The Los Angeles Lakers will go as far as Luka Doncic takes them, and he and the franchise hope that is all the way to an NBA Championship. The front office assembled an entirely new roster around their superstar and it will be on Doncic to lead this squad.
There is no questioning Doncic’s offensive talent, but there have been continued questions about his commitment to the defensive side of the ball. And in the eyes of former Lakers player Trevor Ariza, the team must embrace defense around Doncic to be successful, via Ryan Ward on SI:
“What I’ve seen from Luka, I would say Luka is very, very good. He’s an unbelievable offensive talent, but what we have seen is that when teams that are not in the top 10 in offense and defense have a hard time winning it all.
“If a team that Luka Doncic is the primary player on, I think in order for that team to win, the defense has to be a part of that DNA and a huge part of that diet. Until his teams play defense and the defensive rating is high, that will probably be their Achilles heel.”
As for whether this current Lakers roster has enough to be a top defensive unit, Ariza isn’t so sure, though he admitted he hasn’t been paying close attention to all the moves they made:
“Do I think this team that assembled right now is a championship team? You can never really tell this early. But on paper, I don’t believe so, but I’ve been wrong about teams before, and I’m not really paying that close attention to what they’re doing. So, when you have a player like Luka, you always have an opportunity to get into the playoffs. It’s just, are you gonna be able to be a top team in defense and offense, and give yourself a chance to win a championship?
“That will be the telltale sign of whether the team led by Luka Doncic is championship-contending.”
The Lakers have certainly brought in some defensive-minded players such as Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams and, of course, Walker Kessler. And head coach JJ Redick has proven that he can scheme some great defensive game plans on a nightly basis as well.
The offense of this team should be outstanding with Doncic and Austin Reaves leading the way, but a team has to be able to get stops when it matters most. Time will tell whether these Lakers are able to do that.
Channing Frye believes Luka Doncic must change style of play to win a championship
While Ariza focused on the defensive side of the ball, another former NBA Champion in Channing Frye believes Doncic must make an offensive change as well in order to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy.
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