When the Lakers snatched Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks earlier this month as part of one of the most stunning trades in North American professional sports history, the assumption was that Los Angeles was going to be a force to be reckoned with once the five-time All-Star returned from a calf injury.
Surely a team like the Charlotte Hornets wouldn’t be giving the mighty Lakers fits.
But that’s exactly what happened on Wednesday night, with Charlotte escaping Los Angeles with a 100-97 victory.
Doncic did more harm than good for the Lakers, going just 5-for-18 from the field and 1-for-9 from 3-point range en route to 14 points. His 11 rebounds and eight assists ended up being empty stats, offset by six turnovers and five personal fouls.
The only highlight reel Doncic found himself on was Hornets guard LaMelo Ball’s, as the 25-year-old got put on skates at the top of the key, allowing Ball to stroll into the lane and dish a pass to Mark Williams for a game-tying layup with 2:35 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Ball finished with 27 points, thanks in large part to five treys.
Every lapse that Doncic had came in his 33 minutes of action, the most court time he’s gotten since coming over to the Lakers. He played 24 minutes in his Los Angeles debut on Feb. 10 before getting bumped down to 23 two nights later.
I’m not going to sit here and say it’s time to hit the panic button just yet. Three quiet games from Doncic to begin a Lakers career that could last well over a decade mean nothing in the long run.
However, this would be a good time for Los Angeles fans to take off those rose-colored glasses and realize that this team might experience some serious growing pains. Having a player of Doncic’s caliber alongside fellow superstar LeBron James is a luxury, yes, but both are going to have to tweak their playstyle ever so slightly to make this thing work.
You would have thought that the Lakers were never going to lose again based on how Los Angeles fans reacted when news of the trade for Doncic first dropped. Don’t get me wrong—it was a totally valid reaction. There are faults in Doncic’s game, though. It was just hard to imagine that they’d be coming out this early.
Doncic isn’t moving the needle right now. Harsh reality, I know.
But, but, but it’s only been three games? How can you pass judgment that quickly? Well, when you pull off the biggest trade in league history to go out and get somebody, that somebody better be playing damn good basketball as soon as their flight touches down in their new city.
That certainly hasn’t been the case with Doncic, and Los Angeles has dropped back-to-back games against the Hornets and the Utah Jazz because of it.
Simply employing Doncic and James isn’t enough to win a title. The Lakers are still a ways away from discovering the formula that will take them to the promised land, and they’re going to need Doncic to step up soon if they want to find it.
