Just because it's better than the 2000s doesn't mean it's good.........
Luka NBA...
- Thread starter the24fan
- Start date
Playing in the B1G is nothing like playing in the NBA, stylistically. He's going into the NBA and banging on either end. Posting up and using a variety of moves and feasting on physicality works in the B1G. It won't in the NBA.
Like I said, it's the best its been since the end of the Magic/Bird era. Keep in mind, the NBA in the late 70s wasn't very good either. It got better then dropped off.
It seems like the game goes up and down in quality and style of play. Late 50s through early 70s were really good/great, then bottomed out mid/late 70s. Then got better throughout the 80s, peaked 89-91ish, then downhill for a decade and bottomed out around 02-03 and stayed there for a few years. Then started coming back late 00s. Were probably in a plateau right now and I'd expect the game to not be as good in 10 years. But the game is really, really good right now.
It happens in every sport.
Fine, you talked me into it.
The NBA has become a guard oriented league with athletic big men who essentially eliminate the need for true post players.....unless you can find some 7 foot oaf who can be a rim protector and rebound (which Garza can turn into in the pros, but he'll always be one of if not the slowest guys on the floor.)
His scoring absolutely translates to the NBA, and people are just plain dumb if they think he couldn't cut it trying to score against other bigs in the NBA.
But he will not be a focal point of any offense, and would need the right matchup to be at all productive defensively.
Lol somebody wasn't a Jordan fan in the 90s.......
Also, again I know you care more about the NBA than I do, but as painful as the truth is, the truth is that the current NBA product is still not good.
Better than the 2000s with the baggy jerseys. But half the game is standing around watching 1 on 1, going on runs when they feel like it, chucking up 3s when they feel like it, and mostly just waiting until the 4th to actually start playing intense 5 on 5 basketball, kinda like how they treat the 82-game schedule.......
Nothing funnier than someone who doesn't watch the NBA try to explain why it currently sucks. This board is full of people who do it.
NBA is a lot of standing around. The isolation plays aren't interesting to me.
I loved it as a kid when the premier players stayed with a team and became franchise players that is long gone.
I loved it as a kid when the premier players stayed with a team and became franchise players that is long gone.
I also said I didn't care for the NBA (because it sucks), not that I don't watch it.........
"Well if you don't like it then don't watch"
But then how would I know if it still sucks or not, since you can't say it sucks if you don't watch, but can't watch if you say it sucks and.......
Luka is a great college player and I have no idea if he will make an NBA team or not. It wouldn't shock me if made it or didn't. I just know he works incredibly hard, has a work ethic many do not have and is a great teammate. I would be shocked if he doesn't make his fair share of money playing professional basketball, whether it is the NBA or in Europe.
Luka scores by moving into the body and preventing the defender from jumping and then also using ball fakes to draw fouls. Hes way overmatched athletically in college too and he wouldn't be doubled in the nba.
Most nba bigs besides monsters like Embide or Gobert would have their hands full defending luka one on one.
Problem A, is allot of nba coaches have no interest in running any kind of post offense.
The guys that would be too big for him to post he would drag out of the lane to defend his 3 shot. Imo thats probably what would interest nba the most.
They want someone to pull the rim defenders out of the paint so the guards can attack.
Problem B, clearing out the lane on offense becomes canceled out by his inability to defend screens on the other side.
He has a chance more so because of his shooting than post moves.
Last sentence is not true at all.
The fact that he can shoot 3s so well, where most 5s can't, is exactly what will make him appealing as a role player.
If you can force the opponents 5 to guard you at the 3 line you're a very valuable asset.
Thats what the nba is all about, everyone else is out there to compliment the star in a specific way.
Most nba bigs are just screeners on offense.
Its not them he has to guard, its the guy they're screening for.
I have been a sixers fan since the 80s and would love Luka on the Sixers as Embiid misses quite a few games with injury or by design for rest. Dwight Howard is the backup and aging with limited offense .
They would have no problem guarding him. Dude from MSU made it tough last year and he's on 6'8 or so.
71 of the 188 C/PF in the League are currently above 35% from 3 this year. Luka being able to shoot the 3 is absolutely helpful and a good skill for him to have, but there are a lot of bigs that can do that. Which is exactly what I was talking about with the comment that he needs to go to a team that uses their bigs in a manner that emphasizes his strengths.
I think l luka would really struggle with quicker , more agile C like Ayton from PHX, Z. Williamson from NO, guys of that sort . Just not enough speed to hang w players like that ...
Yep. I think a lot of people who don't watch the NBA assume a lot of things. The NBA in the early to mid '00s was awful. The NBA now is a very tough league to break into and stay. Almost everyone can shoot, pass, and handle the ball. That being said, Garza can shoot the 3 well enough to carve out a niche role on a team. It's all about finding the right fit.
With Iowa playing primarily zone most of Lukas career that hasn’t helped prepare him for the NBA. He has become really good offensively in the pick and roll, and his 3 pt shooting is certainly solid for a guy 6-11. As others have stated nobody will outwork him, but the NBA is a game of probably 80% isolation and pick and roll. Clearly right now he’s not good at defending the pick and roll. He’s going to get picked, his stock seems to be rising a bit, just needs to continue to get better.
The B1G also doesn’t have the raw talent and athleticism that other power conferences or Gonzaga have. Not many one-and-dones in the B1G. If other conferences have the coaching or chemistry that the B1G has, let’s just say it would no longer hold the status of the nation’s best conference.
I love what Luka’s done for Iowa bball, but even with the energy he puts into the game he will be a defensive liability in the NBA. I hope he makes it, but if not he can have a great career in Europe.
Remember, McHale played most of his career with 2 other great rebounders (Bird and Parish). In 86, when McHale averaged 9.9, Parish averaged 10.6 and Bird averaged 9.2. Parish averaged 9.2 rebs/game and Bird's career average was 10.0 rebs/game.
And he had no trouble scoring on Cockburn who will be in the nba next year, is 7ft, about 40lbs heavier and more athletic than Xavier Tillman.
Luka would put up 40 on Tillman this year if he defender him one on one.
Luka is producing offensive efficiency numbers that blow away what almost everyone currently in the nba did in college.
Its just silly to think he wouldn't be able to score in the nba.
All the evidence suggests otherwise.
Theres not many 6'11 250 guys that shoot over %40 though. A stretch 4 is allot more common than stretch 5.
I don't consider the 4 to be a "big" anymore.
And theres allot of teams that start a rim protector type center and then bring in a big that stretches the floor as a change of pace.
Cockburn doesn't know how to defend yet and Tillman didn't even jump to block a couple of his shots last year.
Adam Morrison did all this, for Gonzaga no less, and barely made the league.
Cockburn won’t be in the NBA next season he’s not even in the top 100 of draft eligible players.
Adam Morrison did not have a comparable game and it was a different nba, irrelevant comparison.
Kelly Olynik is the Gonzaga player you should be comparing Luka too.
I don't think Luka can stick in the nba but it will have nothing to do with his offense.
Last edited:
Morrison scored in bunches but wasn't a good enough athlete, no matter what position he played.
Olynik has no offensive game and I know why Luka will have a tough time making it in the league.
Olynyk (6 foot 11/240 pounds) averages 10 points/game in 26 minutes. He shoots 6 threes and 2 twos/game. That's the NBA now.
Adam Morrison is a horrible comparison...what did he weigh, 210 soaking wet?
BirdistheWord
HB Legend
Similar threads
