After being the center of the biggest blockbuster trade in arguably NBA history, Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Doncic has taken the high road regarding Dallas Mavericks slander. While Doncic’s former organization hasn’t issued any harsh remarks publically, the rumor mill worked overtime to criticize his work ethic, leadership, and physique. Still, the Lakers have succeeded amidst Doncic’s shooting slump throughout his first six games.
However, Doncic has refrained from criticizing the Mavericks for striking a deal centered around Anthony Davis, which NBA insider Jake Fischer points out per Bleacher Report’s NBA Insider Notebook.
“With all the slander about him heading out the door of Dallas. About the conditioning, about smoking hookah, and drinking beer, and yada, yada, yada. He’s really been focused, to my understanding,” Fischer said. “The direct verbiage I was given was ‘taking the high road.’ So I found some irony in that Jordan commercial in advance of his first game against the Mavericks, driving a sports car on that high road.”
Los Angeles’s glitz and glamor fittingly coincide with the start of Doncic’s new chapter in his career. Plus, the Lakers are 8-2 in their last 10 games, while superstar LeBron James is playing his best basketball of the season. However, Luka’s production has remained steady outside his shooting woes, averaging 19.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 6.7 assists in the first six games of his Lakers tenure.
At the same time, the Mavericks lost Anthony Davis to a hip injury only one game into his tenure. The Mavs, 32-28, are tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves for eighth place in the Western Conference. The Lakers are on a four-game winning streak, including a 107-99 win against Dallas, and have a 36-21 record for fourth place.
Luka Doncic’s ‘horrible’ admission after Lakers’ win
Lakers guard Luka Doncic considers his start with the Lakers as “horrible,” he revealed after Thursday’s 111-102 win against the Timberwolves. Doncic finished with 21 points on 6-of-20 shooting, including 1-for-9 from deep, 13 rebounds, and five assists.
Doncic is shooting at a 36.5% clip, including 22.4% from deep, which doesn’t sit well with him, per The Athletic’s Sam Amick.
“That’s the word he chose during a postgame interview late Thursday night, when the whistle-heavy win against Minnesota (111-102) came to a merciful end,” Amick reported. “His candid self-critique afterward made you wonder how dominant these Lakers might look when Doncic is back to his old self again.”
It’ll be intriguing to find out as the Lakers have suddenly turned themselves into title contenders.
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