The anticipation in watching Luka Doncic take on the Golden State Warriors rookie led to a heated debate on Gil’s Arena. Gilbert Arenas highlighted how Yaxel Lendeborg’s offensive stats won’t matter. He went further to add that Doncic’s defensive performance against his 24-year-old will also not count. That’s when Nick Young stepped in and put the Los Angeles Lakers guard on notice.
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“But if you guarding p—- and all that, you’re supposed to guard me, too, man,” said Young on the recent episode of Gil’s Arenas. “Don’t run.” But Arenas kept arguing, “Luka is not saying I’m shutting you down; you are saying you’re shutting him down.” Agent Zero’s argument was simple that it was Lendeborg who challenged to shut down the Lakers guard, so that’s the main argument.
Young maintained his stance that after the trash talking that occurred on both sides, it was Luka Doncic’s responsibility to embrace guarding the Warriors rookie on every possession.
“Man, if you’re talking trash back, guard the man,” Young continued. “You talk trash then run the whole opposite way on the court guard somebody else that’s trash to me. That’s weak.”
To summarize what transpired last time, the Lakers came out victorious, 127-105, in the season opener. Luka Doncic finished with a game-high 28 points, going 7-for-18 from the field. But the talking point was his trash-talking of a Warriors rookie, who came prepared for the challenge.
In his NBA debut, Yaxel Lendeborg scored just 12 points, but ESPN highlighted his effectiveness against Luka. With Lendeborg as his primary defender, Doncic was limited to 1-of-6 shooting from the field. They exchanged several NSFW statements during the game, and one of them even earned Yaxel a technical.
After the game, the 24-year-old was clearly not happy and stated he “lost all respect” for Doncic. “I was telling him he sucks. He can’t score on me. You talking, you can’t score on me.”
And this became the basis of debate on the Gil’s Arena. Agent Zero wants Lendeborg to lock down the Lakers guard, who is averaging 36 points in his four games. In the last two games the Slovenian played, he has scored 93 points on his own. Meanwhile, the Warriors rookie has increased his offensive load as well.
In the last three games, the 24-year-old has scored 25+ points and been efficient, going 50% from the field on 29-58 attempts.
In fact, the Warriors rookie arrived at Chase Center for Friday night’s NBA Cup opener dressed as Michael Myers from the Halloween franchise. And coach Steve Kerr was even eager to see how Yaxel actually steps up against Luka Doncic.