Luka Dončić’s illness exacerbates Lakers’ depth and size concerns vs. Wolves

Sports

add

MINNEAPOLIS — Luka Dončić was nowhere to be seen to begin the second half.

The Los Angeles Lakers weren’t sure when — or if — their superstar was going to return. So they started Gabe Vincent at the beginning of the third quarter, only for Dončić to quickly emerge from their locker room tunnel and get ready to check in. He was back within 49 seconds.

But after dominating the first two games of the series, averaging 34 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on near-50/40/90 shooting splits, a stomach ailment derailed Dončić’s Game 3 performance on Friday night. He was never truly back, and he was limited to 17 points on 6-for-16 shooting, seven rebounds, eight assists and five turnovers in the Lakers’ 116-104 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves lead the series 2-1 with Game 4 on Sunday.

“I didn’t think he was going to come out (for the) second half,” said Dorian Finney-Smith, who has played with and known Dončić for over a half-decade. “Just because how he sounded. His body language. How he looked. He looked a little pale today. He probably needs to hydrate some more. But Luka’s tough.”

The Lakers desperately needed Dončić back, even the compromised version of him, because there was no alternative to turn to. LeBron James broke out with his best offensive performance of the series — 38 points on 13-for-21 shooting — and Austin Reaves scored 20 points, but the Lakers offense barely cracked triple-digits, a troubling trend through the first three games of the series.

The Lakers’ margins in this series are slim, if they even exist. They are smaller, slower and older than the Timberwolves. Dončić’s temporary limitations only further exacerbated the growing size and depth concerns for the Lakers.

Dončić underwent treatment from the Lakers’ medical staff after the loss. He did not speak with reporters.

“He hasn’t been feeling well for the last 24 hours, so I don’t know how much he slept last night,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “He didn’t feel well last night. His stomach was bothering him. He was vomiting all afternoon. I’m not sure what happened at halftime. I’ll find out, but he was really under the weather.”

With Dončić compromised, the Lakers offense took a considerable hit. The Wolves were more aggressive in their defensive coverages, picking him up closer to halfcourt and mixing in more blitzes and hedges than they did in Games 1 and 2. Dončić, who looked superhuman against Minnesota in Los Angeles, struggled to withstand ball pressure and create separation. He dominated the first quarters of Games 1 and 2, scoring 16 points in each of them. In Game 3, however, he mustered only two points on 1-for-6 shooting.

During the second quarter, Dončić put his warmup jacket on, pulled the hood up and tightened it over his head. The Wolves, sensing Dončić’s limitations, tested him defensively, targeting him in pick-and-rolls and aggressively attacking his closeouts. Jaden McDaniels, in particular, blew by Dončić several times en route to baskets or drive-and-kick opportunities.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Dončić took Gobert off the dribble and lofted in a six-foot floater to tie the game at 103-103 with 4:37 left. From that point on, though, the Wolves closed the game on a 13-1 run, blitzing the Lakers and looking like the more spry team in the fourth quarter for the third straight game.

Dončić’s sickness further exposed a trend that is emerging in this series: the Lakers’ lack of depth and size is catching up to them. Add in Dončić’s struggles, and it was genuinely impressive that Game 3 was competitive for the first 44 minutes.

The Lakers are playing nine guys in their rotation, but three of them — Jaxson Hayes, Jarred Vanderbilt and Jordan Goodwin — have had relatively short leashes with Redick. Otherwise, the Lakers are heavily leaning into Dončić, James, Reaves, Finney-Smith, Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent — none of whom are centers.

“The fact is we don’t have ‘rim protection,’” Redick said bluntly. “So if you give up blow-bys, we’re gonna give up something. We’re gonna give up a 3  or we’re gonna give up a shot from him at the rim.”

The Lakers’ center dynamic has been a worry all season. Anthony Davis, before being traded to Dallas, asked for more help on the interior. After the Dončić deal, the Lakers traded for Mark Williams before ultimately rescinding it due to concerns about his physical. Hayes played well in the weeks leading into the Dončić trade and for about a month after it, but he has regressed over the past few weeks and lost the trust of Redick and the coaching staff.

The Lakers have been outscored by 18 points in Hayes’ 25 minutes. He has more fouls (6) than points (5). The Wolves have neutralized him offensively with their switching and he hasn’t made an impact around the rim on either end. When asked postgame if he’s going to consider moving Hayes to the bench, Redick said the Lakers will “look at everything” but added they “still believe in Jaxson.”

The Lakers don’t have another viable option at center — it’s not Alex Len or Markieff Morris — meaning they’ll likely go forward without a center against one of the league’s biggest frontlines. That’s going to be a tall task for a small group.

The most encouraging sign from Game 3 was James’ offensive output. He scored 22 points in the first half — more than he scored in Game 1 or 2 —  and drilled five 3s, including three straight in the fourth quarter to keep the Lakers within striking distance. It was the best James has looked offensively and physically in the series, getting out in transition and attacking Wolves bigs off the dribble multiple times. James suffered a left hip flexor strain two weeks ago, and is just now starting to resemble himself, according to Redick.

“He’s moving better,” Redick said. “He seems like he’s getting healthier by the day. It’s typically a one-to-two-week injury. Believe it’s been two weeks tonight, if I’m mistaken, from the Houston game. Clearly he’s moving better.”

James’ improvement might not be enough to overcome the growing discrepancy in the hustle stats, though. The Lakers need more — from everyone. They had too many turnovers (19 leading to 28 Wolves points), missed too many free throws (13 for 20, 68 percent), were crushed in the paint (56-26) and in transition (21-11) again, and allowed 13 second-chance. Minnesota attempted 13 more shots and one more free throw, dominating the possession battle.

“In the postseason, there is no room for error,” James said. “… In the postseason, obviously you’re not gonna play a perfect game. But the more that you make mistakes on top of mistakes, on top of mistakes, things that can be controlled, then it’s not gonna give you an opportunity to be in the best possible chance to win.”

Through three games, the Wolves have won eight of 12 quarters and have a plus-25 margin. They’ve indisputably been the better team in the series. As the road team holding a 2-1 lead, they’re the clear favorites. The Lakers have looked overpowered and overmatched at times.

But despite how poorly Dončić played and how many self-inflicted errors they had, from turnovers to missed free throws to uncontested 3s allowed, the Lakers still nearly won. If Dončić can get healthy within the next day, and James continues to look like his pre-injury self, they should be well-positioned to win Game 4 and even the series heading back to Los Angeles.

At that point, it would be a best-of-three series, with two of the three games at Crypto.com Arena — a definitive advantage for the Lakers, who have the third-best home record in the NBA behind Oklahoma City and Cleveland. Granted, there is a quick turnaround for Game 4, with a 2:30 p.m. local time tip Sunday, meaning there is less than 40 hours between Game 3 and 4.

The series has been closer than some of the numbers would suggest. But the Lakers’ size and depth were two clear issues after the Dončić trade, and they appear to be catching up to the team at the worst possible time.

“Go play as hard as you possibly can,” Reaves said of the mindset for Game 4. “You can give yourself an opportunity to win and then go back to L.A. tied at 2-2 and it’s basically, obviously, a three-game series from there. So we’ll be ready, focused and we’ll go compete as hard as we possibly can.”

(Photo: David Berding/Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

Share on

email

Previous

trending_flat

Salač obsadil v kvalifikaci desátou příčku

Sports

Next

trending_flat

Hunter Greene, Reds take aim at reeling Rockies

Sports