Saturday was a big test for LeBron James, Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers as they made the trip to Denver take on the Nuggets, who won nine straight heading into this matchup.
Admittedly, L.A. struggles mightily when they are in the Mile High City as they had not won there since April 2022. But, the addition to Doncic has flipped the complexity due to how generational of a talent he is.
That was on display as the 25-year-old had his first signature performance as a Laker by putting up 32 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and four steals. James acknowledged it was a great game for his co-star, who has still been working himself into a rhythm after missing so much time.
“Yeah that is his fourth game back, but yeah that is the Luka we grew accustomed to watching over the last seven years,” James said after the Lakers’ 123-100 win. “That left side of the floor step back was pretty damn dangerous. Big-time game for him tonight.”
The Lakers’ stars are already forming a great connection, with Doncic finding James on outlet passes and their first lob in transition. The 40-year-old compared the five-time All-NBA guard to a quarterback and himself to a wide receiver.
“I’m a natural-born wide receiver and he’s a natural-born quarterback, so it fits perfectly,” he said. “I’ve been running the floor and running lanes pretty much my whole life and he’s been throwing great passes pretty much his whole life. So it’s not hard to get a rhythm when it comes to that. It’s just all about eye contact and him being the great quarterback like he is and me being the recipient of it.”
In his first three games, it was readily apparent that Doncic did not want to step on anyone’s toes offensively. But against Denver, he was aggressively looking for his shots and James commended him for playing with passion.
“Yeah, absolutely. He was super dialed in,” James said. “He was very locked in on what he wanted to do out here on the floor tonight. Once he started hitting those step-back 3s and got to yelling and barking, either at the fans or at us, or himself. He had every right, I don’t think he said too much to get the T. They’re kind of picking on us right now with the short leash on technicals, but he got hit in the head before the half. But besides that, he was just dialed in on what he wanted to do and how he wanted to execute his game plan individually.”
Although the Lakers still lack center depth, they proved they can do the necessary game planning to beat upper-echelon teams. Hopefully, this win builds confidence for L.A. as they embark on an upcoming challenging March schedule.
LeBron James shares strong reaction to upcoming stretch in Lakers’ schedule
Unfortunately, bringing Luka Doncic up to speed is not going to come against lesser competition as the regular season winds down. With several back-to-backs and playoff teams looming, LeBron James shared his reaction to this upcoming stretch for the Lakers.
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