The Los Angeles Lakers opened the season suffering a 119-109 loss to the Golden State Warriors, wasting strong performances in the season opener from Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. Unfortunately for JJ Redick and Co., some around the league are already concerned by what they’ve seen on the court.
Reacting to the Lakers’ season-opening loss, an assistant coach told ESPN that Dončić will essentially have to replicate his near triple-double on a regular basis in order for Los Angeles to be in a position to compete.
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“Luka is going to have to do what he did every night just to give them a chance.”
Anonymous NBA assistant coach on the Los Angeles Lakers’ season-opening performance
Dončić was absolutely phenomenal versus Golden State. The complete overhaul of his offseason training immediately paid off, as he showed more energy than in recent season openers and more effort in the fourth quarter on the defensive end. The perennial NBA MVP candidate finished the night with 43 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists, and 3 stocks (2 blocks, 1 steal) in 41 minutes.
Reaves was the only other positive standout versus Golden State. In the first game of what is essentially a contract year, he scored 26 points on 16 shots (56.25 percent from the field), recording a team-high 3 steals while adding 5 rebounds.
“[Reaves] was good until he ran out of gas because he had to do so much, but outside of them I couldn’t tell you who their third best player was.”
Anonymous NBA scout to ESPN on Los Angeles Lakers’ Austin Reaves
The NBA scout who spoke with ESPN expressed concern over the lack of a standout third player on this Lakers roster right now, at least as long as LeBron James is sidelined. However, he did express some optimism about the team’s outlook to survive given Dončić has proven he can sustain stretches of outright dominance.
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“They have a chance because Luka doing that isn’t a one-off performance.They need some of these other guys to step up. So can they survive it? Yes. They’ll have games where some of these guys hit shots. But you look at their roster, and it’s 1-2-3 — and 2 is out — and then a huge gap.”
Anonymous NBA scout on if the Los Angeles Lakers can be competitive without LeBron James
Right now, the focus is centered on Deandre Ayton. He came into the season expressing an understanding that he needed to prove himself in a contract year and seemed to recognize this would be a career-defining season for him. However, that attitude didn’t show up versus Golden State as he played with the same reserved, and at times lackadaisical, approach that resulted in both the Phoenix Suns and Portland Trail Blazers souring on him.
Even when James returns, Ayton’s season-opening performance strengthened concerns that he’ll once again fall short of the Lakers’ expectations. Unless he can demonstrate on Friday night that he can quickly rebound and positively respond to criticism, Los Angeles will continue to have a glaring hole at the center position.
