Mark Medina
LOS ANGELES – One coach yelled at Luka Dončić recently for his on-court frustration and for ignoring him during a recent substitution.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ star also needs to collect only one more technical before serving a one-game suspension.
Yet, Lakers coach JJ Redick downplayed concerns on how Dončić manages his competitive fire.
“He’s a special kind of player, a special kind of person and a special kind of competitor,” Redick said. “I would much rather have someone who is trying to go out every night and kill than someone that you have to literally revive with a different defibrillator every other day. So I’ll take Luka all day long.”
So will Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, who managed Dončić during the first three of his seven seasons with the Dallas Mavericks (2018-2025).
“You show me a great player who isn’t stubborn and doesn’t get pissed off at things,” Carlisle said. “I’ll show you somebody who isn’t a great player.”
Instead, Carlisle views Dončić as “the greatest player I’ve ever coached.” Carlisle predicted that Dončić will eventually win the NBA regular-season MVP award. Carlisle described coaching against Dončić as “hell” and contended that “it’s impossible to gameplan for him.”
For the next 2 ½ hours, Dončić proved his former coach right. He led the Lakers to a 128-117 win over the Pacers on Friday with 44 points while shooting 14-for-25 from the field, 7-for-14 from 3-point range and 9-for-10 from the free-throw line along with nine rebounds and five assists.
The Lakers missed LeBron James (left elbow contusion) and Deandre Ayton (left knee soreness). No matter. An injury-depleted roster only emboldened Dončić.
Dončić eclipsed Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards for the most 40-point games this season (10). By recording his 12th 40-point game for the past 1 ½ seasons with the Lakers, Dončić eclipsed Gail Goodrich for ninth place on the franchise all-time list. Lastly,
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a player that controls an NBA game the way he does in every way possible,” Carlisle said. “You can’t speed him up. You can’t slow him down. It’s really an impossible task. You have to hope that he misses some shots. If you think double teaming is the answer, it’s not. What the stats will show you is that when you double team him, things get worse, Because everyone else gets going, and there’s wide opens shots all over the place. So he’s as difficult a player to gameplan for as I’ve ever seen.”
Even more difficult considering the Pacers (15-48) boast the Eastern Conference’s worst record. Even more difficult since the Lakers’ Austin Reaves (19 points), Luke Kennard (15), Rui Hachimura (13) and Marcus Smart (11) also cracked double figures. Yet, Redick observed Dončić still pulled off “ridiculous shot-making” against Indiana guards Andrew Nembard and Aaron Nesmith, whom Redick praised as among the NBA’s best on-ball defenders.
“He can make every shot,” Redick said of Dončić . “He can make floaters. He can make floaters going left or right. He’s a shot maker. But he’s also a playmaker. He has the ability, whether he’s single coverage or double coverage, to make reads and create open shots and closeouts and lobs for his teammates. And he’s done this for seven years now. He’s seen every coverage. So he has his progression of reads.”
Has Dončić made enough progression, however, with keeping his emotions in check?
The numbers say no. Dončić collected his 15th technical during Thursday’s loss in Denver. The NBA automatically suspends a player without pay once they accumulate 16 technicals. With the Lakers (38-25) trailing the Nuggets (39-25) by half a game for fifth place in the Western Conference, Dončić’s possible suspension could dramatically change the team’s playoff seedings.
Against Indiana, Dončić looked more subdued with the referees. Redick deadpanned that “he had very pleasant conversations with the officials. Dončić contended that “I just want to play my game.”
“That just for me shows that I really care for the game,” Dončić said. “I want to win every game. Obviously, there’s a lot of emotions. But that means there’s a lot of care for the game. This game has given me everything.”
Meanwhile, Dončić has given the game a league-leading 32.3 points and a third-best 8.6 assists per game. The Lakers also laud him for his improved defensive effort. Sure, Dončić’s frustration with the officials can affect his focus on both ends of the floor. He can also become upset with the coaching staff, too. Hence, Redick’s outburst during the Lakers’ recent win in Golden State.
Yet, the Lakers mostly encourage Dončić to play with emotion since he scores and passes more proficiently than he does with collecting technicals. The Mavericks usually reached the same conclusion, too.
“He’s a fiery competitor. I don’t see that changing,” Carlisle said. “I don’t see that changing. But he’s great.”
Mark Medina is an NBA contributor for Sportsnaut. Follow him on X, Blue Sky, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.
