Luka Doncic is one of the most talented offensive players in the history of basketball but the 2024 NBA Finals have exposed a major flaw in his game.
Doncic’s defense has been picked on relentlessly by the Celtics.
Boston has created countless advantages by targeting Doncic in isolation. He has had moments where he’s been able to keep his matchup in front but that effort has consistently deteriorated as the games go on.
Doncic’s defensive performance in Game 3 may have been his worst yet. If the Mavericks star wasn’t getting blown by, he was fouling. That resulted in Doncic fouling out of the game with four minutes left after Dallas cut a 21-point deficit to just three points.
The Celtics went on to win and take a 3-0 series lead, and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst did not hold back when asked about Doncic’s defense on “SportsCenter with SVP” after the game.
NOH: Luka Doncic’s defense among biggest takeaways from Game 3
What did Brian Windhorst say about Luka Doncic?
To use Scott Van Pelt’s words, Windhorst took an “absolute blowtorch” to Doncic’s defensive performance so far in the NBA Finals after Game 3.
“I thought it was perfect that Luka fell onto the ground there in an unacceptable position to put himself in with four minutes left with five fouls,” Windhorst said sarcastically as he set the table for his take. “And then immediately looks at the bench and says, ‘You better bleeping challenge it,’ as if it’s the bench’s fault that he just made a terrible play.
“I’m standing here in the Mavericks tunnel. Over there is the Celtics tunnel. That’s where the winners are. If Luka’s ever going to be a winner coming out of this tunnel here, he’s going to have to use what happened in this Finals as a learning experience,” Windhorst stated.
“His defensive performance is unacceptable. He’s a hole on the court. … [The Celtics] are ahead in this series because they have attacked him defensively.”
Windhorst went on to give Doncic credit, saying the Mavericks are in the Finals because of how good he has been but added that “he is costing his team because of how he treats the officials.”
You can watch the full rant below as you queue up Windhorst’s theme music.
Brian Windhorst BLASTS Luka Dončić on ‘SportsCenter with SVP’ after Game 3 of the NBA Finals. 🏀🔥🔥🔥
(Doris Burke also called out Luka’s defensive effort on the ESPN on ABC broadcast: https://t.co/iAs1rZSpdI ) pic.twitter.com/rGlFwPYwNN
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 13, 2024
Doncic logged 38 minutes before fouling out in Game 3. He finished with 27 points on 11-for-27 shooting from the field and 1-for-7 from 3.
