During his first years in the NBA, similes have been used to value the quality of Luka Doncic, trying to equate him in some aspects to other great players. One of those who has entered this drift has been Jason Kidd, first being the one who was placed in the comparison with the Slovenian and, now, being his coach, for using another important name to elevate his player. The coach has chosen neither more nor less than Michael Jordan to try to explain how the European player is progressing together with his teammates and what they all need to form a team that wins a championship.
Jason Kidd, in the context of the game against the Suns in which they lost 101-109 after Luka Doncic hurt his neck and it affected the collective production, spoke of the progress reading the defenses.
“He pays attention. It’s because of his IQ. And I think also because he’s seen a lot of different defenses at a very young age. ‘Box-and-one’, ‘trap’… They make him drop the ball and his level confidence in peers is extremely high”, says while revealing what he thinks is the strategy that the player is following now to give an extra: “If he wanted to go against a two-for-one every time, he could, but that would stress him out too much. Luka just makes the game simple and fun, that’s what you have to give him credit for. He has the talent to go for it.” two against one, but he keeps things simple and then gives us a little more gas on the defensive side. He does the easy thing.”. She leaves at 90 to try to get a lesson with which to value her boy: “You look at Michael Jordan. When he was young, he tried to beat the Detroit Pistons by himself. He couldn’t do it. He got help, he teamed up with a teammate. [Scottie Pippen]. From there he made the game easier and everything was easier for him. When the older guys keep it simple, it’s more fun and the atmosphere becomes nicer on both sides of the pitch (defense and attack). You can see what happens with Luka”. To finish off the explanation, although somewhat inconclusive, two other great stars enter: “The fact that he has put up three blocks lets you know that he believes he should be in the best quintet at a defensive level. He has that grace that ‘Magic’ had or Giannis Antetokounmpo has, he knows that it is not his greatest strength but he gives it his all in the defensive part because he knows that it helps the team to win”.
Last season, trust in teammates was a key element, with friction with Porzingis due to how little the Latvian was involved in attacking plays as a civil war element. In this campaign, this way of putting others more into the offensive game has been growing and the improvement when it comes to protecting the hoop has been totally collective.
Doncic, suffering in defense, is a participant, like the rest, that the Mavericks have become the four team that admits the fewest points against (106.4; only Warriors, Suns and Cavaliers improve that number). Kidd’s argument would only be understood if the consistency of the entire team in the defensive aspect is rewarded with it. Although it seems like it should be the other way around, the offensive records of the Carlisle era have given way to a more contained version, playing fewer points and focusing more defense, by playing for Kidd. Doncic maintains his NBA average in attack, averaging 25.2 points, and maintains the rate of basket passes from his last two years (8.7).
