Luka Doncic’s secret to leading LA without LeBron James

LOS ANGELES – When is Los Angeles Lakers recalled from the offseason earlier this month, it was the first time that Luka Dončić he would have a full training camp and preseason with the team. Doncic was acquired by the Lakers in the now-infamous trade before last season’s deadline, and had to agree to the team on the fly without the usual raise to start the season.

Back during media day, Luka Doncic talked about how he wants to use the Lakers’ preseason and training camp schedule to work on his leadership role on the team, and after the Lakers’ final game last Friday, he mentioned the ways he’s grown in that regard, especially with LeBron James sidelined with injury.

“I’m just being myself, I’m joking with them,” Doncic said. “And being more vocal on the court, trying to help guys get in the right spots.”

But even with James sidelined to start the season, Doncic mentioned how he was still on the practice squad and the impact he could still have.

He just talks and helps us,” said Doncic. He has many years in this, he helps everyone, he knows a lot about basketball.

The Lakers’ final tune-up before the season opener

The Lakers ended up losing their final preseason game to the Sacramento Kings, 117-116, but in the end the final score didn’t matter much as head coach JJ Reddick opted to bench and contract players at two spots late in the fourth quarter.

But for at least the first three quarters, the game served as a dress rehearsal for the Lakers’ season opener Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors. Doncic looked it was in the middle seasonfinished with 31 points, five rebounds, nine assists, one steal and one blocked shot in 32 minutes. He shot 8 of 16 from the field, 6 of 11 from the three-point line and 9 of 12 from the free throw line.

When regular Lakers players were on the courtthey moved the ball and touched all the while generating good shots. Dončić also spoke about the importance of ball movement and how the offense looked at the beginning of the regular season.

“It’s very important. You can see that we had 28 assists, that’s incredible,” Doncic said. “We could have had a lot more, I think I missed three or four lobs that I normally get, but I think it’s great. There were a lot of possessions where everyone was touching the ball, everyone was moving, so I think that’s very important.

Doncic appeared in 28 games for the Lakers last season after the trade, logging just over 35 minutes per game. He averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.6 steals while shooting 43.8 percent from the field, 37.9 percent from the three-point line and 79.1 percent from the free throw line.