Episode Details

Jerry West, Magic Johnson, LeBron James, and now, Luka Dončić. 

In only his ninth game with the Lakers, LA's newest star joined a very exclusive list of players who have scored 30 points and added 15 assists in the same game. Four guys. That's it. Luka finished the night with 30 points, eight rebounds and 15 dimes as the Lakers made relatively easy work of the visiting New Orleans Pelicans Tuesday at the Crypt. Final score, 136-115. Seven straight wins, longest winning streak since 2021, 18-4 over the last 22, 39-21 overall... and all alone as the Western Conference's second seed. 

Luka was particularly strong early, going for 17/3/4 in the first quarter, and helping the Lakers push out to a 13-point lead after 12 minutes. That's been the trend of late, and it's a nice change of pace to the early fall-behinds that had more frequently been part of the script. It's just so much easier to play from ahead than it is to try and eat up a double digit deficit against an NBA team. 

LeBron James, who chipped in with 34 points, eight rebounds and six dimes and scored his 50,000th career point (regular season and playoffs inclusive), noted after the broadcast that Dončić looks both healthier (with the calf) and comfortable. In all facets, not just with his game. And you can see the joy in what he's doing, skipping on the sidelines after good plays, entertaining the crowd and more. Certainly he can feel the love from the Lakers faithful, who start buzzing every time Luka touches the ball. 

The energy around this Lakers squad right now is insanely good, and so is the balance. For all of the skill and playmaking brought by Luka, LeBron and (a currently injured) Austin Reaves, there's also a ton of grit. Dorian Finney-Smith, Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt—who packed an crazy amount of activity into 20 minutes Tuesday night—Trey Jemison III, Joran Goodwin (also hurt)... these are guys who play with a real edge, and are physical players. (And the stars aren't exactly wallflowers, either.) And they do it on a team where they'll be rewarded by two of the best passers in basketball. 

Perhaps one of the big mistakes some analysts made in the wake of the Luka deal was assuming it would be hard to integrate Dončić into their offense, forgetting the impact he could have on shot quality for every else. They're just getting tons of easy looks, thanks to the gravity Luka provides. It's not perfect every time down the floor, but LeBron has responded well to whatever transfer of power has taken place. 

The Lakers are rolling, but this doesn't feel like the ceiling. 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 


SEGMENT 1: Luka joins an exclusive club as the Lakers roll vs. New Orleans. 

SEGMENT 2: LeBron pushes past 50,000.
 

SEGMENT 3: The best location for role players? 

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