Before Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Jason Kidd passionately defended Luka Doncic amid the heap of criticism he’s been copping.
Doncic was rinsed by the media for his Game 3 performance, which quickly turned to other judgements about his defensive struggles, his weight and his complaints to the officials.
“This is a free country. Everybody has the right to their opinion. It’s just sometimes we might take it a little bit too far, and understanding if you put yourself in that person’s shoes, could you stand up to the barbecue?” Kidd said of the criticism around Luka. “Sometimes we want to fry someone, but if you reversed it, and it was you being fried, would you like it? Most likely not.
“That’s just the nature of the business.
“But this young man has done nothing to anyone but play the game of basketball. And when he’s asked the question, he’s never run from it. He’s answered it. And he’s 25 years old. I think that’s what I’m more disappointed in is that we are at the highest stage where we have one of the best players in the world playing the game the right way but we want to criticize some of the things that he does not do well. But when he does do them well, we are going to come back and want to talk to him, and then when he says no, I’m going to pass, then what happens?
“I think sometimes it’s just unfair or unwarranted to say those things. No one in this room is perfect.”
Well it seems that Luka took the criticism personally, after balling out in Game 4 with 29 points, five rebounds five assists and three steals on 46.2 percent shooting from the field to help Dallas to a massive 122-84 win.
Kidd wasn’t done defending his star player.
“The game of sport is not to be perfect. It’s just to win,” Kidd said. “And when you look at what’s come out here in the last day or so, if you’ve watched the Mavs, Luka has improved his defense. But we are asking him, or some are asking him, to be a shutdown defender.
“Well, he’s never been on an All-Defensive Team, but he’s been on five All-Pro Teams, first team. So that means he’s one of the top-five players in the world, and he’s playing the game the right way where he can find open guys. But when you’re on the biggest stage, there’s got to be — someone’s got to poke a hole.”