Are the Los Angeles Lakers having second thoughts about the Luka Doncic trade? Maybe. After a fiery start to the Doncic era with a win against the Utah Jazz, the Lakers have lost their last two games, with their opponents exploiting the star guard’s biggest weaknesses, much to the despair of the team’s fan base.
Just under three weeks ago, the Lakers and the Mavericks announced a massive deal that sent Anthony Davis to Dallas and brought Luka to Los Angeles. After a waiting period, the guard debuted against the Jazz with a 131-119 win. However, painful losses of 131-119 against Utah and 100-97 against the Charlotte Hornets followed.
Donic’s performance with the Lakers has not met expectations. This has highlighted the limitations of the star guard that cost the Mavericks a painful defeat in last year’s finals against the Boston Celtics and could give the Lakers serious headaches in the immediate future.
Luka Doncic’s shortcomings
Doncic missed Thursday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers due to injury, but in his first three games as a Laker, he recorded 14.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.3 assists, with a 35.5% field goal percentage per game. These numbers are far from the 26.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.5 assists he had recorded for the rest of the year.
The low productivity was to be expected from a player adjusting to a new scheme and new teammates. However, more than his offense, which will sooner or later regain its level, what worries fans and analysts are his defensive flaws.
Doncic has never been the best defender in the league. However, Dallas was aware of that and long ago found a way to compensate with defensive specialists like Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively, PJ Washington, and Derrick Jones Jr.
The Lakers’ defense not only lacks players of that level, but must already compensate for a LeBron James who is no longer as consistent defensively. The team’s other starting forwards, Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves, do their job defensively, but not enough to cover Doncic’s back.
The Lakers’ rivals have already taken note
The game against the Hornets was the best evidence that the rest of the league has taken note of how the Celtics nullified Doncic in last season’s Finals, constantly charging where Doncic is and exhausting the defenders behind him.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick has a lot of work ahead of him if he wants a deep playoff run. Adjusting the team to the one they hope will be their flagship player for the next few years will not be easy, but the sooner it is done, the better for everyone.
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