Luka Doncic showed off his insane scoring ability in a close game against the Sacramento Kings. He scored a game-high 31 points and added nine assists in only 33 minutes of action. Despite his herculean effort, the Los Angeles Lakers lost the game, losing on a last second shot 117-116. The Lakers are preparing for a showdown against the Golden State Warriors on opening night. Doncic will be instrumental in making up for the loss of LeBron James, who is expected to miss at least until mid-November with sciatica.
Against Luca’s Mavs, Gabe Vincent, who just earned a start in the last game, started alongside Luka. Vincent wasted little time making his presence felt, as he poured in 14 points on a blistering 5-for-6 shooting on the night. The Lakers had Deandre Ayton and Rui Hachimura starting alongside Davis. New to the league, head coach JJ Redick has been tinkering with various starting lineups, including using a total of 25 different starting combinations last year.
For all the offensive fireworks, the Lakers were really bad defensively, giving up 59 points in the second half. This troubling number led to fears about the team’s preparedness for the coming season. Jaxson Hayes, one of the most important pieces to their high-octane style of play, was unavailable to finish out the second half with a wrist contusion.
Luka Doncic shared after yesterday’s practice how he felt the intensity ramped up during the week’s practices heading into the opener. He emphasized the need for improvement, stating, “We have two more practices, so we need to clean up some things.” He noted a shift in intensity during practice, saying, “I think in practice we were more physical.”
Defensive player of the year Marcus Smart was a sparkplug off the bench, notching 14 points and four steals. …he’s really focused on setting the tone for the team. “That’s really it. I’m going to try to set the tone each and every night. Just kind of piggyback off me,” he said.
As the Lakers get set to tip off their regular season against the Warriors, Doncic’s leadership will be more important than ever. He recognizes that developing the right team chemistry, familiarity and strategy is more important than the volume of their remaining practice sessions.
“I think I just bring what I’ve been doing since I’ve been here,” – Gabe Vincent
The Lakers’ coaching staff remains uncertain about future starting lineups due to ongoing injuries and the need for adaptation throughout the season. JJ Redick remarked on this unpredictability: “I don’t know anything about who I’m going to be starting the rest of the season because, again, there’s injuries, and there’s things that happen throughout a year.”
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