Luka Doncic is rounding into form for the LA Lakers, showing that patience was required.
Back to back impressive games for the LA Lakers against the LA Clippers saw Luka Doncic really hit form, with 60 points combined.
This is the Luka Doncic fans expected, and the Lakers have not really seen anything yet. Doncic has a career high of 73 points in a game, posted for the Mavericks in January 2024.
It is still unclear how the Mavs decided it was a smart idea to trade Doncic to the Lakers in the first place.
Luka Doncic first three games were slow, then he took off
Prior to the trade, Luka Doncic had spent two months on the sidelines with a calf injury.
This meant that when he made his LA Lakers debut, scoring 14, 16, and 14. Respectable numbers, but low by his incredibly high standards.
JJ Redick knew the right thing to do was to let Doncic play his way into form, and he and the Lakers have been rewarded.
This prompted a Lakers fan to joke on X about how former coach Darvin Ham would have reacted.
The post read: “Darvin Ham woulda saw Luka struggling the first few games and benched him for Pat Bev.”
This caught the attention of former Laker Patrick Beverley, who responded: “Wild take. but so accurate.”
Beverley played for the Lakers in the 2022-23 season, averaging 6.4 points per game. He was a favorite of Darvin Ham during his spell for the team, starting 45 of 45 regular season games he played.
Luka Doncic and the Lakers won the trade
The LA Lakers trade with the Dallas Mavericks is an indisputed loss for Nico Harrison, the GM who decided to trade the Slovenian away.
He did so because he decided to gamble on the combination of Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving leading the team to the championship.
Irving has now suffered a season ending injury, with Davis already on the shelf. The Mavs plans are in tatters.
Meanwhile Doncic has inspired LeBron James to play at the kind of form where there are calls for him to be in the MVP consideration, with the team in the two-seed in the Western Conference.
The best is yet to come for the Lakers, while the Mavs wonder how much worse it has to get.