Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic is a master at drawing contact and getting to the free throw line, so physicality isn’t usually an issue for him to handle.
However, he and the Lakers endured a rough outing in the loss to the Boston Celtics as they were often seen struggling with their rival’s defensive pressure. It’s no secret that the Lakers lack true playmakers outside of their “Big 3” so the Celtics pressured the ball handlers on nearly every possession and came away with several steals and transition points.
Los Angeles clearly got frustrated with the officiating as they felt Boston was getting away with more contact than normal, and it led to the team spiraling in the second half. The Lakers ultimately lost to the Celtics, with all three stars struggling to score efficiently.
Doncic had 25 points, but acknowledged that he and the team need to be better offensively despite any increased physicality.
“I think they were physical. They were playing great defense. So we need better offense,” Doncic said after the loss. “We scored 89 points. That’s not like us, so we got to be better.”
Doncic emphasized that the only way to handle physicality is to meet it head on with more of it.
“You’ve just got to match the physicality on both ends, especially on the defensive end. You got to match the physicality,” he said.
Doncic also believes that when referees are letting them play that way, the Lakers need to do the same.
“I think we need to look at how teams like Boston play, especially defensive end. They’re very aggressive, grabbing and holding. So the referees are letting us play for sure. I think we need to look a little bit at that and play physically on both ends.”
Los Angeles may not be the biggest or most athletic team in the league, but they’ve certainly got more room to play tougher than they have been. Far too often, the Lakers allow teams like the Celtics to set the tone of a game and they need to start being the ones to dictate terms instead.
Luka Doncic supported Lakers’ deadline approach
The Lakers had several needs that needed to be addressed at the trade deadline, but the only move they made was swapping out Gabe Vincent for Luke Kennard. Luka Doncic obviously needs more help to contend for a title, but he was reportedly supportive of the team’s deadline approach.
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