LeBron James Breaks Down Most Effective Way to Guard Luka Dončić Ahead of NBA Finals | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

There isn't any good way to defend Luka Dončić, but some ways are better than others.

LeBron James and JJ Redick broke down their preferred method of defending Dončić on pick-and-rolls on the latest episode of their Mind the Game podcast:

Mind the Game @mindthegamepod

What's the most effective way to guard Luka Dončić in pick-and-roll? <a href="">@KingJames</a> and <a href="">@jj_redick</a> discuss on Episode 9 of Mind the Game: <a href=""> <a href="">

Blitzing, the concept of a big and chasing the opposing ball-handler out on the perimeter and essentially doubling him with the small, was both James' choice and the correct one by the numbers.

Redick noted the Mavericks generated just .97 points per possession when blitzed during the regular season and .67 points per possession in the playoffs. Blitzing typically forces the ball out of Dončić's hands and into the hands of the roll man, typically Daniel Gafford or Dereck Liveley, who have a much harder time of acting as a distributor.

One issue: The Boston Celtics are not a blitzing team.

Boston almost exclusively plays a drop coverage when its bigs are put into a pick-and-roll. Al Horford can't keep up on the perimeter at age 38, and Kristaps Porziņģis never had the foot speed to blitz on the outside. The Celtics will likely be even more conservative with Porziņģis' defensive coverages with the big man coming back from a calf strain.

While the Celtics are significant favorites and have a huge depth advantage over Dallas, Dončić has the ability to dictate this series if Boston doesn't switch up its defensive scheming.