Luka Doncic's masterclass in Lakers win vs. Pelicans summed up by JJ Redick's revelation
Yesterday at 03:41 AM
Some thought it would take the Lakers quite a bit of time to integrate Luka Doncic and turn the Doncic-LeBron James duo into one of the best in the association, but the 26-year-old star has wasted no time reminding everyone why they thought the Lakers were guilty of highway robbery in their trade with the Dallas Mavericks. On Tuesday night, Doncic was excellent yet again, putting up 30 points, eight rebounds, and 15 assists in the Lakers’ 136-115 win over the New Orleans Pelicans that kept them in second place in the West.
Doncic is truly a system all unto himself, and the Lakers have benefitted immensely from his addition to the lineup. In particular, James has more energy to do more work on both ends of the floor now that he has Doncic doing the bulk of the dribbling and offensive creation. And head coach JJ Redick couldn’t be more pleased with what he’s seeing from the Purple and Gold’s newest star.
“They tried a bunch of different coverages on him (blitz … switch … drop)… he solved every riddle,” Redick said, per Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet.
This is exactly what Doncic does; he is like James in that both can read defenses unlike any other, always one step ahead of the opposition. Now, Doncic sometimes throws some very reckless passes, but that is simply part of the calculated risks his brilliance urges him to take on.
Doncic’s 15 assists is his most in a Lakers uniform thus far, and when he establishes his scoring threat the way he did early against the Pelicans, defenses will need to pick their poison. On Tuesday, New Orleans chose poorly for most of the night en route to their blowout loss against the Western Conference’s hottest team.
Luka Doncic’s Lakers brilliance rubs even more salt on the Mavericks’ wounds
Seeing Luka Doncic thrive while donning a Lakers uniform has got to be sickening for Mavericks fans who have seen their franchise throw away their contending dreams in the span of a month. Doncic has always been this brilliant; he is a perennial MVP candidate and a perennial All-NBA First Team selection, and seeing him pick apart defenses the way he did against the Pelicans comes as a surprise to exactly no one other than perhaps Nico Harrison.
The Lakers have now won seven straight games, although they will be put to the test in their next two games when they take on the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
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