Can Luka Doncic repeat his magic from Game 4 going forward?

Game 5 of the NBA Finals is tonight in Boston, with the Celtics looking to bounce back after a BLOWOUT loss in Dallas on Friday night.

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz previewed the potential Finals close out on Monday’s show.

Noted Celtics hater Mike Ryan shared the stat that the Celtics now trail the Mavericks in point differential following the Game 4 shellacking and highlighted a tweet from Tom Haberstroh positing that no matter what happens the rest of this series, history will be made.

Stugotz says the evidence in Game 4 that Luka Doncic actually CAN move, actually CAN hustle, actually CAN play defense only makes games 1-3 even MORE inexcusable. It may not be “good” defense, but at least it’s not matador defense. He was giving effort, he was playing defense, so Stugotz simply wants to know what happened in games 1, 2 and 3?!? Someone explain it to him!

Dan defends Luka, saying he’s never been a good defender and let’s not get lost in the last thing we’ve seen and forget about past instances of stars coming up short in the Finals. Mike says Luka did respond in kind to what can only be considered valid criticism after an EMBARASSING performance all around in Game 3. He says the great ones usually respond in situations like that, and while we’re not seeing Bruce Bowen-level defense out of Luka but the Mavericks basically got the base level defense that they need out of their offensive superstar.

Dan takes the conversation a step back and points out that the Celtics were DYING to give away Game 3, blowing a huge lead and reaffirming the single doubt everyone has about that team. Part of why they didn’t was because Luka, amidst an all-time terrible defensive performance that got him absolutely roasted by Brian Windhorst, decided to pick up his sixth foul miles away from the basket. So while Dan says it’s true that no one gets blown by more than Luka, who has never been good at defense, he’s also at the same time capable of doing what he did in Game 4 at any given point.

As for why he can’t, to Stugotz’s point, do that every game, Dan points out the very best are playing each other in this series and sometimes they neutralize each other. Stugotz, however, pushes back saying with guys like Jayson Tatum he’s never questioning his effort the way he questions the effort of Luka, especially on the defensive end. Mike understands that when you get tired like Luka does because he’s being targeted by the Celtics, it’s easy to make bad decisions. But what the Mavericks need is for him to continue to do what he did in Game 4 and be aggressive because you’re only making yourself more tired by having to extend the effort to climb out of some of the holes the Mavericks have put themselves into. He needs to help himself on the offensive end by putting in at least a respectable effort on the defensive end.

Check out the full Best Of video above, and tune into The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz Monday-Friday at 11 a.m. ET on DraftKings Network!

AUDIO:

VIDEO:

Check out the Le Batard and Friends YouTube page for more and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow the show on X at @LeBatardShow.

The Crown Is Yours: Sign up for DraftKings and experience the ultimate host for games and betting experiences!