Luka isn’t like Bird, LeBron, Magic …. he’s much more Chris Mullin x James Harden.

[BarberSchool]

Plenty have said Luka reminds them of Bird (cause big, white and clutch AF), or Magic Johnson (cause big, fairly slow for a PG, throws fancy passes with spectacular instinct, and smiles alot), but upon closer inspection, his actual game doesn’t have many moves from either player.

Lots of people also compare Luka to a more contemporary all-time great: LeBron James.

They’re both very oversized point guards, who share similar averages, and throw plenty of beautiful, accurate, high velocity assists.

But they play very differently, based on different advantages.

LeBron prefers to use his speed, momentum, high flying long jump, and raw finishing power in the open court. His peak was most characterized by that.

Luka will never have that type of speed or vertical jump, but has nearly as much size and weight (Luka was over 260 in training camp), and has better handles, significantly better shooting, and better decision making. So Luka dominates at a slower controlled pace, in half court situations.

Luka isn’t LeBron 2.0, save that label for a future player with gifts of elite speed, and leaping, and over the top finishing power.

He’s not quite talented, nimble, or skilled enough to call him a 6’7.5” 250lb Kyrie.
He’s not athletic enough to be compared to many other elite scorers in any era.

Luka is basically a very crafty half court scorer, who can also pass early & insanely well out of double teams, and has the height and skill set of a small forward, with the weight and rebounding consistency of a power forward.

Luka, as best I can tell, is the mixture of all the best aspects of:

Chris Mullin

And

James Harden.

Luka features Chris Mullin’s touch, footwork, and cleverness with fakes, pivots, and elite slow finishing thru contact in the midrange and paint.

Luka also adds to that, a lot James Harden’s PNR talent, crafty combo guard scoring, PG ball handling, and stepback 3pt skill set (with less traveling)

Add in a little bit of power forward weight and rebounding, and it’s gonna be interesting to see what he looks like from 25-30, depending he how serious he can take diet/nutrition/weights, and how he evolves as a decision maker every year.

[warriorfan]

He’s a more well built Chris Mullin without a drinking problem

[1987_Lakers]

I've seen people say he is Bird, but he doesn't play like Larry at all. Bird had weaker handles, way less ball-dominant & was a better shooter.

Luka is more like LeBron in a sense that they both control the ball & tempo for most of the game & make plays for teammates and themselves. LeBron using alot of his athleticism to score while Luka uses more skill, both are comparable shooters. Luka isn't a great shooter by any means.

[warriorfan]

I've seen people say he is Bird, but he doesn't play like Larry at all. Bird had weaker handles, way less ball-dominant & was a better shooter.

Luka is more like LeBron in a sense that they both control the ball & tempo for most of the game & make plays for teammates and themselves. LeBron using alot of his athleticism to score while Luka uses more skill, both are comparable shooters. Luka isn't a great shooter by any means.

Stfu you midget fake Lakers fan no one gives two shits about your wack takes

[1987_Lakers]

Stfu you midget fake Lakers fan no one gives two shits about your wack takes

One thing is for sure, ain't nobody listening to anything you have to say about history. Look at your take on Dr. J.


40 point games were not very common during his era.


40 point games
Kareem - 70
Rick Barry - 70
George Gervin - 68
McAdoo - 58
Nique - 57
Dantley - 53
Bernard King - 52
Bird - 47
Alex English - 37
Elvin Hayes - 37
Pistol Pete - 35
David Thompson - 19

:roll:

[warriorfan]

One thing is for sure, ain't nobody listening to anything you have to say about history. Look at your take on Dr. J.





:roll:

I’m well over six feet tall. Are you?

Rip my lil *****

[1987_Lakers]

I’m well over six feet tall. Are you?

Rip my lil *****

Yes, I am as a matter of fact.

[warriorfan]

Yes, I am as a matter of fact.

:roll: you a raccoon ass midget stop passing wolf tickets

[tpols]

I've seen people say he is Bird, but he doesn't play like Larry at all. Bird had weaker handles, way less ball-dominant & was a better shooter.

Luka is more like LeBron in a sense that they both control the ball & tempo for most of the game & make plays for teammates and themselves. LeBron using alot of his athleticism to score while Luka uses more skill, both are comparable shooters. Luka isn't a great shooter by any means.

Luka has much bigger shooting balls than LeBron. He seems almost sociopathic in his confidence. LeBron looked tentative or scared way too many times by comparison.

[1987_Lakers]

https://i.postimg.cc/cHWttN89/dfghsdfhs.jpg

:roll:

[1987_Lakers]

Luka has much bigger shooting balls than LeBron. He seems almost sociopathic in his confidence. LeBron looked tentative or scared way too many times by comparison.

That's why LeBron has a higher TS%.

[tpols]

That's why LeBron has a higher TS%.

With what result? LeBron wouldn't do shit with Brunson as his 2nd option. You guys would be crying he had no help. (which would be valid) He couldn't even make the playoffs with Brandon Ingram.

And again... contextually Luka is fearless. He's mean and competitive. LeBron by comparison is soft and tentative.

[warriorfan]

https://i.postimg.cc/cHWttN89/dfghsdfhs.jpg

:roll:

Manlet cope. You Stan cp3 being a tiny cat while mandingo fam lives large. Good luck with that brotha :lol

[1987_Lakers]

With what result? LeBron wouldn't do shit with Brunson as his 2nd option. You guys would be crying he had no help. (which would be valid)

And again... contextually Luka is fearless. He's mean and competitive. LeBron by comparison is soft and tentative.

With what result? He made the Finals with his 2nd option averaging 15 ppg on 51 TS%.

[1987_Lakers]

Manlet cope. You Stan cp3 being a tiny cat while mandingo fam lives large. Good luck with that brotha :lol

I like Curry.

[warriorfan]

I like Curry.

Suck my dick little bitch

[1987_Lakers]

Suck my dick little bitch

Sorry, I don't roll that way.

Besides, your gf already emptied me out this afternoon.

[warriorfan]

Sorry, I don't roll that way.

Besides, your gf already emptied me out this afternoon.

Yeah just like how you are not a midget. Nice wolf
Tickets my brotha, keep stanning cp3 inch, lemme know how that works out for you

[BarberSchool]

He’s a more well built Chris Mullin without a drinking problem
1. Mullin is Irish, and from Brooklyn = drinking/fistfight problem.
2. Mullin had a serious A-1 Yola problem since he was a teen.
3. He quit cocaine, and cut his hair, but didn’t quit drinking lol

Imagine how great he coulda been sober / less alcoholic?
Such a clever scorer/midrange/floater, with great stability finishing thru/around contact, off spins, off one leg, etc

[1987_Lakers]

Yeah just like how you are not a midget. Nice wolf
Tickets my brotha, keep stanning cp3 inch, lemme know how that works out for you

She did, she said you guys live in San Jose and she loves Latinos and that you have hatred towards them because you once caught her in a Mexican gang bang.

[BarberSchool]

I've seen people say he is Bird, but he doesn't play like Larry at all. Bird had weaker handles, way less ball-dominant & was a better shooter.

Luka is more like LeBron in a sense that they both control the ball & tempo for most of the game & make plays for teammates and themselves. LeBron using alot of his athleticism to score while Luka uses more skill, both are comparable shooters. Luka isn't a great shooter by any means.
Luka still has a lot of room to become a greater shooter.
But his fluidity and threat from 3, at 23 years old, is already far greater than any year of LeBron, in the minds of defenders who fear being splashed on in the highlights. Luka’s not a great shooter yet, but his step back and midrange and already more solid, consistent threats than LeBron was at 23, or any other age.

[warriorfan]

1. Mullin is Irish, and from Brooklyn = drinking/fistfight problem.
2. Mullin had a serious A-1 Yola problem since he was a teen.
3. He quit cocaine, and cut his hair, but didn’t quit drinking lol

Imagine how great he coulda been sober / less alcoholic?
Such a clever scorer/midrange/floater, with great stability finishing thru/around contact, off spins, off one leg, etc

He was a playground legend in the city. Was the lights out lefty who played like a brother. He could have been a better scoring but less grit Larry bird type player. Drinking and drugs ****ed him up really badly and he was still a great player regardless.

[Round Mound]

Love Chris Mullin best long two shooter ever but...Luka's style of play is pretty unique he is a better ballhandling Bird in the half court. His game is not fast but he has eyes all over his head and almost has the b-ball iq Larry has. Good shooter, rebounder and great passer. Defensively he is ok not great though.

[Spurs m8]

Don't fvcking compare him to that Harden loser

He will go down as far far greater

[ImKobe]

He's like the perfect mix between old & new school. He can dominate from the perimeter but also take anyone in the post and he can hurt you from mid-range. He looks slow and unathletic at times but no one has been able to shut him down in the POs, he even took it to Gobert in the paint on both ends. He's obviously an ATG playmaker too, so you can't shut his team down by trapping him & getting the ball out of his hands because he will make the right reads like Jokic and someone will get a wide open shot.

There's really no stopping him. You either give up a wide open 3/dunk/layup or you let him go 1 on 1 against whatever match up he chooses & hope he has an off night. The step-back 3 is a bad shot to me like he's almost bailing out the opposing defense, so there's definitely areas in his game that he could improve upon to become even better. One he gets his 3s up to 38-40% and becomes an 80+% consistent FT shooter, it's over.

[kentatm]

Luka is more like LeBron in a sense that they both control the ball & tempo for most of the game & make plays for teammates and themselves. LeBron using alot of his athleticism to score while Luka uses more skill, both are comparable shooters. Luka isn't a great shooter by any means.

I'm not sure I'd agree w/that at all. Percentage wise I can see why you'd say that but the volume of 3s and midrange shots that Luka shoots are far greater than what young Lebron was doing. I highly doubt young LeBron would have gotten up to 35% from 3 had he been shooting 3s at a clip of 8 per game. Luka also already has a post game that he takes a lot of midrange jumpers out of. LeBron took like 10 years and two teams to develop any post moves.

[John8204]

I'd say he's closer to Bob Pettit in that he's a champion level scorer and one of the best players of his era. Luka is not even 25 yet so we don't know what he's going to develop into.

[Champ]

Reminds me of Paul Pierce, with an updated skill set more suited for today's game. Like Pierce, he understands and exploits angles, and that timing and balance can be greater basketball weapons than sheer athleticism.

[8Ball]

https://i.postimg.cc/cHWttN89/dfghsdfhs.jpg

:roll:

How come he doesn't ever deny this picture?

God damn if I lived like this.....

[Round Mound]

Reminds me of Paul Pierce, with an updated skill set more suited for today's game. Like Pierce, he understands and exploits angles, and that timing and balance can be greater basketball weapons than sheer athleticism.

This also...

[BarberSchool]

I'd say he's closer to Bob Pettit in that he's a champion level scorer and one of the best players of his era. Luka is not even 25 yet so we don't know what he's going to develop into. Haha lol wtf Bob Petitt …. Least expected comparitive interjection in the thread LMMFAO.

But I never even seen a single Pettit highlight so who knows lol

[BarberSchool]

Don't fvcking compare him to that Harden loser

He will go down as far far greater
If he stays healthy his legacy will be far far greater than either player in the comparison.

This was in regards to his unique combination of skill sets, that don’t happen in the same player.

[BarberSchool]

Reminds me of Paul Pierce, with an updated skill set more suited for today's game. Like Pierce, he understands and exploits angles, and that timing and balance can be greater basketball weapons than sheer athleticism.I like this one, as their frames and levels of athleticism are very similar.

[j3lademaster]

Reminds me of Paul Pierce, with an updated skill set more suited for today's game. Like Pierce, he understands and exploits angles, and that timing and balance can be greater basketball weapons than sheer athleticism.Good comparison. The Truth with updated handles and playmaking ability.

[bizil]

I like the Pierce comps for Luka. IN TERMS of his size (both 6'7 around 230) and the scoring skillset aspect. But in terms dropping 28-30 PPG WHILE being such a special passer AND great triple double threat, u get into Bird, Bron, and Oscar. And of course the Magic comp applies in a sense because Luka is 6'7 and 230 running the PG FLAT OUT! He's a couple inches shorter than Magic. But Luka is STILL a supersized PG like Magic was.

Even though Oscar is a couple inches shorter, the methodical way Luka uses his size to dominate at the PG seem Oscar-esque to me. But elements of Bird, Bron, Oscar, Pierce, and Magic I see in Luka. But when you DO the things Luka does at his size, it MAKES SENSE for the Magic-Bron-Bird comps. Because we haven't seen many guys at 6'7 or taller who have that blend of scoring, passing, rebounding, and overall IQ-floor generalship. BUT Pierce and Oscar are comps that need to be made more often.

[BarberSchool]

I like the Pierce comps for Luka. IN TERMS of his size (both 6'7 around 230) and the scoring skillset aspect. But in terms dropping 28-30 PPG WHILE being such a special passer AND great triple double threat, u get into Bird, Bron, and Oscar. And of course the Magic comp applies in a sense because Luka is 6'7 and 230 running the PG FLAT OUT! He's a couple inches shorter than Magic. But Luka is STILL a supersized PG like Magic was.

Even though Oscar is a couple inches shorter, the methodical way Luka uses his size to dominate at the PG seem Oscar-esque to me. But elements of Bird, Bron, Oscar, Pierce, and Magic I see in Luka. But when you DO the things Luka does at his size, it MAKES SENSE for the Magic-Bron-Bird comps. Because we haven't seen many guys at 6'7 or taller who have that blend of scoring, passing, rebounding, and overall IQ-floor generalship. BUT Pierce and Oscar are comps that need to be made more often.I gotta watch some Oscar, especially when you mention rebounding, he was a better rebounder than magic, right ? I literally couldn’t pick Oscar’s face from a list of dudes from his era. My pre-1980’s knowledge is trash.

[FKAri]

The issue I take with the Pierce comparison is that Luka is a lot more physical. Pierce wasn't all finesse either but he didn't have Luka's ability to bounce guys off of him when finishing in the paint.

[kawhileonard2]

I've seen people say he is Bird, but he doesn't play like Larry at all. Bird had weaker handles, way less ball-dominant & was a better shooter.

Luka is more like LeBron in a sense that they both control the ball & tempo for most of the game & make plays for teammates and themselves. LeBron using alot of his athleticism to score while Luka uses more skill, both are comparable shooters. Luka isn't a great shooter by any means.

Luka isn't a coward though. Lebron was and that is why he joined players who won as the man.

[2much_knowledge]

I've seen people say he is Bird, but he doesn't play like Larry at all. Bird had weaker handles, way less ball-dominant & was a better shooter.

Luka is more like LeBron in a sense that they both control the ball & tempo for most of the game & make plays for teammates and themselves. LeBron using alot of his athleticism to score while Luka uses more skill, both are comparable shooters. Luka isn't a great shooter by any means.

You sound a bit smart when you talk about things other than hating on jordan and kobe

[Shooter]

Stfu you midget fake Lakers fan no one gives two shits about your wack takes

Welfare checks coming late this month? You okay incel?

[Phoenix]

The issue I take with the Pierce comparison is that Luka is a lot more physical. Pierce wasn't all finesse either but he didn't have Luka's ability to bounce guys off of him when finishing in the paint.

Yeah Luka plays 'stronger', the similarities to me are similar size/weight/body type/athletic ability. They get to their spots in spite of having average speed compared to other elite perimeter guys, relying more on craftiness, clever handles and using the defenders momentum. I'd take the comparison over Harden though, for one Harden has a knack for not rising to the occasion in the playoffs ( and from what we've seen from Luka, he's the complete opposite). Harden this past Sunday would have gone 2-15 on threes or some shit and generally shat the bed.

[RRR3]

Yeah Luka plays 'stronger', the similarities to me are similar size/weight/body type/athletic ability. They get to their spots in spite of having average speed compared to other elite perimeter guys, relying more on craftiness, clever handles and using the defenders momentum. I'd take the comparison over Harden though, for one Harden has a knack for not rising to the occasion in the playoffs ( and from what we've seen from Luka, he's the complete opposite). Harden this past Sunday would have gone 2-15 on threes or some shit and generally shat the bed.
He plays a ton like Harden though that’s probably the best comp even if he handles pressure much better.

[Phoenix]

He plays a ton like Harden though that’s probably the best comp even if he handles pressure much better.

As far as spamming PnR( which is just modern NBA offense in general), drive and kick( again, modern offense with the emphasis on the 3ball) and lulling the defender out on the 3 point line to set up the stepback 3, yeah. Luka does stuff like this though:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR17Z8gD30U


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbtMWhy08j8


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3NyKrjG4cs

Harden didn't have much in-between game. It's either fishing for 3point opportunities, using the threat of that to get to the rim or using 'regular season' rules to bait for fouls. Luka is bigger, more physical and can generate post offense, that's a major advantage and why to this point he's a much better playoff performer. If he can master more off-ball and make himself an assist target( needs better conditioning) and add catch/shoot to his repertoire, it's over.

[Phoenix]

Luka in general has the skill/footwork in the post to be considered elite in that aspect:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78FHs8JO460

The best players in the playoffs have the most counters to whatever the defense is doing. If Harden's 3ball isn't falling( and as the season goes on, taking 12 threes a game wears you down) and he can't get the rim, and the refs let em play he's cooked. There's some aesthetic/stylistic differences out on the perimeter, but when Luka he goes into post mode he has a different gear than Harden ain't fukking with. The new 'modern' postgame seems to be most effective when the offensive player can start with the ball and manoeuvre into position rather than camping down there waiting for entry passes. Luka's passing ability also makes it difficult to double so you have a pick your poison scenario.

[BarberSchool]

Luka in general has the skill/footwork in the post to be considered elite in that aspect:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78FHs8JO460

The best players in the playoffs have the most counters to whatever the defense is doing. If Harden's 3ball isn't falling( and as the season goes on, taking 12 threes a game wears you down) and he can't get the rim, and the refs let em play he's cooked. There's some aesthetic/stylistic differences out on the perimeter, but when Luka he goes into post mode he has a different gear than Harden ain't fukking with. The new 'modern' postgame seems to be most effective when the offensive player can start with the ball and manoeuvre into position rather than camping down there waiting for entry passes. Luka's passing ability also makes it difficult to double so you have a pick your poison scenario.This combination of elite short-midrange post-up-fadeaways, elite floaters and runners with a guy on his hip/back, and elite pivot-counters dealing with lots of body contact, and especially keeping your pivot foot locked onto the ground thru contact and multiple pivots, until you find a look that you like ….. this is why I compare him to Mullin. Mullin had all that, and that’s why he averaged 25+ for so many years in Golden State despite being a total alcoholic, former coke fiend.

Mullin grew up on NYC playgrounds playing against much older/stronger men, and that is akin to Luka playing against grown men in the slower, more physical, euroleague from 16-19.

The feel for the game, and stability thru contact and stability during pivot counters, is very Mullin+, and really MF hard to stop from scoring a metric shit ton on anybody.