There are bold takes and then there's what this legend said about Luka Doncic
is one of the greatest players in the NBA right now. After posting historical numbers in the 2023-24 season and leading his team to the, just about everyone agrees he's one of the two or three best players in the league. But not everyone.and does the classic Start, Bench, Cut game on his most recent episode. The three players he was choosing between included two Mavericks stars: Luka Doncic,, and Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard.
Cooper started Lillard, benched Doncic, and cut Irving. His reasoning? He thinks Doncic is lazy on defense. "Luka gives you that triple-double almost any night, but he's too slow for me. If he wasn't a scorer, I would cut him. He can score, you gotta give the guy credit, but to me, he's lazy. Doesn't hustle back on defense."He started Lillard because he values speed and athleticism, but cut Irving because he and Lillard are similar players.
Cooper's co-host correctly started Luka Doncic, benched Kyrie Irving, and cut Damian Lillard. When you look at last year's statistics, it's a no-brainer. Doncic isn't a great defender but Lillard is historically one of the worst in the NBA.only on the defensive end, Doncic had more blocks, more steals, a better defensive rating, more defensive win shares, and a higher defensive box plus/minus. There is not a single defensive metric that favors Lillard over Doncic.
The same goes for Kyrie Irving. While the defensive analytics are closer between Irving and Lillard, every category still favors Irving. Pair that with better offense on better efficiency for Irving, Lillard was clearly the worst player of the three last season.Dallas Mavericks Use Final Roster Spot On Familiar Guard From LA LakersAustin Veazey joined NoleGameday as the Lead Basketball Writer in 2019, while contributing as a football writer, and started as editor for MavericksGameday in 2024.
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