After signing a max extension, the Los Angeles Lakers have a lot riding on superstar Luka Doncic. They are hoping to build around him post-LeBron James, but there have been some concerns about his work ethic, resulting in the Dallas Mavericks giving up on him.
To his credit, Doncic has bought into the Lakers after dropping 30 lbs during the summer and looks like he is in the best shape of his NBA career. That alone is reason to be optimistic, but there is still the pressing matter of defense.
Luka Doncic must play defense like he never has for the Lakers
Doncic is capable of being a better defender than he is, but he often lacks effort on that end of the floor. Carrying such a big offensive load is at least partially to blame, but he doesn’t even do the bare minimum most of the time.
He often falls asleep when guarding off-ball, making himself susceptible to back cuts. When he’s arguing with a referee after a perceived non-call, his teammates are forced to try and cover for him until he finally decides to get back on defense.
That’s an ugly look, and it infamously cost him a championship by doing all of those things against the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA Finals. With better conditioning, he will hopefully have more energy to use on that end of the floor.
Luka Doncic is key to the Los Angeles Lakers defense
At his best, Doncic isn’t some defensive stopper that can swing games. However, shoring up their weakest link on defense will make the Lakers much better on that end of the floor.
Raising their defensive floor would help to raise their overall ceiling. Los Angeles has already brought in several solid defenders in Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia, and former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart.
They should give Los Angeles more defensive personnel than they had post-Doncic trade. Maybe not top 10 good defensively but perhaps top half good.
Combine that with a Doncic-led offense, which is usually good enough to be top 10, and the Lakers could be surprisingly balanced on both sides of the ball.
All in all, the Lakers need Doncic to buy in defensively for them to reach their full potential next season. If he does, then the Lakers will be able to have a solid defense and a strong offense, which could propel them back into title contention.
