The Los Angeles Lakers have been rolling over the past few weeks, and it's mainly due to the scoring tear that Luka Doncic has gone on through the stretch. In their latest matchup against the Indiana Pacers, Doncic finished with 43 points, and though Rick Carlisle could've been upset, he joked about a silver lining.
“We kept him under our average against us,” Carlisle said via Tony East of Forbes Sports.
In two games this season, Doncic has averaged 43.5 points per game against the Pacers. That looks like a win in Carlisle's eyes, and he knows that there's not much you can do against a player who is on a tear like he is right now.
The Pacers have had a hard time throughout the season getting stops, and it shows in their record. One of those reasons is because of the injuries they've had to deal with, and they don't have the personnel they need in those moments. When they've been fairly healthy at times this season, they've shown that they can be competitive, and a good example of that was when they recently defeated the Orlando Magic.
With the season the Pacers are having, there is a good chance that they could get a top pick in this year's draft, and they'll be adding Tyrese Haliburton back to the fold next season. That's good news for them, and the hope is that they can get back to their competitive ways from the past two seasons.
They were also able to add Ivica Zubac at the trade deadline, and though he's sidelined for the rest of this season, he should be a major help next season, especially after they lost Myles Turner last offseason to the Milwaukee Bucks.
The future looks bright for the Pacers, and hopefully, they won't surrender over 40 points to Doncic when they circle back around to the Lakers.
