Even if you were living under a rock, you probably knew that Luka Doncic made his debut for the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday against the Utah Jazz. Things went as well as they could have for the Lakers.
Doncic finished the game with a modest 14 points, five rebounds, four assists. However, the Lakers absolutely routed the Jazz, winning a decisive 132-113 ball game for their sixth victory in a row.
Considering that the new Lakers superstar was playing his first game back from a calf strain injury, while also trying to figure out his fit with his new team, the relatively underwhelming box score performance should not be concerning in the slightest. The statistics that Los Angeles should care about from this game have more to do with the type of combinations that worked around their new duo of Doncic and LeBron James.
Lakers find overwhelming success going small
The Lakers were dealt what some felt was a crushing blow to their title hopes in 2024-25 when the Mark Williams trade rescinded due to the Charlotte Hornets failing to meet a condition of the deal. While moving forward with Jaxson Hayes as the starting center may not be ideal, it could also prove to be far less catastrophic than the initial prognosis.
It is important to highlight that sampling one game against the second-worst team in the Western Conference could produce some skewed results. However, there are still inklings of truth to be found in any sample size.
The main takeaway from this game was how great the Lakers looked when turning to a center-less lineup. In particular, one unit stood out above the rest.
Some thought the partnership of James and Doncic was a bit of an awkward fit. Their debut performance did not suggest as much. In fact, the new superstar duo was a part of an incredibly successful lineup featured by Lakers head coach JJ Redick.
The unit which played the most minutes for Los Angeles against Utah included Doncic and James being surrounded by Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and Dorian Finney-Smith. They easily won the minutes they logged together.
That combination posted a staggering offensive rating of 147.1 to go with an impressive defensive rating of 88.9. They finished the night logging eight minutes for a net rating of 58.2.
The starting lineup of Doncic, Reaves, Hachimura, James, and Hayes registered the second-most minutes together of any unit. By comparison, they posted an offensive rating of 112.5 and defensive rating of 106.3, amounting to a net rating of 6.3. That is quite the notable contrast.
Making that one simple change from Hayes to Finney-Smith resulted in an extraordinary swing in net rating for the Lakers. It will be important to continue to monitor the available statistics as the games start to add up for this new-look team. However, the encouraging early signs to lean into small-ball are certainly there for the Lakers.