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Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers
Anyone who has watched the Lakers for any significant stretch of this season knows that there have been two overriding factors in trying to diagnose some of the disconnection that seems to surround this team, the reality that–especially against good teams–the sum of this roster is not greater than its parts. With Luka Doncic leading the way, the Lakers should be a better team than they’ve shown. But it’s hard to pinpoint why they’re not.
On Sunday against the Knicks, the Lakers put together one of their best wins on the season, a wire-to-wire victory in which they did not blow out New York, but also, in which New York never really seemed to have a chance to win.
Leading the way was the leading scorer in the NBA, Luka Doncic, who put up 35 points with eight rebounds and four assists, running his averages in his last seven games to 32.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 6.9 assists. It’s been a remarkable run for Doncic and the Lakers, but one stat of particular interest cropped up in the win.
Lakers Struggling in Luka Doncic-LeBron Minutes
According to Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey, the numbers show that the Lakers have a very hard time keeping things together when both Doncic and LeBron James are on the floor together. James was out on Sunday, dealing with an elbow injury, thought the problem is not expected to be serious.
Maybe it should be, though. The number that Bailey dug up shows that the Lakers have been a better team this season with Doncic on the floor–and James not on the floor–and the differential is not even close.
Here’s what Bailey wrote on Twitter/X: “Luka Dončić when LeBron James is ON the floor: 27.5 points and 8.1 assists per 75 possessions, 59.1 TS%, -2.7 net rating. Luka Dončić when LeBron James is OFF the floor: 38.2 points and 9.2 assists per 75 possessions, 63.0 TS%, +6.9 net rating.”
That’s been one of the running themes with the Lakers this season, especially in recent weeks. The star trio of Austin Reaves, Doncic and James have had injuries in succession, and the team has not been able to get much court time for all three together.
The hope for the Lakers is that Doncic and James can re-establish a rhythm of playing together, and while that is not certainty, the win on Sunday only goes to show that the Lakers can win without James.
Lakers Leave Knicks Coach ‘Frustrated’
On the opposite side, Lakers ex-coach Mike Brown, now on the sidelines for the Knicks, credited the Lakers for making things difficult on his team.
“If we did those things, those self-inflicted things, I would be frustrated, whatever it is,” he said. “But again, they had something to do with it, they’re a good team. I don’t want to take anything away from JJ and the rest of the staff and all those players, they earned that win. But I thought we had some controllables that we didn’t do a good job of taking care of. And that’s the frustrating part.
“We didn’t give ourselves much of a chance to win this ballgame, at any point. And that’s what’s frustrating.”
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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