HOUSTON — Lakers coach JJ Redick wants to talk about Luka Doncic.
Specifically, he wants to talk about how he feels Doncic is “playing as well as anybody in the NBA right now.”
And how Doncic’s recent play isn’t being discussed enough.
Doncic is, at least, being recognized.
On Monday, he was named the Western Conference player of the week for games played from March 9-Sunday – the third time he has received the honor this season.
When factoring in individual statistics and team success, Doncic has an argument for being the league’s best performer since the All-Star break.
The Lakers entered Monday’s matchup against the Rockets with a 9-4 record since the break for the third-best winning percentage and third-best plus/minus (plus-6.4) in the Western Conference in that stretch.
Doncic has maintained similar statistical production post-break as he did before the break: a league-leading 32.7 points to go with averages of 8.5 assists, 8.4 rebounds, 1.7 steals and a blocked shot.
And almost as importantly, Doncic has the same exact individual plus/minus (plus-8.1) as MVP frontrunner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a better one than Nikola Jokic (plus-7.2), who’s the favorite to finish as the runner-up in the MVP race.
Entering Monday, Doncic was tied with Celtics wing Jaylen Brown for fifth in MVP odds, according to FanDuel and DraftKings, which also suggests he’s at risk of not receiving All-NBA first team honors.
Part of the reasoning is that while Doncic has been individually brilliant for most of the season, the Lakers lacked consistent on-court success from early December through the All-Star break — nearly half the season.
The other part is that Doncic’s rough December also coincided with the Lakers’ worst month of the season, making it hard to separate the two.
And after Gilgeous-Alexander’s performance in the win over the Nuggets on March 9, it’s going to be challenging for Doncic to move ahead of the Thunder guard in the MVP race as long as Gilgeous-Alexander meets the 65-game threshold for regular-season awards.
But Doncic, and the Lakers, have 14 games after Monday to help him get the All-NBA first team honors he deserves.
And if both keep up what they’ve done in March, then Doncic should receive his sixth All-NBA first team selection of his career — a more-than-respectable achievement considering the ups and downs of the season.
G League success
The Lakers’ South Bay G League affiliate set a franchise record with its 11th-straight victory when it beat the Iowa Wolves on Friday at UCLA Health Training Center.
The parent team has had multiple players signed to NBA deals spend time in the G League this season, including second-year wing Dalton Knecht, second-year guard Bronny James and rookie forward Adou Thiero.
Even LeBron James and Rui Hachimura practiced with the G League team as they were working their way back from injuries this season.
“We’re all one team,” Redick said. “We talk about that all the time. I think [South Bay coach Zach Guthrie has] done a fantastic job of coaching our players. And the G league is in place for development. It was literally called the development league. It used to be called the D league, which a lot of people forget. It is the development league. So it’s just been an incredible opportunity for our guys to develop.”
James and Thiero played in South Bay’s win over the Wolves.
“Bronny had just a fantastic year last year,” Redick added. “Adou has done some really good things down there. It’s given our two-way guys a chance to get runs when they’re not with us. And you looked at the roster that we have when we have some of our rostered guys down there with all three of our two-ways, it’s a really good team, and Zach has really coached, not only the team well, but he’s coached our guys well, and they’ve they’ve really bought in.”