Are the Los Angeles Lakers having second ideas in regards to the Luka Doncic commerce? Possibly. After a fiery begin to the Doncic period with a win towards the Utah Jazz, the Lakers have misplaced their final two video games, with their opponents exploiting the star guard’s largest weaknesses, a lot to the despair of the group’s fan base.
Just below three weeks in the past, the Lakers and the Mavericks introduced a large deal that despatched Anthony Davis to Dallas and introduced Luka to Los Angeles. After a ready interval, the guard debuted towards the Jazz with a 131-119 win. Nonetheless, painful losses of 131-119 towards Utah and 100-97 towards the Charlotte Hornets adopted.
Donic’s efficiency with the Lakers has not met expectations. This has highlighted the restrictions of the star guard that price the Mavericks a painful defeat in final yr’s finals towards the Boston Celtics and will give the Lakers critical complications within the instant future.
Luka Doncic’s shortcomings
Doncic missed Thursday’s recreation towards the Portland Path Blazers as a result of damage, however in his first three video games as a Laker, he recorded 14.6 factors, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.3 assists, with a 35.5% area objective proportion per recreation. These numbers are removed from the 26.5 factors, 8.1 rebounds, and seven.5 assists he had recorded for the remainder of the yr.
The low productiveness was to be anticipated from a participant adjusting to a brand new scheme and new teammates. Nonetheless, greater than his offense, which is able to in the end regain its degree, what worries followers and analysts are his defensive flaws.
Doncic has by no means been the very best defender within the league. Nonetheless, Dallas was conscious of that and way back discovered a method to compensate with defensive specialists like Daniel Gafford, Dereck Energetic, PJ Washington, and Derrick Jones Jr.
The Lakers’ protection not solely lacks gamers of that degree, however should already compensate for a LeBron James who’s not as constant defensively. The group’s different beginning forwards, Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves, do their job defensively, however not sufficient to cowl Doncic’s again.
The Lakers’ rivals have already taken notice
The sport towards the Hornets was the very best proof that the remainder of the league has taken notice of how the Celtics nullified Doncic in final season’s Finals,
consistently charging the place Doncic is and exhausting the defenders behind him
.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick has loads of work forward of him if he needs a deep playoff run. Adjusting the group to the one they hope shall be their flagship participant for the subsequent few years won’t be straightforward, however the sooner it’s finished, the higher for everybody.
