Nick Young surprisingly warns Luka Doncic against trying hard on defense after fouling out: "Don't listen to them"
While the NBA world's onslaught on Luka Doncic's disappointing defensive effort in the 2024 finals continues, former player Nick Young has a polar opposite take on the matter. Young surprisingly urged Doncic to focus on offense and ignore his critics. The former Warriors guard's comments on Instagram came after Doncic got fouled out in Wednesday's 106-99 Game 3 loss at home.
The Mavs had cut the lead to three with just over four minutes left after trailing 90-71 earlier in the fourth quarter when Doncic fouled out after his sixth whistle for blocking Jaylen Brown on the perimeter.
"Y'all made Luka focus on defense today," Young called out the media on his Instagram story. "Damn highlights y'all been posting about these blow by's and s**t, Luka trying hard out there like a motherf**ker. Guess what? (He) fouled his a** out."
Young called out ESPN for putting out the highlight tape on Doncic's defensive lapses. He later added:
"Go and get buckets, Luka, don't listen to them motherf**kers."
However, Luka Doncic's fouls had nothing to do with him playing defense. He was still lackluster on that end and was consistently getting hunted on switches by Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Doncic picked up silly fouls in a short span, leading to his exit in a pivotal moment that could have seen the Mavericks cut the series lead to 2-1.
Even coach Jason Kidd seemed frustrated with Doncic's lack of effort. He called his star player out after the game, saying he has to be able to guard players when he's getting attacked rigorously. Doncic's defensive lapses have been one of the key reasons behind the Celtics successfully executing their drive and kick game.
Sweep inevitable if Luka Doncic fails to pull up his socks on defense
Luka Doncic has been the best offensive player on the Mavericks but the worst defensively. While there are weaknesses across the team's defense, Doncic stands out because he's barely putting up a serviceable effort.
According to ESPN, he was blown by 11 times in Game 2, the most for any player in a decade. He didn't improve much in Game 3, either. Doncic often lost his man and was confused with the Celtics' movement. The Mavericks were in rotation the entire time because of it, chasing the ball, which frequently landed in the hands of an open shooter on the perimeter.
The Celtics immediately turned to attacking Luka Doncic in the fourth quarter with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum after the Mavericks came super close to causing a major upset behind a 21-2 run. However, Doncic's inability to hold himself together on defense ended his night as he committed a blatant blocking foul on Brown for his sixth whistle of the night.
If there's not much of a significant jump from Luka Doncic on defense, the chances of Boson returning home as champions after Friday's Game 4.