lol at whoever downplayed Doncic earlier in the thread. Guy may very well already be the best player in the NBA.
I assume you meant me since I scoffed at the Bird comparisons. I mean I look at him as a Magic/LeBron type, is that called downplaying him?
Not sure if it was you or not, but yeah, Bird comparisons are absolutely legit, and IMO, Larry Legend is right there with Jordan as the best player I ever saw. Doncic is 20 years old. Bird wasn't even in the league til he was 23. Doncic might not be an elite defender, but he's no liability.
Little doubt in my mind he's the best player in the league right now. We double and tripled him all night, played him with one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, and he still lit us up and kept an otherwise mediocre team right there til the last 3 min or so.
I'm glad we only see him one more time this season.
Woahhhh, hold on. Does this guy rebound like Bird or pass like Bird or even play team defense like Bird ? Bird was a wild animal on the boards when he was younger and is the greatest passer from the forward spot in history, plus Bird had obscene scoring nights his entire career and Doncic has not shown the clutch gene that Larry had in spades. I know he is young - but he is not Larry Bird.
What he's got is the Larry Bird step back - except that he does it off the dribble. He's also a scorer in the Bird-mode, and seems to be an above average passer. However, Bird was a great rebounder - never got enough credit for that in my opinion and may have been a better passer, though time will tell.
As far as the clutch gene, I'd say he has it - keep in mind the team around him isn't nearly as good as Bird's supporting cast was - when he was at his best. One trait that's very similar between the two - they're both tough as nails. Doncic, as we saw tonight, dishes out as much (or more) punishment than he takes.
Whether he's a Bird's level or not, I love watching him. Really entertaining game tonight despite the clunkers by Porzingis and Tatum.