I think a guy like Doncic, who isn't all that athletic, needs to make sure that he gets proper spacing in the NBA. If all those athletic 6-9 guys "body him up", he will struggle to operate in the NBA. Therefore the flopping "danger" ensures that he doesn't get D'd up too closely. I think a guy like Harden who is extremely athletic and has crazy hops, its embarrassing for him to flop. A guy like Doncic is making effective use of it to his advantage and I don't think that's excessive.
I think extremely athletic is very generous I’d say more skilled than athletic, but maybe that’s because I saw a video of him doing a boxing workout in the off-season and was thoroughly unimpressed
eh, he really doesn't have trouble getting by those guys. draymond tried to body him up, and luka just cooked him. most of his complaints come on finish attempts at the rim. in our last game, he clearly got hammered across both arms with no call--that s*** never happens to harden. why? because defenses are so afraid to get the whistle, they pull their hands back. the lesson for doncic seems to be to get to that point by flopping, then not have to anymore! again, one of the reasons i've been so anti-harden is that it has implications for the way everyone plays (and thinks about) the game going forward. i really think harden's made the game worse. or maybe more appropriately--nba officials' treatment of harden made the game worse.
True story, with one of my 5th grade clients at an elementary school: “Check out my crossover!” Nice! “Check out my jump shot!” Nice! “Check out me getting some free throws! *throws himself into retreating defender, arms flailing, crashing to the blacktop, during a recess pickup game* F*** Harden’s influence on the game.
