The Los Angeles Lakers lost at home to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night, and their season is now over. The Lakers were down 3-1 in the series going into Game 5, and they weren't able to defend home court. A lot of glaring issues surrounding this LA team were exposed during this series, and perhaps the biggest one is that Luka Doncic is a liability on defense.

Everyone was shocked when the Dallas Mavericks traded Luka Doncic to the Lakers. He is one of the best players in the game, and he was supposed to be in Dallas for a very long time. However, Mavs GM Nico Harrison didn't like what he saw from Doncic on defense. Was trading him the wrong decision? Probably, but Doncic definitely does struggle on the defensive end.

Charles Barkley was discussing the defensive woes that the Lakers displayed during this series, and he did not hold back when discussing Luka Doncic.

“Number one, they got to get some more athletic ability,” Charles Barkley said. “They can't guard anybody, so they're gonna have to find somebody to cover for LeBron and Luka defensively, because LeBron don't play defense anymore. Luka can't guard a chair, and you're gonna have, you're gonna have to have Wilt [Chamberlain], Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] and Bill Russell back there to block a shot if they're gonna keep anybody in front of them.”

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Perhaps Doncic would be better on defense if he was in better shape. That is another reason why he was traded to the Lakers in the first place, and Barkey thinks that Doncic needs to find a way to make that change.

“Luka needs to get in better shape too,” Barkley added. “It's been a knock, but at some point, as a player, you can't have people saying that about you. You're an elite player, and you're getting ready to get three, four hundred million dollars. You got to get in shape to earn that money, you can't get on TV every day, and we all do it. He can't guard anybody.”

Luka Doncic is one of the best players in the NBA, there's no doubt about it. However, he clearly has some things to work on. He is great right now in a lot of ways, but Doncic isn't hitting his full potential. If he gets in better shape and can become a lock down defender, then he can help lead the Lakers to a championship.