Former Dallas Mavericks and current Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle recently appeared on the “Green Light with Chris Long” show to discuss various basketball topics, including coaching Luka Doncic.
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Carlisle coached Doncic from 2018 to 2021, where he helped him develop into the NBA superstar he is today. The one-time NBA Coach of the Year awardee told the podcast hosts that Luka Doncic’s athleticism is often overlooked.
“The thing that you learn about him very quickly particularly when you have a chance to work with him, coach him, is that he is super big, super strong, unbelievably quick, and extremely fast,” Carlisle said about Doncic. “Now it doesn’t look like he plays fast, but he can turn on the burners, and he is an amazing athlete and he can play above the rim too.”
“He doesn’t do it very much because he’s mastered the game you know on the ground and just by leaving the floor just slightly because that’s how he controls the leverage of players that are bumping him and stuff like that. That’s why he’s able to finish and get and-1’s so much,” he added.
During their time together in Dallas, Rick Carlisle and Luka Doncic had back-to-back playoff appearances in 2020 and 2021. Carlisle eventually stepped down from his head coaching role in June 2021.
Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks in danger of being swept
The Dallas Mavericks are now down 0-3 against the Boston Celtics, and the odds are stacked against them because no team has ever come back from such a big deficit.
Luka Doncic put up 27 points, six rebounds, and six assists in Game 3, but he fouled out with 4:12 remaining in the fourth period after trying to draw a charge on Jaylen Brown. The Slovenian guard went off on the refs after the game.
Analysts have criticized Doncic for his poor effort on the defensive end throughout the series, so he will have to prove his critics wrong, starting in Game 4.
