Lakerholics

A Lakers Fan Community

Posts

Evaluating Luka Dončić in the Lakers’ offense … so far

By Leave a Comment

Luka Dončić drove past Jordan Clarkson from the right slot, drawing two additional Utah Jazz defenders. As Dončić appeared to run out of real estate, he fired a no-look, right-handed, behind-the-back pass to a relocating Austin Reaves at the left slot for a wide-open 3.

The pass was ridiculous — a subtle flick of the wrist sending the ball backward while driving in the opposite direction against two defenders. It’s the type of dime that fewer than 10 players in NBA history can execute (with one of them being Dončić’s new teammate LeBron James).

This is the type of passing that, once acclimated to the Los Angeles Lakers’ offensive system and Dončić’s teammates’ tendencies, will elevate the ninth-ranked offense to greater heights.

Through two games with the Lakers, Dončić is averaging 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists on 40.7/26.7/50.0 shooting splits in 23.5 minutes. He’s on a minutes restriction — up to 30 minutes, though both games he played in were blowouts — so his per-36 averages are more in line with his career marks: 23.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.1 assists.

Of course, those numbers and percentages are reduced. Dončić’s 3-point percentage is somewhat misleading as he’s been handed several grenades — possessions where he receives a pass with fewer than five seconds remaining on the shot clock — and has had to fling up semi-contested or contested 3s. After missing six weeks due to a left calf strain and getting dealt in one of the most shocking trades in NBA history, it’s understandable that Dončić wouldn’t quite look like himself upon making his Lakers debut.

It’s difficult to glean too much from a home-and-home series against the Utah Jazz, who rank 28th in the league in defensive rating and have their sights set on the top of the 2025 NBA Draft. Lakers coach JJ Redick noted during the back-and-forth that the Jazz are primarily a switch defense, which cajoled the Lakers into mismatch-hunting against their slowest and weakest defenders.

That plays into Dončić’s strengths, as he’s arguably the best pick-and-roll practitioner in the league. Add in his knowledge of the Lakers’ actions and concepts, and Los Angeles’ offense was relatively simple when he was on the floor.

In the first two games, the majority of Dončić’s offensive possessions came out of pick-and-roll actions with Jaxson Hayes or Reaves to target Walker Kessler or Clarkson, respectively. To attack Utah similarly, the Lakers also ran Dončić off weakside wide pin downs with Hayes as the screener, creating opportunities for Dončić to get downhill to score, create separation for stepback 3s or quickly find Hayes for a lob.

In this example, the Lakers run their weave action with Reaves pitching the ball to James, and James awaiting Dončić’s curl off of Hayes’ screen. Dončić immediately fakes a lob pass to get defender Keyonte George off-balance as he decelerates and knives through the Jazz defense for a layup.

This is the same action with Dončić recognizing Clarkson has shifted over toward him, and there’s a clear angle for an alley-oop to the rolling Hayes.

The Lakers purposely run this set with an empty corner on the Dončić-Hayes side, so it’s harder for a defender to rotate over and protect the rim (and if one does, Rui Hachimura is open in the opposite corner, which is an easy pass for Dončić).

One of Dončić’s greatest boosts to the Lakers is the constant pressure he applies to defenses. He can attack from any angle and is a threat to score or generate a high-percentage look for a teammate from any spot on the floor. L.A. has needed more of that with James and Reaves the only Lakers capable of consistently penetrating and pressuring the rim and the paint.

…

Dončić is shooting just 31.4 percent on stepback 3s this season — a career-low mark by over 4 percent. He’s shot 36.7 percent or better on those shots in each of the past three seasons, including a career-best 40.1 percent in 2023-24. That history suggests his season-long slump is more of an aberration, and he’s due to progress to being an above-average stepback 3-point shooter.

The Lakers are only scratching the surface of their offensive potential with Dončić. With him on the floor, they are scoring 116.7 points per 100 possessions — higher than their season average and the equivalent of the seventh-ranked offense this season. That should only improve and eventually nudge closer to the vaunted 120 points per 100 possessions range.

As Dončić learns the playbook, practices and plays with his teammates more and gains more experience in two- and three-man actions with James and Reaves, the Lakers should push to be a top-three offense that gives them a chance to earn home-court advantage in the first round of the NBA playoffs.