Is Luka Doncic's latest claim a sign of change or an empty promise?

The Los Angeles Lakers are 18-7 and in third place in the Western Conference.

Nevertheless, they've struggled against contending teams, and their perimeter defense continues to be a concern. That's why coach J.J. Redick had an interesting choice of words to describe their defensive efforts -- or lack thereof -- as told by big man Deandre Ayton.

With that in mind, Luka Doncic took it upon himself to lead the way by showing more defensive prowess.

Luka Doncic vows to step up on defense -- again 

"It was good," Doncic said when asked about the meeting with his coach, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "We talked about a lot, not just that, but he was right. You got to get a little bit more, especially from the star players. So that's on us. That's on me. And we just got to give more, especially at the start the game. We got to start the game better."

Doncic has always been pretty good at saying all the right things, but this isn't the first time he's talked about putting more effort into the defensive end of the floor.

Year in and year out, his struggles to stay in shape and apparent disinterest in playing defense have been talking points.

He took a big leap in the playoffs in his NBA Finals run, so it's not that he can't lock down on defense, but the consistency just hasn't been there.

Doncic is on his second team and his seventh year in the league, and after watching him make this same statement way too many times in the past, he'll have to show it on the court first.