After a slow start coming off of injury, Luka Doncic has finally started to look more like himself with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Doncic’s blockbuster trade to Los Angeles came as a shock to the entire league and especially to the superstar. It was hard to blame Doncic for coming out of the gate slow considering the emotions of the trade coupled with the long layoff from playing due to his calf injury.
Doncic looked like he was turning a corner before he had another rough shooting performance, this time against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night. Although the Lakers won the game 111-102, Doncic struggled mightily from the field as he shot just 6-of-20.
Doncic managed to hit a wild 3-pointer falling out of bounds and while he was happy that shot went in, he admitted in his postgame interview with Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet that he needed to be better overall shooting the basketball:
“I mean it’s crazy. I can’t make a normal shot and I make that shot. Just at this point who I am, but gotta work on the easy shots, gotta knock them down. Playing horrible, so gotta get back to it.”
In six games with the Lakers, Doncic is shooting just 37% from the field and 22% from 3-point range. When speaking to the media after the Timberwolves game, Doncic called this slump a challenge that he will need to overcome.
“Yeah, I think it is a big thing for me,” he said. “You got to go through a lot of downs to get to the highest point, but it is a big challenge for me, just getting back into my rhythm, making those easier shots for me. It is a big challenge for me, and I look forward to it.”
Doncic’s late-game 3-pointer was his first, and ended up being his only make from beyond the arc, though it was timely as the Timberwolves were threatening to take the lead. However, the 25-year-old was uncharacteristically way off on shots he routinely makes. There were a few misses from distance that failed to even hit the rim which goes to show how terrible of a night Doncic was having.
It’s fair to assume that Doncic is still working out some things from the calf injury and that will likely take some time. That was also the longest stretch of missed games in Doncic’s career which means he’s also probably trying to reestablish his rhythm.
Fortunately, Doncic is so talented that he should be able to figure things out sooner than later. One of the benefits of the team’s recent success is it buys Doncic more time to get back to being himself on the floor.
It feels like it’s only a matter of time before the purple and gold start to see the player they know Doncic can be.
Luka Doncic discusses emotions of playing against Mavericks for first time
Luka Doncic has been through a whirlwind the past few weeks and emotions hit their peak when the Lakers hosted the Dallas Mavericks. After the game, Doncic called it weird to play against the Mavericks and expressed that he was happy that game is behind him.
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