Hard to believe it, but the Los Angeles Lakers will play their first regular-season game in just two weeks. The Lakers certainly have the roster to be serious contenders in the Western Conference this year.
There were several reasons for the Lakers’ early first-round exit against the Minnesota Timberwolves last season.
The first reason was the Lakers’ lack of size, which they addressed with the signing of center Deandre Ayton. Next was the Lakers’ non-existent defense, which they believe they addressed with the signing of former defensive player of the year Marcus Smart. Perhaps the biggest culprit behind the Lakers’ demise was their lack of physical and mental toughness, most noticeably from the Lakers’ newly acquired franchise superstar Luka Dončić.
Lakers head coach JJ Redick has made that the focal point of this offseason’s training camp.
The sports world was in shock last February when the Dallas Mavericks traded their superstar point guard Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers. Dončić was coming off the best season of his career, leading the NBA in scoring and carrying the Mavericks to the finals despite suffering multiple injuries. However, the Mavericks made their position very clear that they had grown tired of Luka Dončić.
After coming off that career year, Dončić came into camp out of shape, weighing close to 270 pounds. This is not the first time Dončić has started the season out of shape, and this has frustrated the Dallas Mavericks for quite some time. The Mavericks believed Luka’s weight issues were contributing to his history of lower leg injuries, which were extremely noticeable even in the Mavericks’ run to the finals, as Luka was clearly injured in the series against and completely exhausted by the time the Mavericks played the Celtics in the finals.
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The Mavericks cited Luka’s weight and the lower leg injuries as the biggest reasons for trading Dončić, claiming his NBA career will not last very long. Last December, Luka strained his calf and missed multiple months of the season. This injury appeared to be the final straw for the Mavericks.
Luka Dončić has taken the public shots from the Mavericks organization very personally, and according to reports, Dončić has dropped nearly 35 pounds this summer.
Luka’s weight loss has set the tone for training camp as Redick wants the entire team to be in “championship shape,” adding, “I don’t know if they like me right now.” ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reports that Redick has the team end practice by doing “6 full court sprints in 34 seconds, 10 full court sprints in 60 seconds, followed by another 6 full court sprints in 34 seconds” to end practice, and Redick reportedly will even run the sprints with the team.
Redick set clear goals for his team during this year’s training camp, adding,
“I think there’s three ways I kind of view are we in shape? The first would be, ‘Are we sprinting back defensively?’ ‘Are we playing with pace offensively?’ And I would include our ability to crash and then get back on defense in that. And then, ‘Are we being physical?’ So, if those things are being done at a really high level, we’re in shape.”
Redick emphasizes that championship shape is not just being in peak physical condition, but also being strong mentally as well.
Dončić has taken note of this approach and told McMenamin, “It’s not just physical shape, it’s mental shape, too; both are very important. We’re doing it in practice. It was great.”
An issue that has plagued Dončić his entire career is his constant bickering with the officials. Dončić continues to be one of the league leaders in technical fouls every year, which is unacceptable and something that needs to change. Dončić has 88 career technical fouls, while his teammate LeBron James has only been called for 74 in his career despite playing over 15 more seasons.
Bickering with the officials can lead to not only ejections but even suspensions in the playoffs, and worst of all, there is no need for Luka to engage with the officials whatsoever; it is completely avoidable. That is why Redick wants to change Luka’s mindset, which will be instrumental for his development as a player.
How Far Can This Lakers Team Go?
There will always be delusional Lakers fans who believe every year is championship or bust. However, let’s take an objective look at this Lakers team.
Despite the solid foundation, this Lakers team is still a flawed roster defensively with a 41-year-old LeBron, Austin Reaves, and Luka Dončić, who have both notoriously struggled on that side of the floor throughout their entire careers.
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Additionally, Lebron’s contract takes up a massive portion of the salary cap, severely limiting the pieces the Lakers can add around Luka Dončić. The Lakers also do not have the luxury of playing in the inferior Eastern Conference and are instead in a loaded Western Conference with a number of young and hungry teams.
Ultimately, the Lakers do not need to win the championship for this year to be a successful season. The Lakers need to play hard and be competitive every night, as well as ideally finish top 5 in the standings of a stacked Western Conference.
Lakers fans also need to see this team make it past the 1st round of the playoffs to show improvement from last year.
The real goal of this season should be to get Luka Dončić his first career MVP. If Luka is truly in championship shape, then he should be putting up career highs this season, which most certainly would land him that elusive first MVP.
These should be the goals for this Laker season as they prepare to start a new chapter with Luka Dončić as the face of their franchise.