Not Scared
Not Scared
Lakers/Nuggets February 22, 2025
In what was building into a scary week for the Lakers after two unfortunate losses to the Hornets and Blazers, they come out FIRING against the hottest team in the league. The Denver Nuggets boosted themselves up to the second seed in the Western Conference after a 9-game win streak, which, unlucky for them, seemed to be exactly what Luka needed.
The hilarious relationship and comradery that Jokic and Doncic usually display was sorrily missed at this past All-Star weekend with Luka not playing quite enough games to be selected to the team that he is well accustomed to. However, the break seemed to be just what Luka needed. It was reported during the game tonight that Luka spent the whole break training with Assistant Coach Scott Brooks while on vacation in Cabo. Although he did play elevated minutes on Wednesday against the Hornets due to Austin Reaves’ early exit, he would sit out against the Trailblazers likely due to the quick turnover in the back-to-back away games. But Luka Magic was back in full effect tonight…
Luka would come out the gates HOT finishing the first quarter scoring 16 points, finding his teammates and the three ball often, triggering a very strong start from the team. The chemistry he is building with LeBron is also enough to bring a tear to any Laker fans eye. Witnessing (no pun intended) Luka throw a perfectly directed full court pass off a rebound to Bron for a no-dribble dunk is something that has not exactly been seen since LeBron’s days playing with Kevin Love, and something that will never get old with this new dynamic.
A final stat line of 32-10-7 is also something all Laker enjoyers will have to become used to as well. Even though Luka at times still looks to be missing some elevation on some shots around the rim, likely needing some more time to get around the calf issue that put him out longer than he ever has since entering the league. This is not too shabby of a start.
The all-around macro approach to the game was very promising for the Lakers tonight as well. JJ Reddick put together an incredibly effective defensive plan to aggressively blitz Jokic every time he got the ball anywhere close to the post. Resulting in numerous turnovers by the three-time MVP, making him uncomfortable for the whole match, only allowing him to construct a measly 12-13-10 triple double rather than the usual massive impact he has on the game. Showing the increasing ability of Coach JJ to adapt to the drastic change of small-ball style after the swap of AD for Luka.
The supporting players showed up in a big way tonight as well, it was the first time this season that the Lakers would finish with 4 players above 20 points, with LeBron, Rui, and Austin following suit. The similar slashing and kick out shooting game that Austin and Rui bring was really working, along with LeBron doing his thing with a standard 25-9-5 performance that might be getting progressively more overshadowed with the younger Luka coming into his own.
In addition to the starting lineup getting into the rhythm of these new schemes that JJ and the rest of the coaching staff are doing a great job at developing. It really looks like the bench players are fully invested and appreciating their roles in this roster. Although Vanderbilt tallied a few too many fouls early to play a lot later in the game, he was doing a lot to bump and mess with the timing of Jokic early, causing a couple quick turnovers in his favour. Even though the scoring was not needed of the bench guys, DFS, Gabe and Dalton held their own on each side of the floor and were making all the plays they needed to when called on. Especially the late plays from Jordan Goodwin, who converted a consecutive floater and corner three from Bron late in the 4th to all but seal the game, resulting in a gleeful skip down the court in celebration.
The sum of these parts working so beautifully for the Lakers in this game was invigorating to watch, and incredibly exciting to imagine how the rest of the season can develop for this team and how far it can take them down the stretch. With a now mostly healthy Luka Doncic and father time LeBron James in the mix exacerbating the masterful basketball IQ this team now holds between those two players and the coaching staff; the sky really is the limit. Not scared.