Ayton or Doncic?

[Hoop Head]

As good as Ayton has been of late...

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That's impressive but I think that speaks to part of why Doncic is so hyped. He has tons of fans ignoring his teams play and focusing on his stats alone. Doing that isn't bad but it's odd how he's credited with the Mavs turn around and absolved of blame when they struggle because "he's just a rookie". Either he's the driving force of their turn around or he's not and being the driving force of their turn around means that he should be knocked for producing big stat line in losses also because he couldn't help them win. Ayton's stats are often knocked because he's on a last place team but there's no mention of the Mavericks losing all 3 of those games where Luka had good stat lines.

 

[GatorAZ]

That's impressive but I think that speaks to part of why Doncic is so hyped. He has tons of fans ignoring his teams play and focusing on his stats alone. Doing that isn't bad but it's odd how he's credited with the Mavs turn around and absolved of blame when they struggle because "he's just a rookie". Either he's the driving force of their turn around or he's not and being the driving force of their turn around means that he should be knocked for producing big stat line in losses also because he couldn't help them win. Ayton's stats are often knocked because he's on a last place team but there's no mention of the Mavericks losing all 3 of those games where Luka had good stat lines.

He’s definitely been overhyped. Just the other day Lebron was naming off current stars he’d like to play with and listed Doncic. Not even Booker got mentioned. Granted Lebron is an insufferable racebaiting douche but when he talks ppl listen. I do think there’s a better chance that Ayton shows more significant improvement than Luka over the next 2-3 years but there is no Sophomore of the Year award. Regardless Ayton is at worst the 2nd best rookie and the Suns have a much brighter future than Dallas.

 

[95pro]

Who is more athletic. Present day Larry Bird or Luka Doncic?

Point is if you're good you don't have to have world class athleticism.

Larry Bird for sure. Have you seen some of his jams in his “younger” years.

 

[Finito]

Who is more athletic. Present day Larry Bird or Luka Doncic?

Point is if you're good you don't have to have world class athleticism.

Harden is not super athletic either, but he's crafty as all hell. Harden actually slows down when he gets into the lane it's super freaky.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Harden is not super athletic either, but he's crafty as all hell. Harden actually slows down when he gets into the lane it's super freaky.

I can see him becoming a bigger, better version of James Harden which is a little scary. Unlike James, he already appears to be a big moment player.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Harden is not super athletic either, but he's crafty as all hell. Harden actually slows down when he gets into the lane it's super freaky.

Harden is a very good athlete. Not a freak by any means, but he is quick, fast and can leap way off the ground. There is no comparison between Doncic and Harden when it comes to athleticism. I do agree that stylistically there are some real comparisons though.

 

[Mainstreet]

Harden is not super athletic either, but he's crafty as all hell. Harden actually slows down when he gets into the lane it's super freaky.

Some of the really good players can do his with advanced ball handling skills such as Chris Mullin and Steve Nash. It's almost looks like they are in slow motion.

I haven't watched Doncic play much but I suspect he is one of those players as well.

 

[95pro]

Harden is not super athletic either, but he's crafty as all hell. Harden actually slows down when he gets into the lane it's super freaky.

Harden is quick if he wants to be. Can jump higher if he wants to. He’s evolved his game to where he doesn’t have to expel more energy than needed to get the results he attains.

 

[SunnyBaller]

Harden is a very good athlete. Not a freak by any means, but he is quick, fast and can leap way off the ground. There is no comparison between Doncic and Harden when it comes to athleticism. I do agree that stylistically there are some real comparisons though.

Stylistically they are similar a bit , Id don't like that comparison myself though, but I also hate harden and the way he plays , he commits an offensive foul basically every time he touches the ball, Luka is actually a likeable player and doesn't flop every posession.

 

[SirStefan32]

Stylistically they are similar a bit , Id don't like that comparison myself though, but I also hate harden and the way he plays , he commits an offensive foul basically every time he touches the ball, Luka is actually a likeable player and doesn't flop every posession.

I think that's one of big factors in his popularity (or hype, some might say.) He looks like a fat kid at the candy store every time he steps on the floor. He looks like he is 12, he is goofy, he celebrates random things, he looks like he really shouldn't be able to play, but he actually plays extremely well. Outside of the small group that just doesn't like white European players, nobody can watch that kid play and not like him.

 

[leclerc]

What I don't like about Doncic is he's getting too much attention and that's probably not his fault, and he plays for the Mavs. They all can't be Suns players but I never (almost) say anything positive about other players. I don't sit in front of the TV gushing about Dirk beating us yet again or Pop out-coaching us with his bench but I can admit it in weak moments. (They're good at what they do.)

If he doesn't flop and plays like Dragic that's a big reason to like him though. Unlike the Bron tank who flops if a butterfly passes outside the arena.

 

[slinslin]

Doncic is a Euro Joe Johnson, I am staying with my original comparison. Nothing has changed about that only that he has adjusted to the NBA quicker than I expected. He is also in the perfect situation with the Mavs.

A low ego team full of veterans and a strong bench that is the main reason they win games.

 

[SirStefan32]

Doncic is a Euro Joe Johnson, I am staying with my original comparison. Nothing has changed about that only that he has adjusted to the NBA quicker than I expected. He is also in the perfect situation with the Mavs.

A low ego team full of veterans and a strong bench that is the main reason they win games.

I agree that he is in a perfect situation, and you are definitely right about their bench, but I disagree about Joe Johnson comparison. Doncic is better right now that Johnson was in all but two or three years of his prime. 2006-2009 JJ may be slightly better, but that's about it. He is definitely better than the Suns and the Nets Joe Johnson.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

I agree that he is in a perfect situation, and you are definitely right about their bench, but I disagree about Joe Johnson comparison. Doncic is better right now that Johnson was in all but two or three years of his prime. 2006-2009 JJ may be slightly better, but that's about it. He is definitely better than the Suns and the Nets Joe Johnson.

A better passing Joe Johnson is a pretty decent comparison. Obviously they are not quite the same, but there are real similarities.

 

[AzStevenCal]

A better passing Joe Johnson is a pretty decent comparison. Obviously they are not quite the same, but there are real similarities.

I can see some similarities but I like Doncic's game quite a bit more even though Joe was the better defender.

 

[SirStefan32]

I know I am in the minority, but I always felt JJ was a bit overrated. Big difference in my min is that Luka will be able to be "the man" on a great team eventually, but JJ never had that ability. JJ was good, but I think he was one of the more overrated players of his era.

 

[slinslin]

Joe Johnson was the best player on very good Hawks teams

 

[AzStevenCal]

I know I am in the minority, but I always felt JJ was a bit overrated. Big difference in my min is that Luka will be able to be "the man" on a great team eventually, but JJ never had that ability. JJ was good, but I think he was one of the more overrated players of his era.

I believe he had the physical ability to be "the man" on a great team but not the mindset. I don't think he was consistently as good as he occasionally was and because of that I also think he's a bit overrated. When it comes to basketball skills, he pretty much had it all, but he rarely dominated as his talent suggested he could. I felt the same way about Paul George until this season.