Luka Dropped 52... But I Counted 7 First-Quarter Buckets He Gave Up on Defense

52 points is a video game number, but I can't just look away from the other end of the floor.⁣
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Seven buckets allowed in the first quarter alone. Bad closeouts, blown box outs, late rotations, going the wrong way on a simple out of bounds action. This isn't a one possession lapse, this is a pattern.⁣
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What's wild to me is the sequence where he's actively coaching Kessler to protect the rim, and then his own man strolls in for the bucket because the effort around the screen wasn't there. You can't out talk the tape.⁣
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I do think the lead ballooning changed his approach. Once his team needed him to just go get buckets, the defense became an afterthought and he decided to live with the trade off. When Luka locks into that scoring gear it's nearly impossible to legislate against, I just wish both ends got the same attention. #shorts