Thursday night was not kind to the Los Angeles Lakers. It was far less kind to Luka Doncic. The team faced a potential playoff preview in a matchup against the Golden State Warriors, and the results were disappointing.
The Lakers lost a competitive 123-116 contest to the Warriors, failing to secure themselves as the third seed in the conference after a Denver Nuggets loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday. There were certainly points down the stretch where it looked like Los Angeles might close the gap on Golden State. However, that never came to pass.
Despite the strong efforts from LeBron James, Austin Reaves, and Rui Hachimura, the Lakers were the latest victim of a surging Warriors team. A big reason for that was the struggles they face offensively in the first half of the game. The Lakers only posted 47 points before halftime. A struggling Doncic played a big part in that.
Lakers offense is not good enough without a dominant Doncic
The sentiment in the headline just above feels odd in relation to a team that scored 69 points in the second half, and finished the game with 116 overall. However, to be more exact, if the Lakers' defense is failing and the game turns into one that needs to be won with buckets, Doncic needs to be an offensive catalyst.
Luka struggled from the field last night, shooting a woeful 6-of-17 for only 19 points. The Warriors defense should be credited for their efforts against the Lakers superstar. However, Doncic openly admitted that he needs to have better games than this one.
"That performance from me is unacceptable," the former EuroLeague MVP told the media after the game. "When I play like that, it's hard to win so [I] gotta figure it out.”
Every elite player is bound to have a bad game, or two, every once in a while. The point of this writeup is not to bash Luka for the performance. The occasional off night is something everyone is prone to. Unfortunately for Doncic and the Lakers, they are just not going to be afforded that luxury right now.
If the Lakers cannot rediscover their elite defensive form that catapulted them to playing their best basketball of the season then the offense needs to pick up the slack. That starts with Doncic consistently bringing close to his best on a nightly basis.
Despite all of their success in the 2024-25 NBA season, the Lakers are only 1.5 games ahead of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference standings. Those Timberwolves sit in the 7th spot, and hold the top position in that dreaded Play-In Tournament that Los Angeles will desperately want to avoid.
The Lakers' remaining schedule only has one game that could be viewed as a 'free win.' That will be tonight, against the New Orleans Pelicans. Los Angeles has favorable tiebreaker scenarios against a handful of the Western Conference playoff teams. However, now is certainly not the time to take the gas off the pedal for Doncic and his Lakers.
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