“Going to Get a Lot Harder”: Lakers Legend Issues Warning About Luka Doncic After Pistons Absence

A year ago, the AP wrote that the only thing able to stop Luka Doncic early in the season had been injury, after a finger sprain and leg contusion sidelined him for about a week. The Lakers star has been unstoppable again this season, and Sunday's absence raised that old question.

Byron Scott says the way Doncic is being used is the real concern.

"He's putting up numbers, but the scary part about it is that we know Luka is not the most durable guy in the NBA," Scott said on the Byron Scott Fast Break. "But I'm telling you, if he keeps this pace up in terms of the scoring output he has to produce almost every night, it's going to catch up to him. He needs help, right? Austin and the rest of the guys have to step up a little bit more. And this isn't even the tough part of the schedule yet. You know it's going to get a lot harder."

He added that the Lakers' flaws are on the other end.

"We knew from day one that they had put together a squad that could flat-out score. We talked about this before the season started: defense was going to be the issue. So far, the defense hasn't been great. It's been okay, but you would hope that as the season progresses, the defense gets better because you've got a lot of young guys who need to understand the rotation, the terminology, and a lot of other things on that defensive end," he said.

The numbers explain his worry. In nine games, Doncic averaged 40.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 1.7 steals, shooting 49.8 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from three, and had scored 40 or more in four straight games and six of his last seven. That included a 53-point game against the Portland Trail Blazers, and he was leading the NBA's MVP race on current performance.

Then came Sunday. The Lakers ruled Doncic out about five hours before tipoff against the Pistons because of low back tightness, the second game he has missed this season. He was initially listed as questionable.

The Lakers say there is no long-term concern. The team is managing Doncic on back-to-backs, and that the back tightness has appeared on the injury report only around those games. ClutchPoints noted Sunday's game was the front end of a back-to-back, with the Lakers visiting the Hawks on Monday, and expected him back for Atlanta.

Doncic has dealt with a series of injuries over the past year. That included a hamstring strain that kept him out of a game against Golden State after he exited a win over Philadelphia, and Redick said the team would do an MRI.

The Lakers have good reasons for optimism. Doncic's output is MVP-level, the offense is elite, and the team is trying to build depth for the long run. Scott's concern is that production at this level has a cost, and that the defense needs to improve to reduce the pressure.

If Reaves and the supporting players can share the load and Doncic gets his rest, the warning will look like caution. If not, his comments could become the first chapter of a longer story.