Year 1 of Luka and LeBron Was a Fiat, Not a Ferrari

No Organization in the Clutch

Acting like everything went wrong because LA lacked a center would be incorrect.

The Lakers were competing in many of their playoff games, and even kept many of them rather close. As the series went on, it became clear that the Lakers couldn’t organize their clutch offense, failing to produce in the final five minutes. 

While Minnesota was able to consistently get downhill and find open shooters in the corners, Luka, and sometimes LeBron, attempted to play primarily in isolation. Instead of running sets, many Lakers stood around watching the play develop. 

In Game 3, for example, Anthony Edwards was able to take advantage of this stagnation, hitting three massive shots in the last five minutes of the game to take the win.

A more heartbreaking version of this occurred in Game 4 of the series when Luka and LeBron each missed two shots in the final five minutes of the game. With the exception of one LeBron layup from a Luka assist, each of these shots was taken too early and in isolation. No actions were run involving both of them. The only reason the game stayed within reach was because of Laker role players Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura. 

At no point throughout these “clutch” minutes did the Lakers run a successful combined action for Lebron and Luka together. In fact, one of the main complaints of Game 3 specifically was that LeBron never touched the basketball in important moments; this was in the middle of him having a 38 point game. 

A Look to the Future

Currently, there is a lot of hope for the future in Los Angeles. How could there not be? Dončić is by all accounts a top-five NBA player. Lebron James is still producing at a second-team All-NBA level.

But until they work together as a unit, the Ferrari will always just be a Fiat.