Luka took a beating across all media after that Denver game. Mostly because of his constant chirping to the refs but also his defense (or lack thereof). He had to come back hard last night and show a better effort. But night in & night out he’s not even an average defender

Word is that Ainge wants to go with a big frontcourt next season and keep Kessler but we’ll see. I’m not sure we need a floor spacer at center. Give me a grinder or borderline psychopath like Isaiah Stewart who expends maximum energy every night on defending & rebounding and we’d be fine. We need some DAWGS…

I remember saying this about this dude last summer when folks were ready to give him Most Improved & Comeback player awards and Rob Executive of the Year for signing him. I think Luka even actively recruited him.

He was always going to let us down at the worst possible time when we needed him the most. At least it happened before the playoffs started and we have a small window to scrape something together. Ayton has the skillset to do just about everything we need from the center position but such a weak mindset. He can’t get outta his own way and probably ruined his last chance to make big money in the NBA.

But let’s be honest with ourselves … we’re gonna get smoked by any of the top centers in this conference. Rudy Gobert is a threat to have a podium game against us. All those easy lobs that Jax thrives on seem to evaporate in the playoffs when teams are ALOT more focused & dialed-in on defense.

Lebron can’t be the primary for long stretches of time anymore. You can already watch the fatigue set in as the games go on. His turnovers get worse, layups get blown, jumpers die on the front of the rim, missed free throws. Also, Luka isn’t an off the ball type of player; he needs to be in control. We saw this fail recently when we tried to force Russ into that same role.

JayJay gets paid to figure this stuff out..

Truth be told, they were close to losing that Clipper game if Kawhi doesn’t have to leave the court with about 5 minutes left.