Luka Doncic has had a cold start to life on the Los Angeles Lakers, discussing his early-shooting struggles with the franchise.
The Los Angeles Lakers haven’t unlocked the best version of Luka Doncic just yet. Doncic played a huge role in their 111-102 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, but his poor shooting left much to be desired for.
Luka ended the game with 21 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists. While he hit a fourth-quarter three to extend his streak of consecutive games with a three-point make to 98, he shot 6-20 from the field and 1-9 from three.
He’s averaging 19.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists in six games with the Lakers. He’s shooting 36.5% from the field and 22.4% from three.
These are poor numbers by Doncic’s standards but the team has a 4-2 record with Luka in the lineup. We have seen some signature performances, including Doncic’s triple-double against the Mavericks and 30-point showing against the Nuggets.
Everyone has seen these struggles play out, with Doncic admitting he needs more time to adjust to the Lakers. But it seems the urgency of fixing his shot is dawning on the Slovenian superstar.
Doncic’s only three-point make was an incredible one-legged rainbow shot to beat the shot clock buzzer. He missed eight attempts from three leading up to that, with some being open shots we’re used to seeing him knock down.
He opened up on his shooting recently in the post-game interview, admitting he’s playing horribly.
“It’s crazy. I can’t make a normal shot and I make that shot. At this point, it’s who I am. I gotta work on that. Easy shots, gotta knock them down. I’m playing horrible, so I gotta get back to it.”
He expanded on his poor offensive performances to start his Lakers tenure in a locker room interview, getting real about the challenge of finding his rhythm.
“It’s a big thing for me. You gotta go through a lot of downs to get to the highest point. It’s a big challenge for me. Getting back into the rhythm and making those easy shots.”
The only way to continue getting into rhythm so Doncic can prove his doubters wrong is extended time on the court. However, Luka is still returning from a calf injury which sidelined him for nearly two months. This was the longest absence of his career, so staying on the court is a priority for him.
Unfortunately, it seems Doncic’s status for the Lakers back-to-back tomorrow night against the Clippers is uncertain, according to Dan Woike.
“Luka Doncic said it’s ‘questionable’ whether or not he plays tomorrow against Clippers. Said he took a knee-to-knee shot, but that wasn’t anything to worry about. Said it ‘happens every game.’”
Doncic’s first game against the Clippers on the Lakers would be a treat. He has his personal history against the Clippers, averaging 32.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.4 assists in 18 games against them in the regular season.
They’ve had three Playoff matchups in four seasons during Luka’s time with the Mavericks, so adding the LA-rivalry factor to it would be a marquee matchup. While it’d be exciting to see him play, the Lakers won’t jeopardize his health this close to the Playoffs anyway.
