“These finals have shown there’s two sides of basketball” - Kendrick Perkins believes Luka Doncic has hurt his ‘stocks’ in the NBA Finals
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After leading the league in scoring this season and guiding the Dallas Mavericks to their first NBA Finals appearance in 13 years while averaging 28.9 points in the first three games combined, Luka Doncic had made a strong case for being considered one the most influential player in the league alongside Nikola Jokic.
However, since the championship round began, Doncic’s scoring average might’ve increased to 29.7 points per game (in the first three games), but his defensive shortcomings have garnered more attention, drawing relentless criticism toward him. Following the Mavs’ third consecutive loss in the 2024 finals despite reducing a 21-point deficit to three points, primarily due to Luka fouling out, Kendrick Perkins is certain that the 5-time All-Star has ‘hurt’ his stock.
"Hell yeah, he has," Perkins said about Doncic hurting his stock. "Before the Finals started, all we were hearing was Luka was the best player in the league… When it comes down to being the best player in the league what these finals have shown us, is that there's two sides of the basketball - Luka Doncic led the league in scoring this year, what he has been doing offensively in this postseason. (But) what has been spoken out badly - is the other side of basketball, not defending, not putting forward the effort… you have to get it done on both ends.
Perkins calls out Luka for failing to be the best player in the 2024 NBA Finals
Moreover, even before the 2024 NBA Finals, there was a widespread belief that the Slovenian superstar would have one of the biggest positive impacts on his team's chances of winning. However, Perkins believes that while Doncic might be putting up better stats than Jaylen Brown, it's the 3-time All-Star who has had a more positive impact in the first three games of the series, despite averaging 24.3 points. This, in turn, has drawn more criticism towards Luka, according to Big Perk, as fans are observing how Brown has worked hard on both ends of the court.
"He hasn't been the best player in this series, that's been Jaylen Brown," Perkins added. "Even when Luka has come out averaging 33/11/11, Jaylen Brown still have the better impact on the game… we were talking about him being the best player in the league - he’s far from that right now because of the defensive side of the ball and him being a defensive liability."
Doncic silences Big Perk in Game 4
Luka has consistently silenced his critics through his performance on the court, and Game 4 on Saturday was no exception. He scored 29 points in 32 minutes, ensuring the Mavs’ dominance to the extent that Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla benched his starters even before the third quarter ended when the home team led by as many as 38 points in that quarter.
More importantly, Doncic demonstrated his hustle on both ends of the court, logging three steals and being careful on the ball throughout the contest, logging just one turnover.