The Los Angeles Lakers suffered their second consecutive loss on Tuesday with a home loss to the Orlando Magic. Luka Doncic had a chance to win it late, but he picked up his dribble and passed the ball to teammate LeBron James, who saw his desperation miss the rim.
Doncic later took responsibility for the mistake, which damaged his reputation as one of the NBA’s most lethal scorers. In fact, Doncic hasn’t appeared in the clutch with any consistency over the last two seasons, including during his time with the Dallas Mavericks.
“Over the past two seasons, 207 NBA players have made a shot to tie or take the lead in the final minute of a game,” according to the former stathead via Tom Haberstroh on Twitter. “Luka Doncic is not one of those 207 players. Tuesday night’s bizarre grenade on LeBron is no exception.”
Doncic has made a number of big plays at the buzzer throughout his career, including his shot to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 2 of the 2024 Western Conference Finals, but the trend has diminished significantly over the past two years, which is difficult to explain.
The Slovenian star can hit his shot against any defender in the league, and has a wide range of moves he can use to get to his position. For the most part the Lakers have specialized in close games this season, which largely helps explain their solid record despite a mediocre Nets rating, so Doncic’s clutch shortcomings aren’t affecting the team much, other than the loss against the Magic.
However, Los Angeles will definitely want to get Doncic a last-second shot once the playoffs begin.
The Lakers next play against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday evening.
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