Luka Doncic Pleased With Lakers’ Defense In Preseason

Luka Doncic is arguably the No. 1 believer in this new-look Los Angeles Lakers roster. He was in close collaboration with general manager Rob Pelinka and head coach JJ Redick in constructing how things would look without LeBron James.

And through three games of preseason, there have been encouraging signs on both sides of the ball. Specifically on defense, Doncic likes how the team is playing, but he knows they still have room for improvement.

“Yeah, I think it’s been very good. I feel like we have a lot of improvement left still, but [Ziaire Williams] and Matisse (Thybulle), what we see from practice going against them, it’s very hard,” the Lakers star said after practice on Saturday. “Walker (Kessler) hasn’t played yet, so I think we have a lot of room for improvement. But I think it’s been impressive.”

Championships remain the end goal for the Lakers, but it is hard to be a contender with nine new players. However, Doncic came to the realization that this team was a championship contender quickly during their Slovenia minicamp.

“Since the first day. It’s that simple,” he said. “Since the first day when everyone came together in Slovenia, except Cam, he couldn’t make it, I believed we could be a championship team.”

Chemistry is an integral piece for any contending team, and Doncic has been emphasizing that since day one.

“I think that’s very important, especially that you have coaches, players with relationships on a good level,” he added. “I think that’s very important for us and I think it’s been going great. I think in practice, it’s competitive but we also enjoy practicing together and what the coaches give us. So I think it’s been great.”

It’s cool to see how quickly this Lakers squad seems to be coming together. But, some key players have yet to suit up this preseason and they need to all get out on the floor too to play alongside each other at least once before Opening Night.

If not, then it places more pressure on getting off to a good start to begin the regular season. Hopefully, players like Collin Sexton and Walker Kessler can get out there and build off of the Lakers’ positive momentum.

Luka Doncic believes Lakers have ‘very deep’ roster

The wing position appears to be an area of strength due to their handful of options in Jake LaRavia, Matisse Thybulle, Adou Thiero, Ziaire Williams and potentially rookie Cameron Carr. That being said, Doncic believes the Lakers have a ‘very deep’ roster going into the season.