Heading into the 2025 postseason, the Los Angeles Lakers had substantial expectations with a trio of LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves leading the way.
Unfortunately, L.A. ran into a team in the Minnesota Timberwolves that exposed all their flaws as a roster. That Resulted in L.A. being eliminated in five games, setting up for an important offseason to better suit this new three-headed monster.
When initially acquiring Doncic on Feb. 1, the offense should have seen a considerable leap. But, there was not enough time for all three players to mesh and Reaves acknowledged they simply need to spend more time together on the floor to iron out these growing pains.
“Just continuing to grow together,” he said. “Obviously they’re unbelievable basketball players and the more time we spend, not with just them, but the whole unit, you’re just gonna become more cohesive, more together, know exactly what you’re gonna do every possession when things get tough, you’re rolling with how you want to play the game. I thought we did a really good job of that in the regular season and we just didn’t play good enough in this series.”
The fourth-year guard pointed it out, but having two generational talents in James and Doncic should not warrant any concerns. Including Reaves in that conversation, the trio includes selfless players who view playmaking as one of their top skills.
First thing first is making new roster additions, and once that is settled, head coach JJ Redick will presumably take ample time to try and iron out his offense with Doncic as the focal point. There is no telling how much longer James has left in his career, but there still needs to be an emphasis on trying to make this pairing work.
One could expect a refreshed, motivated Doncic heading into next season as well as Reaves continuing to mature as a scorer. The best teacher is experience and hopefully a full offseason bodes well for this new look Lakers team as the current expectation is for them all to be back in purple and gold in 2025-26.
Blake Griffin believes Lakers can be contenders with Luka Doncic & LeBron James
When Luka Doncic was traded to the Lakers, narratives were flying that he was not a championship player despite getting to the Finals in 2024. On top of a first-round exit, L.A. finds itself in a crucial offseason to appease Doncic.
Former NBA star and now analyst Blake Griffin remains hopeful about the Lakers and believes they can contend with LeBron James and Doncic.
“I definitely think so,” says Griffin in a one-on-one interview with Bookmaker Ratings when asked if he believes the Lakers can be contenders with the current core. “I think you have to get creative. They’re going to have to build that roster for the playoffs. I don’t think that roster was built well for the playoffs at all. Luka and Austin Reaves on the floor at the same time, you watch the Wolves series, they’re just going at one of them every single time.”
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