The LA Lakers have been over 10 months eliminated since buying and selling for Luka Doncic in a blockbuster cope with the Dallas Mavericks. Whereas it has given the franchise optimism of their current and future, the Lakers have seen the downsides of getting Doncic on the squad, particularly on the defensive finish.
For NBA analyst Invoice Simmons, the Doncic commerce, which was orchestrated by the now-fired Mavericks normal supervisor Nico Harrison, might now be understood by way of the lens of the then-Dallas GM.
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“In the event you gave him [Nico] fact serum proper now, does he really feel like he’s nonetheless in it with this Luka commerce with the way in which Luka’s seemed on protection these days?” Simmons stated in his podcast. “Do you suppose after like 3 drinks over the vacations together with his pals, he’s like ‘you’ll see with Luka, he’s by no means going to win a title’.”
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Within the aftermath of the commerce, Harrison preached protection for the Mavericks, concerning Doncic as somebody who shouldn’t be according to Dallas’ defensive mentality, regardless of the Slovenian star main them to the 2024 NBA Finals.
This season, Doncic’s defensive woes have been obvious because the Lakers wrestle previously month, shedding six of their final 10 video games. He has additionally turn into a goal for opposing squads as they imagine he’s a legal responsibility on the Lakers’ roster.
Doncic is main the league in factors, averaging 33.5 factors, together with 8.2 rebounds, and eight.7 assists per sport for the fifth-seeded Lakers with a 20-11 document.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick addresses Doncic’s defensive struggles
Luka Doncic has not been recognized for his defensive exploits, however Lakers head coach JJ Redick hopes he can interact in that finish of the ground.
On a Dec. 19 interview with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Redick addressed issues about Doncic’s defensive woes.
“[He had] stretches of taking part in glorious, being engaged and executing our stuff defensively,” he stated after the Lakers’ win over the Utah Jazz. “After which stretches the place he’s not as engaged and is not executing our stuff defensively.”
“However I might say that is for everyone. I feel the most important factor, he performed actually nicely sufficient to steer us to a win.”
Doncic’s obligations alongside co-star LeBron James will solely improve from right here on because the Lakers proceed to play with out their second-best scorer Austin Reaves.
Edited by Rob Andrew Lo
