LOS ANGELES – A coach yelled at Luka Doncic for his frustration on the court and ignoring him during a recent substitution.
The Los Angeles Lakers star needs to collect just one more technical before serving a one-game suspension.
Still, Lakers coach JJ Redick downplayed those concerns based on how Doncic manages his competitive fire.
“He’s a special type of player, a special type of person and a special type of competitor,” Redick said. “I’d prefer someone who’s going out every night and trying to kill, rather than someone who you literally have to resuscitate with a different defibrillator every other day. So I’ll take Luca all day.”
So will Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, who managed Doncic during the first three of his seven seasons with the Dallas Mavericks (2018-2025).
“You show me a great player who isn’t stubborn and doesn’t get angry at things,” Carlisle said. “I’ll show you someone who’s not a great player.”
Instead, Carlisle views Dončić as “the greatest player I’ve ever coached”. Carlisle predicted that Doncic would eventually win the NBA regular-season MVP award. Carlisle described coaching against Doncic as “hell” and argued that “it’s impossible to gameplan for him.”
Over the next two and a half hours, Doncic proved his former coach right. He led the Lakers to a 128-117 win over the Pacers on Friday with 44 points, while going 14-for-25 from the field, 7-for-14 from 3-point range and 9-for-10 from the free-throw line, along with nine rebounds and five assists.
The Lakers missed LeBron James (left elbow soreness) and Deandre Ayton (left knee soreness). No matter. The injury-plagued roster only encouraged Doncic.
Doncic passed Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards for most 40-point games this season (10). by recording 12th 40-point games in the last 1 1/2 seasons with the Lakers, Doncic passed Gail Goodrich for ninth place on the franchise’s all-time list. Ultimately,
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a player who controls an NBA game in every possible way,” Carlisle said. “You can’t speed him up. You can’t slow him down. It’s really an impossible task. You have to hope he misses some shots. If you think double teaming is the answer, it’s not. The stats will tell you that when you double team him, things get worse because everyone else is going, and there are wide open shots everywhere. So he’s as difficult a player to gameplan as I’ve ever seen.”
It’s even more difficult considering the Pacers (15-48), who boast the Eastern Conference’s worst record. The Lakers’ Austin Reaves (19 points), Luke Kennard (15), Rui Hachimura (13) and Marcus Smart (11) also scored in double figures, making it even more difficult. Nevertheless, Redick observed that Doncic still had “ridiculous shot-making” against Indiana guards Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith, whom Redick praised as one of the NBA’s best on-ball defenders.
“He can make every shot,” Redick said of Doncic. “He can make floaters. He can make floaters that go left or right. He’s a shot maker. But he’s also a playmaker. He has the ability, whether it’s single coverage or double coverage, to make reads and make open shots and closeouts and lobs for his teammates. And he’s done that for seven years now. He’s seen every coverage. So he has a progression of reads.”
However, has Doncic made enough progress by keeping his emotions in check?
The numbers say no. Doncic scored his 15th Technical during Thursday’s loss at Denver. The NBA automatically suspends a player without pay when he accumulates 16 technicals. With the Lakers (38-25) trailing the Nuggets (39-25) by a half-game for fifth place in the Western Conference, Doncic’s potential suspension could dramatically alter the team’s playoff seeding.
Against Indiana, Doncic looked more subdued in front of the referees. Redick said that “he had a very pleasant conversation with the officials.” Doncic argued that “I just want to play my game.”
“Just to me it shows that I really care about the game,” Doncic said. “I want to win every game. Obviously, there’s a lot of emotion in it. But it means caring a lot about the game. This game has given me everything.”
Doncic, meanwhile, is averaging a league-leading 32.3 points and third-best 8.6 assists per game. The Lakers also praised him for his improved defensive effort. Certainly, Doncic’s frustration with the officials could impact his focus on both ends of the floor. He may also be angry with the coaching staff. So, Redick’s anger erupted during the Lakers’ recent win at Golden State.
Still, the Lakers mostly encourage Dončić to play with emotion because he scores and passes more efficiently than gathering technicalities. Mavericks also generally came to the same conclusion.
“He’s a tremendous competitor. I don’t see that changing,” Carlisle said. “I don’t see that changing. But he’s great.”
Mark Medina is an NBA contributor for SportsNut. follow him x, blue sky, Instagram, Facebook And threads.
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