Luka Doncic has a tendency to hold on to the ball a lot, and this decision to force LeBron James off-ball could be a dangerous one.
Luka Doncic has completely transformed the Los Angeles Lakers since his arrival. The five-time All-Star has adapted to life with the Lakers quite well.
Rob Pelinka must be applauded for turning the Lakers into contenders within just two years. And landing Doncic was very much the pièce de résistance for the squad.
However, over the last two games, we have seen some signs of concern from the Lakers. Even Luka Doncic admitted that the Lakers must go back to their winning ways from a few weeks ago.
Paul Pierce believes Luka Doncic’s spark on the Lakers might be starting to fade. But another NBA analyst had some scathing remarks for Doncic.
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Chris Broussard addressed the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss to the Orlando Magic. He noted that Luka Doncic is a ball-hog, despite being a very talented player.
While Luka could have gotten away with holding the ball too much with other teammates, he shouldn’t be doing so with LeBron James.
“Luka Doncic is a ball hog. A great ball hog. A Hall of Fame ball hog – a future Hall of Famer. An all-time elite ball hog. He is a ball hog.”
“This was ridiculous. You got all these guys standing, watching you. He took nine shots in the first quarter… It’s one thing to be a ball-hog when you have Tim Hardaway as a teammate.
“Heck, even Jalen Brunson and Kyrie Irving. But when you are going five-out and everybody is standing there, watching you operate, and LeBron James is a teammate? That ain’t good.”
“This is related to the defense. When you are just watching one guy operate… That takes away from your morale. Especially when that guy can’t defend.”
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Speaking further in the segment, Broussard tried to present the positives and negatives of the situation. He pointed out a positive that few have considered – Luka Doncic and LeBron James have played well together before.
However, Luka had to adapt during LeBron’s absence and hasn’t gone back to his previous ways. The Fox Sports analyst believes James is the only player who can say something to Luka to get him to change his ways.
“None of the other players can say anything to Luka… He got used to doing this with LeBron out… He’s gotta come back and regroup now that LeBron is back.”
“If he doesn’t, LeBron is the only one [who can talk to him]. I don’t even think Redick could say something. I don’t know if it will come to that.”
In the same segment, Broussard also claimed the Magic set the blueprint to guard Doncic going forward. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen, but Luka must correct his errors in the weeks to come.
