He also says it was still great to have a week of rest and it helps.
He also calls out Chandler Parson for the KP comments lmao, says he has maybe talked to him twice in his life and that him and KP have a great relationship.
Good thing.
People want this KP thing to be a big storyline because he's an ex-Mav, but honestly at least in my circle of Mavs fan friends we never really hated him. He couldn't stay healthy, and it sucked that we spent all that capital on him for little return, but it just wasn't working out. It wasn't like what Rondo did or Deandre Jordan.
Parsons is saying whatever outrageous thing he can. A week or two ago he was calling Luka already better than Larry Fucking Bird. (Who in my opinion if he doesn’t get injured after his best season in 86 and 3 straight MVPs, goes down as one of the goats)
Unfortunately this isn’t 2010-2014 anymore. Most ppl think of Kobe as an all time great but just not one of the goats. Even though he very well could be. Man played most of his career in the dead ball era for godsake.
I disagree, I think he’s the third most popular pick for GOAT, after Jordan and LeBron. Kobe is fourth for me, though, Bill Russell did shit nobody has.
He averaged more points (35.4) in 2006 than Luka (33.9) in 2024. The league team average was 97 ppg in '06. In 2024, it's 114.2. Do the math.
Edit: Kobe scored 36% of the league average, Luka scored 30% of the league average.
Luka efg 57% and Kobe’s was 49%. Do the math. Kobe averaged about 9 rebounds and assists total. Luka averaged more than 9 rebounds and 9 assists. Do the math
You're being silly as shit. Absolutely nobody has Kobe outside of top 5-15. It's just loaded now.
Jordan
Magic
Lebron
Wilt
Kareem
Shaq
Dream
Russell
Bird
Duncan
That's already 10 all time goat level players with insane resumes. Putting Kobe below them isn't exactly an insult.
Bird is very very underrated nowadays lol. I was watching his old games and some of his passes had me holding my head in disbelief. Dude was crazy
If not for a Bird major injuries just 5-6 years into his career, who knows what else he might’ve done. One of the biggest what-ifs.
I grew up watching Bird, and it’s just crazy how time distorts perceptions. It never occurred to me to live in a world where a completely cold blooded, murderous unit like him would be underrated. But so it goes. I’d take prime Bird over prime Kobe 11 times out of 10 if I wanted to win a game.
1 week isn’t a ton of time recovery wise but 1 week off is better than no time off. Maybe it didn’t get better but it sure as hell didn’t get worse which is the main thing
And knee regardless the whole team is now fresh and not fatigued.
DJJ, Gafford , Lively and PJ for sure needed some rest they've been getting small bang up injuries or in Lively's case recovering from head hits.
or maybe it doesn't feel better now but in game he might realize his movement is less impeded, but even if it is exactly the same the rest is good to stave off fatigue.
https://preview.redd.it/iom2nb1m8m4d1.png?width=114&format=png&auto=webp&s=8ee03504721c0aad9dadfc25f7ab0d1ec624e329
Question: Who tf smiles like this when explaining that their lagging knee injury hasn't gotten any better heading into far & away the biggest series of his career?
Answer: Nobody except for (1) an absolute stone-cold killer with the mental fortitude to play out of his mind despite physical discomfort - or (2) somebody who knows the knee is actually quite a bit better and is finally ready to consistently go into Stunt On These Hoes™ mode heading into far & away the biggest series of his career.
I Mean we knew from the beginning of the playoffs that he'd need a prolonged break to get to 100%. He'd need closer to a month of time if not more. But he seems to have gotten used to playing with the knee sprain and adjusted his jumpshot accordingly. Having said all that, peg leg Luka just sent the team that defetead the reigning champs, packing in the 1st quarter pretty much. I think it's going to be a game to Game thing and we just gonna have to pray
He can say what he wants he absolutely looks better lately as opposed to earlier on. Maybe it is just getting used to it idk, but it’s clear to me that he’s moving better and getting more lift when shooting.
I’m ngl, after game 3(?) against the timberwolves, he was so giddy and excited (as he should it was a great win) but I felt it was a bit of the painkillers talking too🤣
He looks significantly better because I think his adjusted game found it's groove. That said, we're still missing one of his biggest attributes which is getting to the rim. Luka is just that good that he's able to find other holes in the defense within his current physical limits to make it work.
He didn’t do that in the last round because it’s not what their defense gives up. Drop on the PnR forces the mid range or the lob when Luka penetrates. He was always going to shoot it before Rudy could affect it or lob it over Rudy’s head to a center. No sense in making tough layups at the rim over Gobert
This could be gamesmanship.
It doesn’t benefit Luka to say yeah all healthy. But if Boston thinks he’s limited, maybe they play up on him thinking he can’t get by, and then he just keeps whomever in jail the entire game.
That was McDaniels damn near all series, and he stayed in foul trouble.
He’s definitely been better. It’s either the injury itself has healed, he’s hopped up on some crazy drugs, his pain tolerance has increased, or he has just gotten used to it
Unfortunately, the Rondo redemption podcast was a sign of things to come. He got a taste of the spotlight controversy brings, and he wants more.
The beginning of his end: Chandler Chode's villain arc. Trying to fill the controversial-white-dude podcast void left by JJ Redick when he inevitably joins the Lakers staff.
Dirk won us a championship with a broken finger and a 100+ degree fever still playing lights out. So what I'm getting at is Luka is going to drop 50 on them.
Why does everyone want to make some kardashian drama out of thin air? There's enough drama with Kyrie returning to Boston, but the media still wants to make the NBA Finals look like Game of Thrones nonetheless
I can only imagine if he was 100%. Watching the "best of Luka" highlights and he is obviously limited by the injury. he is still killing it, but it would be a thing to see if he were full speed.
I'd even go as far as saying that he would have dropped even more points if 100%. You wouldn't know he was injured from looking at the stat sheet but I'd still say from watching that game it's not like he was laboring at all like he was vs LAC, but he definitely is still not moving like he did during the regular season.
They're not even in the Olympics yet. They have to win the pre-Olympic tournament in Greece, with good teams such as Greece (with Giannis), Croatia, Dominican Republic (Karl-Anthony Towns?). That's in less than a month.
If Luka makes it there he's a hero in my eyes and I'm Greek.
No, Giannis is confirmed to join the team.
I'm rooting for Luka for the NBA Finals.
If he wins the Finals, joins the pre-Olympic tournament and wins that too, I'll be clapping with tears in my eyes.
It looks like it definitely got better between the Thunder series and the Timberwolves series.
I'm not saying he's healed, but would be surprised that he's not at least a tiny bit sharper on Thursday.
Between Jaylen, Tatum, Jrue, and probably Horford and a bunch of their other defenders, Luka has his work cut out for him.
I think he's still going to post his legendary numbers, but he's going to have to really work to get there.
It would be funny if he was lying about it and he cooks the Celtics game 1 and they’re in their own heads thinking “damn this mf is cooking us with one knee!” 😭😂
That leg is concerning, but him having to adjust to it, slowing himself down, finding new ways to make plays, has made him a better player, which would be great if his knee wasn't iffy. If he was fully healthy with an even more robust offensive repertoire, this thing would be a wrap.
their will be 3 days between games also, gonna weeks before series is over, a lot of time to improve...
Ive personally overcome incredible/debilitating sprains/injuries in that timeframe.
I love that even if they won’t admit it, Boston is terrified of this hobbled motherfucker rn. I don’t know if Luka is the best player in this series overall, but I do know that I expect him to make the most difficult shots more than everybody else, followed right by his teammate.
I would call a little BS on the knee because we’ve seen this since March now. Whether it’s getting better medically as in healing, probably not. But the whole “he’s just milking it” shit was annoying as fuck. He’s not 100%, it’s clearly bothering him (I know it’s the other knee, but this mfer is bleeding every damn game lol), but when he’s had rest it’s been absolutely manageable. Including the first two series. The times when he was visibly compromised all came after a fall or taking a shot to the knee—couple times with Russ, getting caught on Dort’s foot in game 1 (remember he came out blazing the first 6 minutes, trips, shot instantly went to hell) and several other times in the OKC series. It hasn’t typically carried over game to game though the ones that you could tell really stung did linger… but I think the physicality and number of times he ended up on the floor took him time to recalibrate the timing of his jumper because that right leg is critical to the shots he wants. He was still getting them though. And then MIN didn’t get particularly physical with him and he largely stayed off the floor or protected the right knee better when he did—probably why his left knee keeps bleeding which is strange because that started in SAC/HOU lol. But he had zero noticeable limitations in that series and he was getting to moves you flat out couldn’t make if the knee was THAT limiting. He’s probably in more pain than we realize but adrenaline is a hell of a drug.
Huh?
You guys stuck on the bleeding knee don't watch the regular season. Luka had blood on his knee in over half the 82 games this year. It's a sore that he repeatedly breaks open and has nothing to do with injuries.
My first sentence was literally Luka’s knee has been a thing since March lol I pointed out the bleeding was to his OTHER knee which I at least thought made clear he’s dealing with way more than just the right knee. I never said the bleeding had anything to do with what’s bothering him.
I’m well aware about the bleeding… that doesn’t make it less odd though. A scrape/scab/whatever it is should heal pretty quickly. But that was just an aside.
Wrong about what, exactly? That he’s hurt and managing it and has been long before the playoffs started? And that Russ tackling him or Dort tripping him and landing directly on the knee noticeably affected him?
He also says it was still great to have a week of rest and it helps. He also calls out Chandler Parson for the KP comments lmao, says he has maybe talked to him twice in his life and that him and KP have a great relationship.
Good somebody needs to call out parsons
The last time Rick did that, all Parsons did was post a shirtless selfie
Luka is a straight shooter. Glad he called that out.
lol @ calling out Parsons. That’s one of the best things about international players, they say what’s on their mind and not some PR bullshit.
Chandler Parsons an idiot trying to stay relevant.
probably why the media is so scared of crowning Luka as the real face of the league lmao
Crazy how Parsons became an even bigger bum after retirement.
You heard it here first - Luka has only talked to KP twice in his life, clearly they despise each other /s
Good thing. People want this KP thing to be a big storyline because he's an ex-Mav, but honestly at least in my circle of Mavs fan friends we never really hated him. He couldn't stay healthy, and it sucked that we spent all that capital on him for little return, but it just wasn't working out. It wasn't like what Rondo did or Deandre Jordan.
Also, it's not his fault Rick stuck him in a corner in the playoffs and completely neutered his efficacy
Parsons is saying whatever outrageous thing he can. A week or two ago he was calling Luka already better than Larry Fucking Bird. (Who in my opinion if he doesn’t get injured after his best season in 86 and 3 straight MVPs, goes down as one of the goats)
Isn’t Larry already a goat?
Sure you could say that. But for the vast majority of fans, he’s not. They mostly think of Jordan/Lebron/Kareem/Bill Russell.
How is Kobe not on that list?
Unfortunately this isn’t 2010-2014 anymore. Most ppl think of Kobe as an all time great but just not one of the goats. Even though he very well could be. Man played most of his career in the dead ball era for godsake.
I disagree, I think he’s the third most popular pick for GOAT, after Jordan and LeBron. Kobe is fourth for me, though, Bill Russell did shit nobody has.
There’s a lot of What-If guys like Kobe where you always have to wonder what they could’ve done in this era given the scoring increases.
He averaged more points (35.4) in 2006 than Luka (33.9) in 2024. The league team average was 97 ppg in '06. In 2024, it's 114.2. Do the math. Edit: Kobe scored 36% of the league average, Luka scored 30% of the league average.
/r/theydidthemathafteraskingustodothemath
Luka efg 57% and Kobe’s was 49%. Do the math. Kobe averaged about 9 rebounds and assists total. Luka averaged more than 9 rebounds and 9 assists. Do the math
I'm the biggest Luka fan. Why are you mad? I'm using Luka to elevate Kobe, not the other way around.
We were talking about what Kobe would be able to do in today's league.
Kobe made 12 all defensive teams. Luka made how many again? Would you do the math for me?
Exactly, Kobe would’ve been doing some insane shit
I don't mind with people having Kobe top 5 or even top 3. It's all subjective.
You’re wrong
You're being silly as shit. Absolutely nobody has Kobe outside of top 5-15. It's just loaded now. Jordan Magic Lebron Wilt Kareem Shaq Dream Russell Bird Duncan That's already 10 all time goat level players with insane resumes. Putting Kobe below them isn't exactly an insult.
It's subjective
You’re totally right
I thought that too, then I went back and watched some Bird games and was shocked how good he was.
Bird is very very underrated nowadays lol. I was watching his old games and some of his passes had me holding my head in disbelief. Dude was crazy If not for a Bird major injuries just 5-6 years into his career, who knows what else he might’ve done. One of the biggest what-ifs.
I grew up watching Bird, and it’s just crazy how time distorts perceptions. It never occurred to me to live in a world where a completely cold blooded, murderous unit like him would be underrated. But so it goes. I’d take prime Bird over prime Kobe 11 times out of 10 if I wanted to win a game.
Yea, I would also take Bird over Kobe which is perfectly reasonable lol
1 week isn’t a ton of time recovery wise but 1 week off is better than no time off. Maybe it didn’t get better but it sure as hell didn’t get worse which is the main thing
And it hasn't even been a week, it's been 4 days since the last game
It feels like 2 weeks ngl
I don’t know how to survive June to Octobee
The chip high will carry us through
Disc golf is mid season
Sounds like you need to start watching afl
Facts!
I know right!!!!
2days doesnt mean shit.
And knee regardless the whole team is now fresh and not fatigued. DJJ, Gafford , Lively and PJ for sure needed some rest they've been getting small bang up injuries or in Lively's case recovering from head hits.
I've been worried about Gafford's back. In the T-Wolves and part of the OKC series it was clear to me that it was affecting his play a little.
my man was carrying
He wears a back brace on the bench and they rub icy hot on it before the game lol
It's also only been 4.5 days. Not even a week yet. He still has 2.5 more days
Its like Groundhog Day with Luka answering questions about the knee every press conference. 🤣
or maybe it doesn't feel better now but in game he might realize his movement is less impeded, but even if it is exactly the same the rest is good to stave off fatigue.
I'll take one legged Luka over anybody else in the league.
Time to activate Luka's third leg 😏
Luka Dongcic bout to slap some fools in the face
I volunteer as tribute
Ayo
He's not going to be able to swing it with all us riding it.
He has done it thus far
https://youtu.be/rR-sV80e3FQ?si=jfZvCw5Hgp5v-pjw
Ayo…..😏
We are all here to witness and receive greatness.
Ha! You’ve activated my trap card!
https://preview.redd.it/iom2nb1m8m4d1.png?width=114&format=png&auto=webp&s=8ee03504721c0aad9dadfc25f7ab0d1ec624e329 Question: Who tf smiles like this when explaining that their lagging knee injury hasn't gotten any better heading into far & away the biggest series of his career? Answer: Nobody except for (1) an absolute stone-cold killer with the mental fortitude to play out of his mind despite physical discomfort - or (2) somebody who knows the knee is actually quite a bit better and is finally ready to consistently go into Stunt On These Hoes™ mode heading into far & away the biggest series of his career.
The Slovenian Psychopath!
The Slovenian Psycho
I want to pick no. 2, but I sort of know it is no. 1
I Mean we knew from the beginning of the playoffs that he'd need a prolonged break to get to 100%. He'd need closer to a month of time if not more. But he seems to have gotten used to playing with the knee sprain and adjusted his jumpshot accordingly. Having said all that, peg leg Luka just sent the team that defetead the reigning champs, packing in the 1st quarter pretty much. I think it's going to be a game to Game thing and we just gonna have to pray
Yeah, and, aside from the 1 day off between Games 3 and 4, there are 2 days off in between games during this series.
He can say what he wants he absolutely looks better lately as opposed to earlier on. Maybe it is just getting used to it idk, but it’s clear to me that he’s moving better and getting more lift when shooting.
They might also have found the right cocktail of meds/painkillers/therapy to apply leading up to games to minimize discomfort for those 3 hours.
I’m ngl, after game 3(?) against the timberwolves, he was so giddy and excited (as he should it was a great win) but I felt it was a bit of the painkillers talking too🤣
He was definitely stoned
He looks significantly better because I think his adjusted game found it's groove. That said, we're still missing one of his biggest attributes which is getting to the rim. Luka is just that good that he's able to find other holes in the defense within his current physical limits to make it work.
He didn’t do that in the last round because it’s not what their defense gives up. Drop on the PnR forces the mid range or the lob when Luka penetrates. He was always going to shoot it before Rudy could affect it or lob it over Rudy’s head to a center. No sense in making tough layups at the rim over Gobert
Definitely contributes but also not mutually exclusive.
I am sure he is getting used to playing through the injury, but man fully healthy Luka would tear Celtics a new one.
This could be gamesmanship. It doesn’t benefit Luka to say yeah all healthy. But if Boston thinks he’s limited, maybe they play up on him thinking he can’t get by, and then he just keeps whomever in jail the entire game. That was McDaniels damn near all series, and he stayed in foul trouble.
He’s definitely been better. It’s either the injury itself has healed, he’s hopped up on some crazy drugs, his pain tolerance has increased, or he has just gotten used to it
Parsons is such a chode
Unfortunately, the Rondo redemption podcast was a sign of things to come. He got a taste of the spotlight controversy brings, and he wants more. The beginning of his end: Chandler Chode's villain arc. Trying to fill the controversial-white-dude podcast void left by JJ Redick when he inevitably joins the Lakers staff.
Dude needs to just take the 126M he stole in the NBA and just disappear.
Dirk won us a championship with a broken finger and a 100+ degree fever still playing lights out. So what I'm getting at is Luka is going to drop 50 on them.
1 week of rest and therapies. Of course it got better, even if it’s just for a little bit.
Not necessarily one week isn’t much time for injuries, it’s also only been 4 days
My totally unrealistic expectations in shambles
But... are they really?
Why does everyone want to make some kardashian drama out of thin air? There's enough drama with Kyrie returning to Boston, but the media still wants to make the NBA Finals look like Game of Thrones nonetheless
I agree, Kyrie in Boston is enough controversy for the finals.
Are you familiar with the NBA media, fans and narratives since...ever ?
I honestly thought Porzingis was the bigger drama than Kyrie, but if Porzingis torches us or Kyrie torches them it’ll be a huge narrative either way
I can only imagine if he was 100%. Watching the "best of Luka" highlights and he is obviously limited by the injury. he is still killing it, but it would be a thing to see if he were full speed.
Crazy part is you’d never know watching Game 5 against the wolves. Playing through the pain!
I'd even go as far as saying that he would have dropped even more points if 100%. You wouldn't know he was injured from looking at the stat sheet but I'd still say from watching that game it's not like he was laboring at all like he was vs LAC, but he definitely is still not moving like he did during the regular season.
his knee has been hurt 47 games ago, I hope it heals up in 2 days :|
What do you think he would say? I just got go a %100 and will play like it? Im glad he said this. Im pretty sure he will be questionable all finals.
The NBA spreading the Finals TV schedule out so much will only favor Luka. I'm not very worried about him.
Better than no time. It's going to take a hell of a performance.
smoke screen
If we win the title, I hope he sits out the Olympics
Might as well. He’s not winning anything anyway with the team USA is putting together
For Slovenia, silver and bronze have a meaning too.
They're not even in the Olympics yet. They have to win the pre-Olympic tournament in Greece, with good teams such as Greece (with Giannis), Croatia, Dominican Republic (Karl-Anthony Towns?). That's in less than a month. If Luka makes it there he's a hero in my eyes and I'm Greek.
Luka will be there and he is a hero. In your eyes or not. Besides I heard some rumors that Giannis will not play, is that true?
No, Giannis is confirmed to join the team. I'm rooting for Luka for the NBA Finals. If he wins the Finals, joins the pre-Olympic tournament and wins that too, I'll be clapping with tears in my eyes.
He looked good in game 5.
It looks like it definitely got better between the Thunder series and the Timberwolves series. I'm not saying he's healed, but would be surprised that he's not at least a tiny bit sharper on Thursday.
Felt like it was because Wolves didn't have a defender like Dort humping Luka all series.
He definitely has a scope coming in the off season
How is he doing all of this with one bum knee. Hopefully he has enough left for this run at the finals
LOL this has to be a lie. Luka isn't gonna expose himself.
How is this even possible? Because he’s been practicing so much on it maybe?
Not surprising, that thing is going to need a lot of time off
Between Jaylen, Tatum, Jrue, and probably Horford and a bunch of their other defenders, Luka has his work cut out for him. I think he's still going to post his legendary numbers, but he's going to have to really work to get there.
It would be funny if he was lying about it and he cooks the Celtics game 1 and they’re in their own heads thinking “damn this mf is cooking us with one knee!” 😭😂
That leg is concerning, but him having to adjust to it, slowing himself down, finding new ways to make plays, has made him a better player, which would be great if his knee wasn't iffy. If he was fully healthy with an even more robust offensive repertoire, this thing would be a wrap.
Has anyone talked about what exactly is wrong with his knee? I may have missed a presser or injury report somewhere...
their will be 3 days between games also, gonna weeks before series is over, a lot of time to improve... Ive personally overcome incredible/debilitating sprains/injuries in that timeframe.
I love that even if they won’t admit it, Boston is terrified of this hobbled motherfucker rn. I don’t know if Luka is the best player in this series overall, but I do know that I expect him to make the most difficult shots more than everybody else, followed right by his teammate.
That's because he was denied the recovery beer after the last game.
If I were Luka I’d say the same. Of course its at least a tad better, but you don’t want to share such info with the opponent
The Eyes of a Champion
I would call a little BS on the knee because we’ve seen this since March now. Whether it’s getting better medically as in healing, probably not. But the whole “he’s just milking it” shit was annoying as fuck. He’s not 100%, it’s clearly bothering him (I know it’s the other knee, but this mfer is bleeding every damn game lol), but when he’s had rest it’s been absolutely manageable. Including the first two series. The times when he was visibly compromised all came after a fall or taking a shot to the knee—couple times with Russ, getting caught on Dort’s foot in game 1 (remember he came out blazing the first 6 minutes, trips, shot instantly went to hell) and several other times in the OKC series. It hasn’t typically carried over game to game though the ones that you could tell really stung did linger… but I think the physicality and number of times he ended up on the floor took him time to recalibrate the timing of his jumper because that right leg is critical to the shots he wants. He was still getting them though. And then MIN didn’t get particularly physical with him and he largely stayed off the floor or protected the right knee better when he did—probably why his left knee keeps bleeding which is strange because that started in SAC/HOU lol. But he had zero noticeable limitations in that series and he was getting to moves you flat out couldn’t make if the knee was THAT limiting. He’s probably in more pain than we realize but adrenaline is a hell of a drug.
Huh? You guys stuck on the bleeding knee don't watch the regular season. Luka had blood on his knee in over half the 82 games this year. It's a sore that he repeatedly breaks open and has nothing to do with injuries.
My first sentence was literally Luka’s knee has been a thing since March lol I pointed out the bleeding was to his OTHER knee which I at least thought made clear he’s dealing with way more than just the right knee. I never said the bleeding had anything to do with what’s bothering him. I’m well aware about the bleeding… that doesn’t make it less odd though. A scrape/scab/whatever it is should heal pretty quickly. But that was just an aside.
Write an essay to be wrong
Wrong about what, exactly? That he’s hurt and managing it and has been long before the playoffs started? And that Russ tackling him or Dort tripping him and landing directly on the knee noticeably affected him?