The Lakeshow Review

A week after being sidelined by a brief injury scare while playing for team Slovenia, Lakers star Luka Dončić had himself a night during an exhibition tune-up against Great Britain. The Slovenian superstar finished the game with 28 points, 6 boards, 10 assists and 3 steals in an economic 28 minutes of action. Slovenia would go on to earn the victory, 93-81, marking their first triumph in Euro Basket exhibition play so far. The tournament’s matches are set to start on August 28th. Luka was in his bag all game, displaying his all-around brilliance and knack for filling up the scoresheet. This is a great sign for the LA Lakers, seeing as how Luka looks not just dominant on the court, but in outstanding physical shape. If he comes to training camp looking like this, he’s going to be a problem, for the opposition.

Luka displayed all the elements that make him a great player during Slovenia’s matchup versus Great Britain. The post ups were sharp, the footwork was clean, the finishing crafty and the passing was ingenious. As is customary for Dončić, he got off to a hot start, scoring 21 of his total points in just his first 11 minutes of action. He then took his foot off the gas scoring-wise, and focused more on executing the pick and roll, whipping passes to open teammates. He was still able to control the pace of play when not scoring, as evidenced by his game-high assists total. The three point shot wasn’t quite there, shooting a mere 2-11 from distance. But those things always seem to even out. What’s important is Luka is looking sharp and healthy, which bodes extremely well for LA this upcoming season.

After Luka’s brief injury scare against Latvia, last Wednesday, it’s great to see the Slovenian star back on the floor and looking like his old self. It’s also good that his team is monitoring his minutes so as to not overwork him throughout these exhibition games. But Luka is still filling up the statsheet in his limited minutes. Seems like the best of both worlds, Luka impresses while not logging a ton of minutes. He definitely seems locked in and focused. If he continues playing like this, he might actually carry Slovenia far in this tournament, despite the tougher competition when it comes to the likes of Germany and Serbia. It should be interesting to see how this tournament progresses, as Slovenia will take on Croatia, who are led by 3-time NBA MVP and NBA Champion Nikola Jokic, for a final tune-up before they kickstart the EuroBasket tournament on August 28th.

It will be an uphill battle for Slovenia for sure, as they don’t have the depth to match-up with some of the better teams in the tournament. However, with this version of Luka, the playing field could well be levelled. He’s the type of player that can carry a team by running the offense and creating room for his teammates by way of his gravity. Because of the attention he draws with the ball in his hands, he can set up open shooters or hit a hard-rolling big in the paint for a dunk. So as long as Luka has the ball in his hands, Slovenia should have a puncher’s chance, because he’s just that type of player. From a Lakers-centric perspective though, these games aren’t as much about winning or losing as they are about Luka showing out and staying healthy. If those two things continue then things are looking up. In the meantime, let’s hope Luka’s international tenure helps motivate him to arrive sharp for training camp. Go Lakers, and Go Slovenia.