Last season, with the Dallas Mavericks down by two points in the fourth quarter of a December matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers, Luka Doncic called his own number near the top of the key.
He had Lakers big man Jaxson Hayes on an island before pounding a couple dribbles to his left and pulling up as if he were going to take a short jumper. Hayes left his feet briefly before challenging what he thought would be a 7-foot jumper.
The problem was Hayes couldn’t see what Doncic was doing next, because the floor general had taken the ball and held it behind Hayes’ head before whipping a dime with his left hand to a wide-open Dante Exum, who was spotting up at the arc and drilled a 3-pointer to give the Mavs the lead. The pass looked like something out of a Harlem Globetrotters promo, and stunned both the Dallas crowd and the announcers.
“What a pass!” TNT’s Kevin Harlan said as it happened.
“How did he get that pass between all those defenders?” analyst Reggie Miller asked.
It was the sort of magic that the Lakers, fresh off acquiring the 25-year-old Doncic late Saturday night, are hoping to benefit from — now and in the future — with him wearing purple and gold.
Once he can return from the calf injury that has sidelined him since late December, those moments will assuredly come for L.A., both from Doncic and his new superstar teammate LeBron James. But making a deep playoff run could hinge on how the Lakers, who increased their cushion for the fifth seed after Tuesday’s rout of the LA Clippers, address this roster’s key issues — either on the court or before Thursday’s trade deadline.
Here, we break down the distinct ways Doncic figures to bolster, and possibly complicate, things for the Lakers as they navigate this new chapter.
LeBron can save his legs more
No other player in modern history has put as much mileage on his body than James, who appeared in 168 playoff games — more than two full regular season’s worth — from just 2011 to 2018. And, even at 40, James is averaging a whopping 85 touches per game, the NBA’s 10th-highest total.
Having Doncic — who has averaged 90 touches per game over the past five seasons — bowling over defenders and spraying the ball all over the court for assists during many of them — will undoubtedly lighten James’ ballhandling burden. Even in a season in which the Mavs’ front office apparently grew increasingly frustrated with Doncic’s habits and flaws, he has managed to shoot 60% from the field when he drives to the basket, the NBA’s highest mark among players with at least 300 drives this season.
This isn’t to say that James never gets to rest. He’s the fourth-slowest moving player in the league, averaging just 3.67 mph on the court. Doncic is only marginally faster at 3.75 mph. But having him should make life a little easier for James.
Luka and LeBron pick-and-rolls will be fun to watch
Los Angeles already had a star-studded screen-and-roll combo in James and Davis, one that helped the organization win the title in 2020. But the notable difference from then to now, even with Davis being one of the most dominant players in the league, had been the ability to hit 3s as a pick-and-pop threat. After shooting 33% from deep the season the Lakers won it all, Davis shot just under 26% for the rest of his L.A. tenure.
Even at a slightly below league average rate of 35% from deep for his career, Doncic can’t simply be left alone from outside, making him a threat whether he’s the ballhandler or the screener on such plays with James. The Lakers already have the highest free throw rate in the league, and they could get there more frequently with a player who draws fouls like Doncic.
Austin Reaves should thrive playing off the ball
One of the players likely to benefit most from Doncic’s arrival is Reaves, who has had 80 touches per game and has handled the ball for just over five minutes per contest this season — up almost 25% from last season’s 61 touches and four minutes of possession.
Reaves is a highly capable ballhandler putting up career-high counting statistics in the aftermath of the team moving fellow guard D’Angelo Russell to Brooklyn. But his efficiency is down from the past two seasons with fewer catch-and-shoot looks. Reaves has shot 39% from deep on those opportunities, as opposed to 35% on the pull-up attempts he creates himself, according to Second Spectrum. Doncic’s ball control should help unlock Reaves’ efficiency.
Floor spacers could elevate the LeBron-Luka offense
Despite the Lakers’ championship odds improving with the sportsbooks, there’s still plenty of skepticism that Doncic makes them a title contender right now.
The team has obvious holes to fill; a few of which probably will need to be handled during the offseason. The Lakers, who rank 18th in 3-point percentage, would be wise to acquire more perimeter threats to maximize the space Doncic and James have to get to the basket, and to keep defenses off balance.
Lakers president Rob Pelinka needs to do more to optimize the roster to give them ample floor spacing with which to work. Still, the Lakers — who figure to be a slow-paced club that excels at isolation plays like the James Harden-Chris Paul era Rockets — should get much better looks on offense because of Doncic’s ability to attack the paint from different angles.
Case in point: The Mavs led the league in corner 3-point tries last season before reaching the Finals, and the Lakers this season have the fifth-fewest attempts from the corner. With elite playmakers, Los Angeles should still be wildly efficient with the right two players around Doncic, James and Reaves.
A (current) lack of rim protection could doom the LeBron-Luka defense
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka discusses the team’s desire to acquire a big man after trading Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic.
As intriguing as it is to think about the potential of the Lakers’ offense, the defense is harder to envision now that Davis is no longer anchoring the back line. Davis, a perennial Defensive Player of the Year contender, has limited opponents to 45.6% shooting on layups and dunks when he’s the contesting defender over the past two months, the fifth-best rate in the NBA among players with at least 150 contests.
That skill figures to be sorely missed in Lakerland. Aside from surrendering Davis, the 21st-ranked Los Angeles defense lost perhaps its best wing defender, Max Christie, in the exchange. “Teams are going to test them relentlessly with this defensive group,” a Western Conference scout said. “There’s no footspeed anywhere.”
At the same time, the club plugs in Doncic, who, for all his talent on offense, leaves something to be desired on the other end of the court. Pointedly, Mavs executive Nico Harrison said, “Defense wins championships” in explaining one of his main motivations for making the stunning choice to swap Doncic for Davis.
Doncic has been leaky on defense, to put it mildly. Over the past two seasons, no player in the league has had a higher blow-by rate — the percentage of the time ballhandlers breeze past him at the point of attack — than Doncic’s 44%, according to Second Spectrum.
As Doncic dazzled on offense throughout last season’s NBA Finals, the Celtics thrived forcing Dallas into defensive rotations after prompting Doncic’s teammates to frantically help after getting past him off the dribble.
The Lakers themselves know this, and with Jaxson Hayes being their lone, non-two-way center, expect them to be looking for defensive help, if not before Thursday’s trade deadline, then certainly later on the buyout market. “We know we have a need for a big,” Pelinka said at Doncic’s introductory news conference Tuesday.
Los Angeles, which has the league’s seventh-toughest remaining schedule, will certainly be tested on defense as it gears up for the postseason.
One stretch in particular — a six-game March slate against Milwaukee, Denver, Phoenix and San Antonio before squaring off with the Nuggets and Bucks again — will repeatedly challenge the Lakers in the middle, forcing them to defend some of the league’s biggest and most efficient offenses in the paint featuring Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama.
Unlike the tweaks Los Angeles made two seasons ago at the deadline to help propel it to the conference finals, the deal for Doncic fundamentally alters the organization’s entire makeup, something that might take longer to incorporate on both ends. Still, this deal’s long-term upside makes it a no-brainer, even if the Lakers fail to jell late in this season.
Source: espn.com