The Lakers spent this offseason spending big to revamp their roster to better fit around Luka Doncic and his preferred style of play. Austin Reaves returns as a secondary playmaker on a hefty new contract. They traded for Walker Kessler to be the pick-setting, alley-oop finishing big man Doncic prefers to play with. And they made a host of other moves — including parting ways with LeBron James — to bring in role players who should be a better stylistic fit with Doncic.
All of that only works if Doncic is healthy.
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Which he wasn’t at the end of last season due to a hamstring injury, he missed all of the Lakers’ playoff run. In an email to fans, Doncic told them he is “100% healthy” now and ready for a big season.
Concerns about Doncic’s durability were a key reason former Mavericks GM Nico Harrison traded Doncic in the first place. The Lakers have bet big on a more mature Doncic, 27, being in his best condition and staying healthy when it matters. He averaged 33.5 points, 8.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds per game last season — when healthy, he remains one of the game’s elite players and was named First-Team All-NBA (he only played 64 games, one below the league’s 65-game cutoff, but was given an exemption due to “extraordinary circumstances” because he missed time for the birth of his child).
The Lakers looked to get Doncic some help this season by not only re-signing Reaves but adding ball-handling guards Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton. Expect JJ Redick to experiment with some three-guard lineups using that group, although the challenge becomes it forces Doncic (6’8″) to guard bigger players, which can take a physical toll.
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Doncic looks ready for that toll, and his team is bonding — he has paid for his teammates to join him in his native Slovenia for workouts, golf and more. A chance for a lot of new faces to get to know one another.
The new-look Lakers are poised to be one of the top teams in the West this coming season, but that only works with a healthy Doncic playing at an MVP level. He says he’s healthy and ready, which is all Lakers fans can ask.
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