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“They Have Not Been Attacking” - Los Angeles Lakers Not Aggressive in the NBA Trade Market Enough 3 Apr 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) looks on against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first half during game three of first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

'In Practice We’re More Physical' – Luka Doncic Details Lakers’ Biggest Problem Ahead of Opening Night Against Warriors

Originally posted on Hardwood Heroics | By Reign Amurao | Last updated Oct 18, 2025 1:55 PM ET

The Los Angeles Lakers are set to face the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, Oct. 21, for Opening Night of the 2025-26 NBA season. Teams are preparing to fix the issues they’ve found during the stretch of preseason games. For the Lakers, Luka Doncic revealed which he thinks are the biggest problems ahead of the new year.

Los Angeles concluded their preseason games on Friday against the Sacramento Kings. The Lakers suffered a 117-116 loss against their division rival and finished with a 1-5 record in the exhibition games. There were obvious problems, given that Doncic did not appear in most of the games, and LeBron James won’t suit up until mid-November due to injury.

In his media appearances, Doncic noted the Lakers’ lack of physicality in the early going. He believes that the group doesn’t establish itself as a physical group in the opening quarter, which makes it difficult to set the tone for the rest of the game.

“Obviously, practice is different. I think in practice we’re more physical. Like I said, we need to work on our physicality,” Luka Doncic said. “Sometimes we’re gonna have a small group out there, sometimes we’re gonna have a bigger group out there. There’s some stuff to clean up, obviously, I think the physicality.”

Luka Doncic on what the Lakers have missed the most in the preseason that they’ll need for regular season success: “Obviously, I think the physicality” pic.twitter.com/uTxUejYOIK

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 18, 2025

Ahead of their first regular-season game, Doncic reiterated the Lakers’ need to establish physicality.

“Yeah, I think we start a little bit slow, not being physical. When we start games being physical, that’s when we were at our best. So we need to be more physical for sure, get in the ball, pick your roles; just be more physical.”

Lakers’ center eyes a slot with Luka Doncic on the Slovenian national men’s basketball team

“In Practice We’re More Physical” - Luka Doncic Details Lakers’ Biggest Problem Ahead of Opening Night Against Warriors 2 Feb 28, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; LA Clippers guard James Harden (1) shoots against Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) and center Jaxson Hayes (11) during the first quarter at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images

Luka Doncic has inspired his Lakers teammate, center Jaxson Hayes, to play for the Slovenian men’s national basketball team. According to the big man, he’s looking to secure a Slovenian passport for him to be able to play alongside the five-time All-Star and suit up for the national team next summer.

“That’s my guy, we’re working on getting me a Slovenian passport right now so I can play with him next summer,” Hayes said.

Hayes developed chemistry with Doncic as soon as the All-Star guard was traded from the Dallas Mavericks. The big man became the team’s starting center since Anthony Davis was part of the deal that allowed the Lakers to acquire the Slovenian star.

Oct 14, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts against the Phoenix Suns during an NBA preseason game at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

This article first appeared on Hardwood Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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