The basketball world is eager to see the LeBron James-Luka Dončić pairing. Sure, we got a glimpse of it last season, but what’s to come could be new.
Dončić arrived in Los Angeles in February. He had no training camp with the Lakers. Coach JJ Redick improvised on the fly, implementing an offense that revolved around James and Dončić. But those two gentlemen did not always interact.
James and Dončić played in 25 games together. One is the greatest player of his generation (at worst). The other is one of the all-time offensive hubs. But James screened for Dončić on only 44 pick-and-rolls, according to Second Spectrum. The reverse is even more jarring. Dončić, who doesn’t screen as often as James does, set only seven picks in James-operated pick-and-rolls. That’s less than once every three games.
Now, Dončić has a training camp to grow chemistry with James. And yet, the dynamic between two basketball experts is not the most drastic way the team will change.
The Lakers’ defense is a wild card — not just in terms of quality but also in terms of style.
Read more about it in my Western Conference Storylines preview below.