The Los Angeles Lakers were able to land Luka Doncic in a blockbuster trade with the Dallas Mavericks, sending out Anthony Davis as part of the deal. While many expected the pairing of the five-team All-NBA First Team guard and LeBron James to make a deep postseason run, they are on the brink of elimination, trailing the Minnesota Timberwolves 3-1 in their first-round matchup.
Zach Lowe recently blasted the defensive effort of Doncic over the first four games of the series. Speaking on The Ringer podcast, the NBA insider stated:
"Why do you have to get humiliated at the beginning of every single playoff series before you show the world, like yeah, 'I can actually put in a little bit more of an effort on defense'? Because if you go back and you watch Game 1 and 2 of that Phoenix series, he is so bad defensively that it's laughable," Lowe stated on Monday. "And then all of a sudden, he becomes passable. And yet again, here we are, we're four games into this series and he's just helpless. I've said it before, I wouldn't have done the trade. Almost no one in the NBA would have done this specific trade."
Lowe added that there are smart NBA people who believe that trading Doncic was not a crazy idea. He noted that the Mavericks' decision not to shop him for a package built around first-round picks is where they went wrong.
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There were many who expected the Lakers' defense to struggle after trading Davis, who has been named to the All-Defensive Team five times. Their lack of rim protection, in addition to their struggling perimeter defense, has been exposed throughout the first four games of the postseason.
Los Angeles has largely played without a center, getting exposed in the paint. Starting center Jaxson Hayes has averaged just 7.6 minutes per game, while backup Alex Len has only seen the court during garbage time. The Lakers will likely look to address the position this offseason.
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