The Luka Doncic experience with the Lakers hasn’t completely been rainbows and sunshine through the first two games. Los Angeles won their first game with the Slovenian superstar but followed that with a blowout loss to the Jazz. Doncic is still on a minutes restriction, which limits his overall production. NBA insider, Brian Windhorst, highlights one key worry which may derail the Lakers for the rest of the season.
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It’s no secret sending Anthony Davis away created a clear hole at the center position for the Lakers. The team attempted to patch that by acquiring Hornets big man Mark Williams, but that eventually fell through due to a failed physical. Los Angeles pivoted and signed Alex Len, but he lacked a lot of positives in his first action as a Laker.
Windhorst appeared on ESPN’s Get Up to discuss his thoughts on the Lakers. He isn’t ready to jump to conclusions, but he does see one area that will negatively impact them. He said,
“The Lakers interior is a worry. Jaxson Hayes, who is their starting center, got hurt a few minutes into this game. As soon as they brought in Alex Len, granted who signed the day before, they got eviscerated in the middle in this game.”
.@Windhorstespn weighs in on whether the Lakers’ loss to the Jazz was a bad game or a bad sign ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/OF6WmdzlUP
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) February 13, 2025
Windhorst pressed his point, saying, “As much as Luka shines, they’re going to have to grapple that unbalanced roster without the size in the middle.” Albeit, Len didn’t have much time to acclimate to the roster following his signing. However, Windhorst didn’t provide much optimism regarding his defense in his Lakers debut. The Jazz outscored the Lakers by 19 points in Len’s first 14 minutes of action. In total, he played 22 minutes and finished with a net rating of -9. The majority of that came in garbage time when the game was over.
It won’t be easy for the Lakers to navigate this problem. Unlike Doncic’s struggles, which are mainly due to him trying to fit in on the team. That will work itself out with the more reps he gets with his teammates. There is so only so much Luka can do at his peak without a formidable force to anchor the paint.
Lakers could reunite with championship big men
Unfortunately for the Lakers, the rescinded Mark Williams trade occurred after the trade deadline. As a result, they didn’t have the opportunity to shift to acquiring another starting-level big man. There is a scarcity of competent bigs in the league, but two former Lakers could provide impact.
Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee are both players who could thrive alongside Doncic. They wouldn’t be the full-time solution, as neither are on Doncic’s timeline. McGee is 37 years old, while Howard is 39, but both are still in game shape and can provide much-needed center depth to help the Lakers in a potential deep postseason run.
