Are there any players more in the heads of others than Luka is in the head of Booker?

[LLL3]

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[FultzNationRISE]

Rumor has it it took an entire catering service to console highwhey after last night.

[BarberSchool]

I don’t think it’s that.

Sure these two epic games between the Suns & Mavs (game 7 & Christmas) have some memorable moments … and the Mavs come out looking great and the Suns get left looking like sh!t both times….

But it’s not because Luka has some sort of mental dominantiob against Book.

It’s that Dallas coaching staff has crafted a durable game plan against Book and now KD, and Mavs team defense, and discipline crowding Book in the space he generally likes to operate in, and the way they’re playing KDoff the dribble… neither Book nor KD can really be super lethal passers out of double teams yet.

I understand Book, since he’s young and could eventually be a killer passing out of doubles… Book does at least at good times try to pull both defenders out further so they can’t recover, but Book can’t yet pass in a variety of ways besides jump passes over the top. He certainly could use some work in knowing when to pull both out, and when to see it early and cut thru traffic with a hard bounce pass AROUND and THRU defenders before they see that coming.

As for KD … shocking to see that KD at this stage of his career, he makes the right read, and isn’t some turnover machine .::: but KD simply doesn’t punish teams by pulling double team defenders out further so they can’t recover back … and snapping perfectly read/timed passes to the right player cross court to tire out the defense’s legs with long hard close outs, over the course of many doubles …

… KD while often making the right read, also doesn’t seem to make some reads early enough to get the pass to the shooter early enough to get them a truly wide open look, it’s like that second or indecision sometimes that isn’t a turnover, but also isn’t a wide open high efficiency shot.

KD is certainly tall enough to see/read, and snap hard accurate passes cross court without needing to do a jump pass, and his handles are good enough to do more one handed; “before the defense sees it coming” hard bounce passes around and thru traffic to cutters,but he doesn’t do it enough to be able to truly punish a defense the way a player of his caliber/stage should be able to, when seeing a steady diet of doubles all game.

I’d go so far as to say it’s the Mavs coaching staff, and defensive schemes, that is still in the head of Book.