The Minnesota Timberwolves might have to take an unconventional route to throw Luka Doncic off his game following his game-winning shot in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. What they tried during the first two games of the series clearly hasn’t slowed down the Slovenian superstar.
Oddly enough, Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd offered just about the only way he’s found to irritate Doncic, but it’s probably not something the Timberwolves can use to their advantage when the series heads back to American Airlines Center for Game 3 on Sunday night.
“You want to get Luka to talk, you talk Real Madrid. If you want to piss him off, you talk about Barcelona. If you know about the rivalry with Real Madrid and Barcelona, you know how to poke the bear a little bit. “So today, I’m joking with him, and I go, ‘Man, I think I’m gonna take the Barcelona job. Did you see how they sacked the manager (on Friday)?'”
Jason Kidd on getting under Luka Doncic’s skin
Doncic played for Real Madrid’s basketball team for five seasons as a teenager, where his hatred for Barcelona was formed. Even now, six years after he last put on a Real Madrid jersey, even the thought of Barcelona still drives him mad.
Still, unless Jaden McDaniels goes scorched earth researching everything he can about Real Madrid’s long-standing rivalry with Barcelona before Sunday night’s matchup, we’re not sure how this bit of information can help Minnesota win their battle.