Luka Doncic Says Lakers Will Be A Very Dangerous Team; Lauds LeBron James After First Game<\/p>\n
Luka Doncic feels that the Lakers will become a formidable team and shares his thoughts on playing alongside LeBron James.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the Los Angeles Lakers triumphed in Luka Doncic\u2019s debut, defeating the Utah Jazz 132-113 at Crypto.com Arena. This victory marked the Lakers\u2019 sixth consecutive win, and Doncic stated afterward that they will be a very dangerous squad.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re very dangerous,\u201d Doncic said. \u201cThe ball movement was great. Defensively, we can really shut down a lot of players. It felt good to be back on the court again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, the ball movement was on point, with the Lakers accumulating 28 assists. Doncic contributed to the tally, finishing with 14 points (5-14 FG), five rebounds, and four assists in 24 minutes after recovering from a calf strain.<\/p>\n
Although it wasn\u2019t a memorable debut, it was expected since Doncic had been sidelined for over a month. Once the 25-year-old gets back to full form, the Lakers\u2019 offense will elevate, which should worry other teams in the league.<\/p>\n
The Lakers improved to a 32-19 record with the win, marking their 10th win in the last 11 games. At this point, there\u2019s no question they are one of the top teams in the Western Conference and will be a playoff contender. However, whether they can win the championship is still uncertain.<\/p>\n
The Lakers\u2019 decision to cancel the Mark Williams trade means they will enter the playoffs with Jaxson Hayes as the starting center. This could prove to be a liability and may hamper their chances in the deeper rounds of the postseason.<\/p>\n
Luka Doncic Shares His Experience of Playing With LeBron James<\/p>\n
On Monday, Doncic also had the opportunity to play alongside LeBron James in a competitive setting for the first time, and he thoroughly enjoyed it. In his postgame interview, the Slovenian star praised James when talking about the experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s special,\u201d Doncic said. \u201cHe sees the game differently than most. His basketball IQ is off the charts. Having two players like that on the court is going to help the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
James was his usual dominant self against the Jazz, putting up 24 points (10-17 FG), seven rebounds, eight assists, and one steal. His high basketball IQ and ability to control the game make the Lakers tough to beat, and now they have another player like him in Doncic.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s likely the Lakers will have one of James or Doncic on the floor at all times, ensuring that the offense doesn\u2019t lose momentum. Teams will struggle to keep up unless they possess a top-tier big man who can exploit the Lakers’ biggest weakness.<\/p>\n
The Lakers will face the Denver Nuggets on February 22, and it will be intriguing to see how they handle the Nikola Jokic challenge. This will be their first significant test, as they won\u2019t face elite competition before that.<\/p>\n
Next up, the Lakers will meet the Jazz again, but this time at the Delta Center on Wednesday at 9 PM ET.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Luka Doncic Says Lakers Will Be A Very Dangerous Team; Lauds LeBron James After First Game Luka Doncic feels that the Lakers will become a formidable team and shares his thoughts on playing alongside LeBron James. On Monday, the Los Angeles Lakers triumphed in Luka Doncic\u2019s debut, defeating the Utah Jazz 132-113 at Crypto.com Arena. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2586],"tags":[60],"class_list":["post-25200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lakers","tag-lebron-james"],"yoast_head":"\n