'Lifeless' Luka Doncic vindicates Nico Harrison's concerns

ESPN's Damien Woody echoed Perkins' sentiments about Doncic's poor conditioning.

"I think Luka Doncic is a fantastic player, but d— it, he needs to get his a— in shape," Woody said. "He has to get in shape, because as you get older, it only gets worse. Luka Doncic can't stay in front of anyone, not even in front of a cone."

Elsewhere, The Volume's Jason Timpf felt Doncic looked "lifeless" against the Timberwolves, a pattern he had noticed repeatedly with the star guard in recent years. Timpf noted that a 40-year-old LeBron James looked more spry than Doncic in the final stages of Game 4. 

Doncic's lackluster defense

Doncic has been an unmitigated disaster on the defensive end for the Lakers through the first four games. 

As the primary defender, he has allowed Jaden McDaniels to shoot 61.9 percent (13-of-21), Anthony Edwards 60 percent (15-of-25) and Naz Reid 62.5 percent (5-of-8). Doncic has held his own when switched onto Minnesota's bigs, such as Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert, but he's been a sitting duck as the point of attack defender on the perimeter.

The Ringer's Zach Lowe went as far as to say that "smart NBA people" feel the Mavericks were justified in trading Doncic due to his "laughable" effort on the defensive end.

If the Lakers get bounced out of the first round of the playoffs, Harrison will have every reason to feel vindicated, at least for now. But this saga involving Doncic and Harrison is far from over and will continue to be a talking point over the next few years.