A celebration of Pat Riley's role in Los Angeles Lakers history was spoiled by a brutal 111-89 beatdown at the hands of the longtime rival Boston Celtics. A big reason for that is the work in progress that the Lakers trio of Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves continues to be.
On paper, the three stars combined for 60 points scored against the Celtics. That was more than half of the production in that department. However, that is not nearly enough considering what this team wants to be.
When the Lakers remained mostly quiet at the trade deadline, it rumored to be because they thought their star power at the top would ultimately prevail in a playoff setting. Losing yet another matchup against an elite team does not suggest that will prove true in the long run. If Los Angeles wants to live and die by their stars, they need more chemistry. Even Doncic admitted as much after the game.
"I think you see we're not there yet," Doncic said of the Lakers trio. "Like I said, we're working on it, but there should be big potential about us three playing together."
Lakers will need Doncic, Reaves, and LeBron buzzing before the playoffs
Where most teams have shifted gears to trying to build deep rosters that are capable of slugging through the playoff grind, the Lakers have remained top-heavy. They are asking Doncic, James, and Reaves to win them their series.
Even if the ask is ultimately unfair, they will need more from those three guys. The role players around the Lakers stars have not consistently proven capable of offering the type of production needed. It has to come from the three main leaders of the team.
That's a big burden to put on the shoulders of Doncic, James, and Reaves. However, that is how Rob Pelinka has assembled this team. The roster construction screams needing that trio to steal ball games.
The Lakers will need to be an offensive juggernaut with their stars at the helm to overcome the postseason series that are thrown in front of them during the spring. Right now, they're just not quite there. The theory still outweighs the practical results at present.
It won't be just on Doncic, James, and Reaves to fully learn to play off each other. With health finally coming their way, JJ Redick must use the remaining regular season games to figure out which lineups, rotations, and personnel work best.
26 games remaining is not a ton of time to accomplish those goals. As LeBron has stated recently, though, it's time for the sprint. The Lakers will need to be full gears ahead to figure themselves out before a losing result against a great team is far less forgiving in its implications.