With the ongoing slump, the Los Angeles Lakers’ championship aspirations are fading with each passing game. There were signs of an impending slide much earlier in the 25-26 season, when they were winning.
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Most of the concerns were centered around the Lakers’ defense. And now, Luka Doncic is being crucified for being the worst of the lot.
No doubt, Doncic is still putting up MVP-level numbers on offense. However, it’s their defense that’s heavily contributing to losses. Analyst Chris Mannix recently spoke about how Doncic, who joined the Lakers in a shocking trade last February, is a “huge problem” for the purple and gold.
Mannix spoke about the Slovenian’s habit of trying to get a foul on every offensive play by complaining to the referees. This habit, he said, leaves the Lakers down 4v5 on the court for a brief — but very significant — few seconds.
“Luka Doncic often displays minimal effort on the defensive end,” said Mannix on the Open Floor podcast. “Luka Doncic, more often, complains to the referees, and when he does, he leaves the Lakers playing four on five.”
Mannix then brought up the Christmas game loss against the Houston Rockets, which was arguably their worst performance of the season. “Go back to that Christmas Day game,” he continued.
“How many times did Luka Doncic think that Amen Thompson fouled him? Or Tari Eason fouled him? He allowed his frustrations with the officials to consume him,” added Mannix.
The defense apart, this Lakers side, is otherwise, on paper, has what it takes to be one of the best in the West. Even experts like Kendrick Perkins have spoken about the iffy defense in the past. And when your best player, who’s arguably the best scorer of his generation, has zero effort on defense, it creates a problem.
Doncic cannot be dropped. He’s too good. But at the same time, his not focusing on defense will continue to hurt the Lakers.
“In a best-case scenario, [Luka] is a below-average defender… but too many times he’s leaving the Lakers high and dry, to play four on five,” added Mannix, who doesn’t expect LeBron James, at the age of 41, to be the best defender anymore.
Mannix also threw some shade at Austin Reaves for not giving 100% in defense. But he singled out Doncic again, saying that when head coach JJ Redick complained about some players “making the same mistake over and over again,” he was talking about Doncic.
Currently, the Lakers are on a three-game losing streak. Next, they play the 8-23 Sacramento Kings on Sunday.
