For as good as Luka Doncic has been for the 2025-26 season, the Los Angeles Lakers can’t seem to find any rhythm or consistency.
The Lakers have largely struggled the past month, especially after Austin Reaves was sidelined due to a calf injury. Without Reaves, Doncic has had to shoulder even more of the offensive burden and he’s responded with several eye-popping performances.
For example, Doncic looked like a man on a mission against the Charlotte Hornets as he torched their defense to the tune of 39 points on 15-of-26 shooting. It was a spectacular offensive night for Doncic, though it didn’t matter as Los Angeles lost 135-117.
Doncic was asked if teams get up a little extra to play the Lakers as the Hornets shot the lights out, but he made sure to give them credit even though their record isn’t great.
“Maybe yes, maybe no. But I feel like Charlotte has a lot of young, great players,” he said. “I know we saw them win some big games when they’re all on a roll. LaMelo [Ball], Kon [Knueppel], Brandon [Miller], [Miles] Bridges. So, they have a good, young group. It’s hard to play against them. Obviously, their record’s not the best but they have some good wins.”
With that being said though, Doncic added the Lakers need to play with better energy, as they did in their recent win over the Atlanta Hawks.
“I don’t know, but I would say the way we played against Atlanta, it was a back-to-back too, so we told on ourselves. We gotta play like that. Play fast, move, physicality. I think the Atlanta win is an example for us,” Doncic said.
The Lakers played with a sense of urgency against the Hawks in response to their embarrassing loss to the Sacramento Kings the night prior. However, that level of effort and intensity was nowhere to be found against a young Hornets team that had no problem scoring.
Los Angeles has had a massive problem staying engaged defensively when opposing teams go on runs, and the game was essentially over once Charlotte hit a barrage of 3-pointers in the second half. LaMelo Ball was the catalyst for the Hornets, scoring 27 points, all on 3-pointers, in the second half to put the game away. The Lakers defense had no answers for the Hornets and it exacerbated the need for the front office to do something at the trade deadline.
Doncic needs to score so much out of necessity as Los Angeles can’t earn stops at a league-average rate, but the lack of effort is something the players have control over. A loss to an inexperienced Hornets team should be enough of a wake up call to Doncic and the rest of the group, so it’ll be interesting to see how they respond on Saturday against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Luka Doncic admits groin injury is a little bit worse after Hawks game
Doncic has played most of the regular season, though he has been banged up. Doncic is managing a groin injury and he admitted it was worse after the win against the Hawks.
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