Lakers fans have waited patiently for Luka Doncic to perform at the level that he did with the Mavericks. It took his fourth game with his new team to showcase why Los Angeles traded for him in the first place. In the Lakers’ 123-100 victory over the Nuggets, Doncic dominated in a way only he could.
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Doncic finished with his first 30-point performance in a purple and gold jersey. He tallied 32 points, 10 rebounds, seven seals and four steals. One of the most impressive aspects of his performance is he only turned the ball over once. Doncic’s chemistry with his new teammates looked the best it has since he joined LA.
Regardless, outstanding individual performances don’t excite Doncic. He only has one thing on his mind. Following the win against the Nuggets, Doncic revealed what that sole goal truly is. He said, “Our goal is to win the championship. That’s our only goal. And I think we have the team for that.”
Luka Doncic: “Our goal is to win the championship. That’s our only goal. And I think we have the team for that.”
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) February 23, 2025
Luka reached the NBA Finals last season with the Dallas Mavericks and has no intention of not returning. Doncic carries the right mindset which one of the team’s leaders has to have. The real question is whether the Lakers have enough on this roster to compete for a championship this season.
The Lakers offense is dangerous
The Lakers roster has plenty of holes but their offense is certainly not one of them. In fact, their offense is their strongest suit. The addition of Doncic gave the team another premier playmaker alongside LeBron James and Austin Reaves.
The advanced stats don’t support the offensive ceiling of this team. They are ranked 16th in offensive rating since acquiring Doncic has made his Lakers debut. However, there are many factors to consider such as the implementation of a player of his calibre to a new team in the middle of the season.
Regardless, scoring will never be a problem for the Lakers. One of the biggest issues for the Lakers was managing the minutes and workload of 40-year-old LeBron James. Lakers head coach JJ Redick has already begun staggering the two stars’ minutes, ensuring there is always an elite-level playmaker on the court.
Unfortunately, their defense gives little to be desired. Losing Anthony Davis was a significant loss on the defensive side of the ball. Additionally, the failed Mark Williams trade leaves Los Angeles’ big man depth consisting of Alex Len and Jaxson Hayes.
Do the Lakers have enough to be title contenders this season?
It feels strange to second-guess a team with LeBron and Luka together. However, even the eye test shows there are some drastic holes in the Lakers’ roster which will significantly hurt the team come postseason. They have been on full display in the short four-game sample size with Doncic at the helm.
It’s hard to gauge the Lakers due to the competition they have faced since acquiring Doncic. They split a home-and-away series against the 14-42 Jazz. In their loss to the Jazz, the Lakers gave up 131 points to a team that ranks 19th in offensive rating.
They followed that performance with a loss to a 14-41 Hornets team. This was a low-scoring affair between both teams with a final score of 100-97. The key takeaway from these games is that Doncic struggled to play like his usual self. In his recent performance against the Nuggets, the Lakers’ entire play style shifted.
Doncic’s ability to dissect Denver’s defense led to plenty of open opportunities for others. The Lakers shot an impressive 50% from the field in large part to Doncic’s ability to control the offense.
Of course, it isn’t realistic to expect the Lakers to maintain such an efficient field goal percentage moving forward. However, it wouldn’t be a surprise for more dominant offensive performances to follow.
Many NBA analysts see the potential of this Lakers roster and believe they can make some noise in the playoffs. ESPN analyst Shannon Sharpe boldly declared the Lakers would prevail in a matchup against the top-seeded team in the Western Conference.
“If the Lakers get the OKC Thunder in the Western Conference, we are going to the NBA Finals,” Sharpe said.
Notorious LeBron hater Skip Bayless had to put his feelings against James aside. The Lakers’ performance against the Nuggets gave Bayless a glimpse of a team he believes they could be.
“That half was an example of how good the Los Angeles Lukas can be,” Bayless said. “At Denver, vs a team that has won 9 straight, they were overwhelmingly good on offense and especially on defense, with such amazingly active pass-tipping ball-stealing hands.”
It won’t be an easy journey but the Lakers certainly have the star power to make a deep run in the playoffs. However, the legitimacy of their championship hopes falls on the backs of their role players. It may be too much to go on a limb to declare they are title contenders but they are a team that nobody wants to face in a seven-game series.
