Ambrose wrote:Bob8 wrote:Ambrose wrote:
No, I know, they've been horrendous with him off the court. I've watched every second of the series, and when he's off the offense completely implodes. That does not take away from the fact that he's objectively playing poorly by his standards, and if he wasn't, this series would already be over. I get he's been asked to do a ton, but when his shot isn't falling (or others aren't), he can't continue to bail out defenses by settling for contested stepbacks 12 times/game.
Mavs only offense is Kyrie's ISOs and Luka's pick&roll, but Clippers defending last very effectively and with new officiating Luka is getting very difficult easier shots, so step backs are the easiest shots Luka gets and if he starts hitting them, everything will change. Clippers will need to defend Luka differently and that will open everything for others. So Luka's step back is crucial for Mavs winning that series.
If shots are difficult to come by, settling is the opposite of what he should be doing. Obviously the stepback is a go-to for Luka, and valuable to his game. But it's not falling, and by continuing to settle for it (12/game) you're bailing out the Clippers by not pressuring the interior.
He can't, combination of Clippers good D, referees allowing very physical D, his problems with injury, big minutes he plays and his conditioning. He desperately needs step back.