By all means, the Los Angeles Lakers were set up for a schedule loss on Thursday night in the quick turnaround from Houston to Miami. Luka Doncic was not having it. Another MVP-level performance guided the Lakers to a 134-126 comeback win. It forced some serious questions to be asked.
One reporter had to poke JJ Redick about why Doncic's MVP case was not viewed as strongly as some of his peers after hearing the Miami crowd chant those three letters at the free throw line for Luka. The Lakers coach delivered a snarky masterclass in his response.
Redick said: "Because he complains to the refs. I don't know."
The second-year coach was naturally poking fun at the overabundance of those conversations that have flooded the talking points around Doncic all year. Redick would eventually turn back around to offer a more serious follow-up in a separate answer that soon followed.
"To the MVP point, we would not be anywhere near in the position we're in without him having the season that he's having. And particularly of late, he's dominating right now."
JJ Redick is helping give Luka Doncic one last crack at MVP this season
Perhaps the ship has sailed to right the wrong of dismissing Doncic in the MVP race like the media has. However, do not tell that to Redick. The Lakers bench boss has been lobbying for his superstar player of late.
It was not too long ago that Redick came out and said Doncic was playing as well as anybody on the planet right now. Is there some bias in saying that? Of course. However, it is not like the negative conversations are free of their own agendas to push. Redick is just leveling the playing field.
Doncic was already playing absurd levels of basketball throughout the regular season. It has only gotten more ridiculous during this eight-game winning streak for the Lakers.
Over that span, Doncic is averaging 40.9 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game. That comes with Luka shooting 50 percent from the field, 42 percent from beyond the arc, and playing fantastic defense. That last part will really sting for some critics.
The Lakers are the third seed in the Western Conference. That comes despite Austin Reaves and LeBron James both missing a considerable handful of games, Deandre Ayton struggling with consistency for large chunks of the campaign, and so many other factors that should have prevented Los Angeles from being all the way up where they are.
Someone has to be behind that success. It's Luka. It has always been Luka as the main driving force. That is why Redick knows as well as every Lakers fan does just how valuable Doncic's season is.