Why Luka Doncic targeting LeBron James down the stretch was actually a compliment to the Lakers star

 

One of the great television lines in history comes from The Wire, when Omar reminds Wee-Bey: "You come at the King, you best not miss." On Tuesday night, Luka Doncic went at the King. There was some context to the decision to switch hunt and isolate LeBron, which we'll get into. But in the end, Luka went at the King. And he didn't miss. 

Doncic, by his standards, didn't have a great night in the Mavericks' 109-104 victory over the Lakers. He finished with 25 points but shot just 9-for-21 and missed all five of his 3-pointers. But Doncic took over in money time, and LeBron couldn't do anything about it. 

Here Doncic calls for a ball screen from Dorian Finney-Smith to get James switched onto him. Doncic clearly wants the one-on-one matchup, and though LeBron does a good job of jumping to Doncic's strong side, cutting off the paint and forcing him left, Luka hits him with a nasty one-legged fade that renders LeBron helpless. 

Thirty seconds later, Doncic again hunts LeBron, who again plays pretty decent defense, even initially disrupting Luka's dribble. But he can only stay with him for so long, and Doncic eventually beats LeBron downhill, which starts the domino effect of low help man Stanley Johnson having to step up, leaving Dwight Powell wide open on the backside for a lob layup. 

Less than a minute later, Doncic again calls for the screen to get LeBron singled on him. Again, LeBron makes it difficult on Luka, cutting off his path initially with a physical bump, but Doncic is undeterred. A big, physical player himself, he simply bounces off LeBron, turns the corner and drops in a high-arcing floater that isn't nearly as easy a shot as he makes it look. 

When you hear "switch hunt" in today's NBA parlance, the implication is a weak defender is being targeted. A guy like Luka calls for a screen from the most vulnerable defender's man, gets the switch, and then cooks the sitting duck. 

But in this case, Doncic isolating LeBron was likely more about eliminating James as a help defender. It was actually a compliment. Or at least a knock against the Lakers' other defenders. Malik Monk, Russell Westbrook, Stanley Johnson and Talen Horton-Tucker don't represent the same threat coming to interrupt Doncic's creative efforts.

If LeBron -- a smart, anticipatory defender -- is lingering off the ball, he's a bigger threat to jump passing lanes or double Doncic late and affect his shot. With LeBron guarding Doncic heads-up, Luka knows the help is less of a factor and he can at least play one-on-one. Even against a better individual defender, Luka rightfully likes his isolation chances to create leverage either for his own shot or for a teammate. And he was right. 

When Dallas hired Jason Kidd as its head coach, the takes started flying about how bad a decision it was. Kidd had not shown in previous stops that he was capable of creating advanced Xs and Os advantages. In fact, he often did things to his team's detriment. But it's time to give Kidd his credit for the part he has played in creating a defensive culture in Dallas, and this bit of strategy against LeBron and the Lakers was another savvy move. 

Kidd didn't have Luka switch hunt LeBron all game. He waited until the outcome was in the balance, and then sprung the strategy when the Lakers weren't expecting it, and it won the Mavericks three crucial possessions down the stretch of a game that could've gone either way. Coaching does matter. Not as much as having great players like Luka and LeBron, but it matters. Dallas is looking more and more like it might be in better hands than we thought.