Luka Dončić took the blame for Lakers lack of communication in Nets loss

With LeBron James out, Luka Dončić is the leader of the Lakers and he took ownership of the team’s lack of offensive execution on Monday against the Nets.

The Nets agitated Luka Dončić at every opportunity in Monday’s matchup.

With the officiating allowing Brooklyn to be as physical as possible, the Nets took advantage, blitzing Luka and forcing the ball out of his hands. The Lakers' offense struggled, resulting in 17 turnovers and a 111-108 loss.

After the game, Luka took ownership of the team’s lack of offensive execution.

“Today wasn’t a good example of me, but you can see in the other games, when they blitz, we were in great spots,” Luka said. “When JJ said about communication today, that was the point. That’s my fault and we should have done better at that.”

Overall, the Lakers' offense has shined with Luka running things. He’s getting players open shots, excels in pick and roll actions and the team has been racking up wins.

Yes, Jaxson Hayes and LeBron James were out for this game, but Luka was still an on-ball player against the Nets and this team needed him to be better with so many players out.

Instead, we saw him get frustrated with the officiating, settle for long jumpers and not be the vocal leader the Lakers needed with James sitting on the bench.

At one point, the Lakers led by 15, and instead of turning that into an easy win, it became a frustrating loss. This lack of communication affected not only the offense but also the defense.

The Lakers allowed Brooklyn to get 16 offensive rebounds. They failed to put a body on every Nets player near the rim and were out-husstled on virtually every 50/50 ball.

With LeBron likely out for 1 to 2 weeks, Luka has to adjust and be better as a leader on this team. Everyone needs to carry a little bit of a larger load, starting from the top on down.

Hopefully, this game is just an anomaly, and he can return to form and help lead the Lakers through this tough part of the schedule where they play six games in eight days.

Given his pedigree and ability to raise a team’s ceiling, expect a bounce back game from Luka on Friday when they go on the road and face the Milwaukee Bucks.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.