Luka Dončić’s listless 19-point outing has drawn the critical eye of one of the NBA’s most prominent media members. After Dončić shot 6-of-17 from the field, including 0-for-6 from beyond the arc in the Los Angeles Lakers loss to the Golden State Warriors, The Ringer founder and podcaster Bill Simmons made several concerning observations about Dončić.

“It was a pretty uninspiring performance by him tonight. I’m not really sure what was going on with him. He seemed out of it. He wasn’t even like really b—-ing at the refs as much as he usually does,” Simmons explained. “He wasn’t upset with anyone on the Warriors and just in general it was a strange performance for him. He was the third best guy on his own team. Arguably the fourth best guy.”

In addition to pointing out how off Dončić appeared to be throughout the night emotionally, Simmons also spotted issues that extend beyond one game. The joy in Dončić’s game just hasn’t been as visible for some reason.

“I think the Luka-Lakers experience has been pretty weird. There’s been like flashes of all-time crazy brilliance. He’ll be amazing and not that great in the same game and up and down. It seems like he’s in better shape than he was. Defensively it’s still not good. He was really rough tonight. I’m going to say work in progress, but we’ve had two-plus months now.”

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Since acquiring Dončić, the Lakers have gone 15-11 and cooled down dramatically from his first month in purple and gold. A month in, the Lakers were defending like one of the league’s best on the other end. At one point, the Lakers had also risen to the second in the West. However, the adrenaline has worn off since.

Dončić took responsibility for his play after the game at his presser, saying, “That performance from me was unacceptable.” 

Dončić still has plenty of time to rebound from a lifeless performance, but there will be lingering issues about his fit heading into the playoffs and possibly next season.