The Los Angeles Lakers will be without superstar guard Luka Doncic for their contest against the Washington Wizards on Monday night. Doncic picked up his 16th technical foul of the season in the Lakers’ victory over the Brooklyn Nets and the NBA upheld the ruling, meaning the guard must endure a one-game suspension.
It is unfortunate for Doncic, who is in the midst of an unbelievable run of performances, scoring at least 30 points in 12 straight games with the Lakers going 11-1 over that stretch. And head coach JJ Redick made it known that the Slovenian star is disappointed in himself that he won’t be suiting up on Monday night, via Khobi Price of the California Post:
“He’s disappointed,” coach JJ Redick said after Sunday’s practice. “He wants to be there for his teammates, and again, I’ve talked about this all year, he plays. He’s not a guy that takes games off. He can be banged up and he’s gonna play. He was like that when I was his teammate in Dallas.”
As Redick noted, Doncic is someone who always wants to play as long as he is healthy and with the postseason right around the corner he has been on another level as of late. The Lakers have a ton of momentum right now and are firmly in the three-seed in the Western Conference, but they’ve still got multiple teams on their heels so every game matters right now.
This also shows the mindset of Doncic and how much he loves to compete, as well as the camaraderie and love he has for his Lakers teammates. He feels like he has let them down by garnering this suspension and that doesn’t sit well with him.
Even without Doncic the Lakers should be able to handle the Wizards at home as they are in a battle for the worst record in the NBA, have lost 18 of their last 19 games and are on the second night of a back-to-back having been destroyed by the Portland Trail Blazers by 35 points on Sunday.
Austin Reaves will undoubtedly take on much of the offensive workload with Doncic out and also Marcus Smart for the fourth straight game. Bronny James, who has been solid in his recent opportunities, could also see an increased role while someone like Dalton Knecht or Kobe Bufkin might also get a look from Redick.
Austin Reaves doesn’t understand lack of support for Luka Doncic MVP case
Doncic’s recent run has inserted him firmly in the thick of the race for NBA MVP, though the Lakers star still seemingly sits well behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama in the eyes of most, something that doesn’t make sense to Reaves.
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