really an answer to it..

Most 1 vs. 1 of Doncic start with pick-and-rolls. Here’s what Gobert and the Timberwolves were trying to avoid:

What is there to do? If you defend the pick and roll in the traditional way Doncic will make his way into the painting for a bandeHa, float or spin. If you switch, he will play with whoever defends him, whether on the perimeter or in the low post, because he is also a scorer who punishes in the post. If you put two on the ball, like the Timberwolves did, Luka will put you in a bind until something opens up.

Teams have even tried catch Doncic off guard changing how and when they send you doubles. He usually detects them too.

Doncic has been doing these things for a long time, but Your skills sharpen a little more each year. The Mavericks have also done a good job surrounding him with role players who complement him. They almost always have three shooters to whom he can pass the ball, as well as an insider who can assist near the rim.

Even on a normal night, Doncic always seems to have an answer.

2024-01-09 22:11:09
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