It's Time for Lakers to Panic About Luka Doncic's Slow Start

The Los Angeles Lakers were applauded around the rest of the league for making the big trade for Luka Doncic. Everyone thought that trading Anthony Davis in order to get him was a no-brainer for them.

Davis promptly got hurt in his first game with the Mavericks, while Doncic has only played three games so far with the Lakers. In the long-term, this trade is still a good move for Los Angeles.

In the short term, they are hoping that this massive move will make them a real contender to win the NBA title. They think that pairing him with LeBron James will make their offense almost unstoppable.

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So far, the early returns have not been great on Doncic. While he has played just three games with the Lakers, the stats have not been impressive.

In his first three games with Los Angeles, he is averaging just 14.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.3 assists. All of those numbers are well below what he was averaging with the Mavs.

What's even more alarming is his shooting. He's shooting just 35.6 percent from the field and a woeful 20.8 percent from beyond the 3-point line.

The worst part is that the Lakers are just 1-2 in the games Doncic has played. They just lost to the fourth-worst team in the league, the Charlotte Hornets, at home.

It might be time to start panicking as to what Doncic will do for the team this year. The offense was supposed to be a lot better with him playing next to James, and it hasn't been.

The defense has been much worse without Davis anchoring the frontcourt. That's not going to get better after the failed Mark Williams trade.

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While this trade will likely reap major benefits in the future, it might not this year. Their defense has become too porous now that they don't have any rim protection.

That's something that they can't fix until after the season when they are able to either sign another center or trade for one. Until then, they have to hope to outscore teams.

If Doncic doesn't pick things up, that won't happen enough for them to be true threats in the playoffs.

So far this season, Doncic is averaging 26.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game with both teams.

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