Luka Doncic’s two major flaws pointed out in Lakers’ recent slump despite LeBron James’ return

Lakers star Luka Doncic was recently called out by NBA analysts for his poor defensive performances over the last week for his side.

Luka Doncic’s two major flaws pointed out in Lakers’ recent slump despite LeBron James’ return

Luka Doncic

The Los Angeles Lakers have suffered consecutive defeats, and their most recent loss coming on Monday against the Orlando Magic. The concerning topic is that despite possessing the likes of Luka Doncic and LeBron James in the lineup, the Lakers are not winning. Now, NBA analysts had a clear approach toward the Lakers’ recent defeats.

According to them, it is their star Luka Doncic’s defensive performance that is leading to their poor performances. As per FS1 analyst Chris Broussard, Doncic is not performing up to the mark in defense. He did not waste any time in being critical of the Lakers star on live TV. Furthermore, Broussard even called Doncic a ‘ball hogger.’

Luka Doncic is a ball hog. A great ball hog. A Hall of Fame ball hog – future Hall of Famer. An all-time elite ball hog. He is a ball hog.

Chris Broussard said on First Things First
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Broussard’s critique of Doncic reverses his first assessment of the player’s integration into the Lakers lineup. Three weeks ago, Broussard selected the Lakers to win the West. The team rose to the No. 2 spot after going 10–2 in February, but they dropped back to earth. Now, the Lakers have a 6-7 record in March.

Broussard also linked the defensive breakdown to Doncic’s overwhelming ball possession. The Lakers lost against the Chicago Bulls by 31 points on Saturday, giving up 146 points. The NBA’s lowest-scoring team, the Orlando Magic, defeated them by 12 points in a 118-106 final on Monday. In both games, Doncic scored thirty-two points. As for the Lakers, they will have to take both: the good and the bad that comes with Doncic’s gameplay.

Kendrick Perkins critical of Luka Doncic’s defense in recent Lakers defeat

In addition to Broussard, former NBA player and ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins also chimed in with his take. Perkins claimed that the Los Angeles Lakers’ defense ‘looks gross.’ Not only that, he also called out Luka Doncic for the same on a recent segment of the NBA on ESPN show.

The defensive effort that [Luka Dončić] has put forth has to be called out.

Kendrick Perkins said on ESPN

Now, it is up to the Slovenian superstar to improve his defensive aspect of the game. Two people speaking on the same topic does not seem to be any kind of a coincidence. With the recent assessments of the Lakers star, it is clear that Doncic is performing poorly in defense. Only time will tell whether or not Doncic improves his defense against the Pacers in the upcoming matchup.

Luka Doncic makes a bold claim after recent defeat to the Magic

The Los Angeles Lakers will probably not have a home-court edge in any round of the NBA playoffs if they don’t put an end to their current slump. They have lost back-to-back games, raising concerns among the Lakers fanbase.

Interestingly, it was just a month ago when the Lakers went on an 8-1 run in the NBA, but that does not seem to be the case this month. Notably, Lakers star Luka Doncic took some time to speak about this situation during the post-match presser.

I think we just got to look back at the way we played at that 8-game winning streak… I think we just got a little bit satisfied, so we can’t afford that right now.

Luka Doncic said after the game
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With their current 43-28 record, the Lakers are just two games clear of the sixth-place Golden State Warriors and are tied with the fifth-place Memphis Grizzlies. To put it another way, the Lakers will find it difficult to move up the standings, much less hold onto fourth place if they don’t turn things around.