The Los Angeles Lakers have been one of the best performers recently. Even without LeBron James, one of their best players who has missed the past five games because of a groin strain, the Lakers have outsmarted their opponents. One of the big reasons why Los Angeles has been a good team is because of how Luka Doncic has excelled offensively. However, the star player isn’t taking all the credit himself.
On Wednesday, Doncic led the team to a 120-108 win over the Denver Nuggets. From the get-go, the Slovenian star was committed to winning as he had a 21-point first quarter. He finished the game with 31 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals. The 6-foot-6 guard shot 47.6% from the field. The five-time All-Star captured the Lakers’ third straight win.
People have noticed how other teams defend Doncic. Usually, they send double teams to prevent him from creating a shot off the dribble. Other times, sending two defenders on him is a strategy by opponents to make him give the ball to his teammates.
With other teams starting to deploy two players on Doncic when the Lakers are without LeBron James, the squad appears to have figured out their offense.
“People start learning that at some point in the game, they’re going to double-team me,” Doncic said. “Like I always say, I accept that, and I like playing [like] that. It saves my energy. You just have to play 4-on-3, and I think guys are doing great out there.”
Luka Doncic praised JJ Redick for making his life easier.https://t.co/JrFeqeQTEj
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) March 21, 2025
Fortunately for Doncic, the players he’s usually on the court with are capable shooters. This is why he gave the credit to head coach JJ Redick. Additionally, the spacing creates other chances on the floor.
“It makes my life easier. Those actions that he puts, there was one ATO today that we ran twice, and it was just for an alley-oop, so that explains JJ’s [Redick] mind. The way he sees basketball, it’s amazing,” Doncic said. “But just me and AR [Austin Reaves] calling off the ball, it helps me and him and everybody else because we do it with pace, and it’s hard to stop us.”
The Los Angeles Lakers’ third option has dominated in the last five games
While fans tend to focus on stars such as Doncic and James, some players on the Los Angeles Lakers team have been forgotten. Austin Reaves is one of the players that has contributed significantly to the team’s recent success.
The 6-foot-5 guard has played exceptional basketball over the last five games. The Lakers have gone 3-5 and Reaves has contributed heavily on the scoring and passing areas. During that span, the shooting guard has averaged 29 points, 6.4 rebounds and 7.4 assists on 40.4% shooting from deep.
Reaves has also scored at least 30 points twice during Los Angeles’ recent five-game stretch.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
