How the Lakers' offense has changed since Luka Doncic's arrival

At one point earlier this season, the Los Angeles Lakers were attempting to win primarily with defense and a conservative style of play on offense. It delivered a limited amount of success, and at one point, LeBron James admitted that they didn't have much room for error.

But everything changed once Luka Doncic arrived last month. Suddenly, the Lakers had, as head coach JJ Redick put it, two "supercomputers" on the roster at the same time, as well as Austin Reaves, who, by comparison, could be considered a retail computer built for hard-core gaming.

Doncic draws double teams and traps that not even James has been able to attract, and it is because of his ability to consistently hit 3-pointers off the dribble. That type of defensive coverage opens up his immense passing skills, which in turn opens up L.A.'s entire offense.

In short, Doncic has become the fulcrum of the team's attack, and he has thus changed the entire complexion of its operating format on that end of the court.

Via The Athletic:

"The Lakers, Redick felt, had a bit of a geometry problem," wrote Jovan Buha.
"For as great as LeBron James and Anthony Davis were, and for as much defensive attention they commanded, it wasn’t enough to consistently break defenses and generate the caliber of high-percentage open 3-pointers that the league’s best teams like Boston and Cleveland do.
"And then the Lakers acquired Dončić.
"The superstar is perhaps the preeminent pick-and-roll practitioner in the league. Most defenses send at least two defenders — if not more — to the ball when he receives a ball screen. And when they defend him that way, Dončić has an array of options to dissect them, from hitting the roller to finding a weak-side cutter or shooter to swinging the ball to the weak-side safety valve."
"... His arrival has changed the geometry of LA’s offense.

In particular, L.A. is now shooting a heavy volume of 3-pointers, which is likely what Redick wished for when he first took the job last year.

"The Lakers have actualized Redick’s preseason vision of becoming a high 3-point volume team, one of the primary offensive principles in the modern era.
"The Lakers are attempting 42.3 3-point attempts per 100 possessions since Dončić made his debut on Feb. 10, the second-highest mark in the NBA over that stretch. Before that date, the Lakers averaged 34.3 3-point attempts per 100 possessions, which ranked 26th in the league. With Dončić on the floor, the Lakers’ 3-point frequency increases by 6 percent, a mark that ranks in the 94th percentile league-wide, according to Cleaning The Glass.
"Dončić is a threat to pull up or step back for 3s at anywhere within 30 feet, putting defenses on edge as they try to take that away while preventing him from shredding them with his generational court vision and playmaking."

The scary thing is that the Lakers aren't even close to realizing their offensive potential, partly because they aren't shooting a very high percentage from 3-point range consistently. Doncic has been a big culprit — in 15 games with them, he has made just 33.6% of his 3-point attempts. In addition, LeBron James and Rui Hachimura have been out lately due to injury, and that has further held the team's offense down.

For now, Los Angeles has been winning with defense. But once its shots start to fall and it outscored opponents in transition on a consistent basis, it could become a truly scary team for the rest of the NBA to deal with.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: How the Lakers' offense has changed since Luka Doncic's arrival

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How the Lakers' offense has changed since Luka Doncic's arrival

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