Los Angeles Lakers GM Rob Pelinka knew the defensive liability Luka Dončić was when he traded for him at the trade deadline. But he also knew he had some defenders around him that it shouldn’t expose him too much. What he probably didn’t take into account was that teams, specifically the Minnesota Timberwolves, were going to go matchup-hunting and go at Dončić all game long.
Jaden McDaniels has made Dončić look non-existent on defense throughout this series and it’s Dončić’s liability on defense that has the Lakers on the verge of getting upset in the first round of the NBA playoffs. What Anthony Edwards is doing isn’t a surprise. But McDaniels averaging 20 points this series, including a 30-point game already, is never going to work well for the Lakers.
Obviously the Lakers won’t be able to stop everybody, but Julius Randle, Edwards and McDaniels can’t catch fire. That’s the quickest way to get eliminated. You also have to factor Naz Reid is a solid role player and Donte DiVincenzo has been a solid option off the bench as well.
Luka Dončić’s defense is a big problem for the Lakers
Former ESPN NBA reporter, Zach Lowe, pointed out that Dončić is rather lackadaisical in the beginning of playoff series’ before turning it up defensively. He pointed out it happened against the Phoenix Suns and now this year against the Timberwolves.
Like Lowe said, why is that? Why can’t he just play good enough defense for every game to keep role players from getting hot? The Timberwolves are already up 3-1 and historically speaking, the Lakers won’t make it past the first round.
It makes you wonder, was the Dončić trade worth it? Sure you get an elite superstar that’s good enough to carry you to the NBA Finals. The Lakers obviously have to look in the post-LeBron James era which is rapidly approaching.
Pelinka obviously did his homework and was able to finesse Nico Harrison to give up as little as possible for a future face of the NBA. But with it, he took on a player that teams aren’t scared off defensively. Dončić probably doesn’t need to be an elite defender to get any more respect.
But he does have to be a more consistent one if he ever wants to win a championship. He’s good enough to get a team there, but he hasn’t won one yet. It doesn’t look like it will happen this year either. It could very well be the one thing that keeps him from ever winning a championship.