“Let’s face it,” Miller said Tuesday on a TNT conference call before the opening round of the NBA playoffs. “Luka needs to start looking in the mirror a little bit, too, right? I hate to throw this all on Kyrie. Luka needs to kind of look at himself and \[ask\], ‘What could I have done better?’”
“I think a lot of times,” Miller said, “if you watch Mavericks games and the antics and talking to the officials — and this is coming from a guy who stayed on the officials myself — sometimes that wears on them. That wears on them. It really does. Just looking at it from afar, at times I just think the officials were tuning him out.”
“Luka’s got to get in better shape,” Miller said. “They’ve got to run more, and I think they did that when Luka was out and Kyrie was at the helm because they’re much better when they play faster. That’s how Jason Kidd wants to coach. He wants them to play faster, but when Luka’s in there, they can’t play fast. To me, if he’s in better shape and they can play fast, that puts more pressure on the opposing team.”
[https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/2023/04/13/reggie-miller-luka-doncic-must-start-looking-in-the-mirror-about-conditioning-maturity/](https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/mavericks/2023/04/13/reggie-miller-luka-doncic-must-start-looking-in-the-mirror-about-conditioning-maturity/)
by Stevie_McGhee
21 Comments
Playing a little bit faster might help but don’t think it’s a major concern at all. We’d benefit far more having a frontcourt that can crash the offensive glass. Luka draws so many extra defenders when he attacks the paint leaving opposing teams out of position to rebound misses but we are just totally incapable of taking advantage. We’re the best halfcourt offense in the league, having a couple extra possessions a game would probably make us the best overall offense in the league.
Let’s hire Reggie to coach.
“Luka fat so team bad” thank you Reggie Miller
If Luka even dares to whine during active game time next season then he’s a lost cause
If you actually read the whole thing, Reggie’s take is totally valid. And he is definitely qualified to talk on both matters as a player that maintained peak physical conditioning and also talked nonstop to officials
Hate Reggie Miller some times but the second paragraph is on point, can’t lie.
Luka won’t do any self reflection unless he has a coach that force him to. Jason Kidd is another yes man so he can keep his job. I hate how everyone’s on making Luka happy so he can stay so they’re scared to be honest with him. He’s happy when he wins, he doesn’t win if he doesn’t mature so somebody need to tell Luka
If luka was in a better shape the mavs would instantly improve at rebounding and rim protection!
I hear what he’s saying, but dude just will not shut up about it. He harps on Luka’s conditioning every opportunity he gets.
Reggie’s opinion is valid af. Especially because like he said he was always dogging the refs
Well hopefully missing the playoffs is a wake up call for Luka bc I’m not sure what else it’s gonna take for him to improve lol
Complain about Lukas shape the day he underperforms
The dynamic between player and refs occurred largely because the game got increasingly physical. So in Reggie’s day, you were kind of a fucking idiot if you weren’t constantly on their ass because your constantly getting hand checked and held into oblivion trying to make your cut.
Not that the game isn’t physical anymore, but it’s become more of an athletic game that benefits offensive players for contact way more than defensive players.
But that dynamic between player and ref has only gotten worse. The irony is that it’s largely guys complaining about contact they drew on defense as opposed to defenders, who I kinda think should go off on refs way more than they do given the deck being stacked against them.
But that points to the purpose behind the complaining.
So if you want guys like Luka to stop bitching, limit the offensive player’s ability to draw fouls via initiating contact.
As long as Kidd is their coach, nothing will happen.
The absolute, very last problem with this team is Luka. Luka can play fat and out of shape every season and be a perennial MVP with the right roster around him. Harping on Luka is stupid.
This is even regardless of the Mavs. Luka has an amazing talent, a potential to maybe finish his career as a Top 15 all-time or higher. However, he does not have the work ethic to make it. And if you are a Luka stan, then you should **especially** understand this instead of getting defensive. We are about to enter year 5 of his NBA career stll making the same excuses for him we were making in the first 2 years.
If Luka had 50% of LeBron or Giannis work-ethic, it would be truly scary hours for the league.
All great players when they’re young get by for a few years just on pure talent alone but then they start to work on parts of their game each year. Luka is great but can improve in conditioning, free throws & 3 points. It’s up to him if he wants to and if not he’ll still be great but just not in the discussion of all-time greats.
Why do we have to run more? He does need to cut some beef and try his best not to get too hot with refs. You could have prime Kobe, Lebron and MJ if you paired them with Powell and Bullock you arent winning.
Reggie just got voted down by the Luka stans.
I’ve been saying this. Everyone is trying to push the “Luka is leaving” narrative, but for some reason fail to see he has his faults as well. His leadership was not good this year. His constant nagging the refs and not getting back on D hurt us. He’s a tremendous talent, and I’d love for him to be a lifer, but he’s got to take some accountability.
Yes the guy averaging nearly 33/9/8 is the problem not the rest of the roleplayers on the roster.
So tired of these “hot takes” from people that most likely don’t even watch the Mavs games.
Luka came into the season IN SHAPE. So that narrative is b.s.
After dealing with multiple injuries yes he looked out of shape towards the end. Hard to stay in shape when you are worn out from carrying a trash team and your ankle is messed up.