LOS ANGELES – After a disappointing loss against the Denver Nuggets, the Los Angeles Lakers got back on track following their 1128-117 win against the Indiana Pacers on Friday. Luka Doncic led the way for the Lakers with a game-high 44 points, but it wasn’t his offense that he wanted to talk about following the game.
All season long, media and fans alike have talked about Luka Doncic’s offensive game, but very rarely is there any mention of his defensive impact for the Lakers. So much so that it’s actually become a bit of an underrated part of his skill-set.
“I know people are not going to talk about it ever. Just trying to do my job,” Doncic said during his postgame press conference. “Trying to be more aggressive, be more engaged. Just trying to be better defensively.”
Doncic’s defense was certainly on display during the Lakers’ win against the Pacers. He finished with two blocked shots and three steals, including one impressive block where he swatted Pacers guard Aaron Nesmith who thought he had an easy look at the basket. The block immediately led to a Lakers’ fast break.
Doncic carries a big offensive load for the Lakers, and he’s very explosive when it comes to scoring the basketball. Perhaps that’s why it’s easy to overlook his defensive impact. But numbers don’t lie. When it comes to the regular rotation players, Doncic is second behind only Jarred Vanderbilt in defensive rating at 114.4, as per StatMuse.
Vanderbilt is easily one of the Lakers’ top defenders; you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who disagrees. But Doncic deserves some credit as well for doing his part on the defensive end. And for head coach JJ Redick, it’s not just getting stops or steals or blocks that measure Doncic’s impact.
“I think he’s had really good stretches, and then sustainable stretches for games,” Redick said during his pregame press conference. “And then there seems to be a game every now and then where the engagement and effort is not there. There’s times within a game that there’s maybe one or two possessions. But I would say across the board, on our team, outside maybe Marcus Smart that’s the case for our guys on that end of the floor.”
“We have the numbers. When he switches on to the ball, it’s the lowest of any of our perimeter guys in terms of points per possession. So I think he’s done a good job. He’s shown that he can contain the basketball,” Redick continued. “He’s obviously one of the best wing defensive rebounders in the NBA. He’s able to generate steals and deflections. With some proddings, taking charges as well. So he’s doing a lot of good things defensively.”
On the season, Doncic has appeared in 51 games, at a little over 35 minutes per game. He’s averaging a league-leading 32.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.5 assists and 1.5 steals with splits of 47.5 percent shooting from the field, 36.2 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 77.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
