Breaking News: Brian Windhorst explains why the Lakers chose Luka Doncic over LeBron James: “ It’s not a sustainable way forward”…see more

Many believed the Dallas Mavericks significantly shortened their championship window with that deal. At the same time, JJ Redick’s team landed a new face of the franchise.

The Slovenian guard, still visibly shocked, understandably needed some time to adjust to his new surroundings. It was obvious it wouldn’t take long before he began dominating Crypto.com Arena.

Rob Pelinka, who was instrumental in acquiring the 2024 scoring champion, didn’t hesitate for a second and handed him a contract extension in the summer. The two future Hall of Famers are under scrutiny for their defense, despite being third in the West with a 22–11 record and are standing out historically for the wrong reasons.

How is that possible? The fact is that the Lakers are a perfect 12–0 in clutch situations this season, which is an incredible achievement. At the same time, in each of their 11 losses, they were beaten by double digits.

This clearly shows that the Lakers’ record could have been much worse, making the situation even more alarming, despite injuries playing a significant role in the Lakers’ locker room so far.

All of this leads to the conclusion that the Lakers are not a true contender, despite outstanding individual performances from LeBron and Luka.